James Van Blaricum
3-D Seismic Imaging
One of the biggest breakthroughs in computer-aided exploration was the development of three-dimensional (3-D) seismic imaging. 3-D imaging utilizes seismic field data to generate a three dimensional 'picture' of underground formations and geologic features. This, in essence, allows the geophysicist and geologist to see a clear picture of the composition of the Earth's crust in a particular area. Obviously, this is tremendously useful in allowing for the exploration of petroleum and natural gas, as an actual image could be used to estimate the probability of formations existing in a particular area, and the characteristics of that potential formation. This technology has been extremely successful in raising the success rate of exploration efforts. In fact, using 3-D seismic has been estimated to increase the likelihood of successful reservoir location by 50 percent!