VH signal integration measure for seismic data

1. A method of processing seismic data, comprising: a) acquiring three-component seismic data; b) combining horizontal components of the three-component seismic data to obtain a merged horizontal component; c) determining frequency spectra using a processing unit for the acquired three-component seismic data; d) determining a ratio of a vertical component of the seismic data to the merged horizontal component; e) determining an V/H integration-measure from the integration of the area bounded by a selected minimum-amplitude value and the amplitude values greater than the selected minimum-amplitude value; and f) storing the V/H integration-measure in a form for display.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein combining horizontal components of the three-component seismic data to obtain a merged horizontal component further comprises determining the square root of the sum of one-half of the squared horizontal component values.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected minimum-amplitude value is 1.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the V/H integration-measure in a predetermined frequency range.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the predetermined frequency range is a range selected between 1 Hz and 6 Hz.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the seismic data is comprised of separate time intervals.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising applying a band pass filter to the data.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a display of the V/H integration-measure.

9. A system for processing seismic data, comprising: a) means for acquiring three-component seismic data; b) means for combining horizontal components of the three-component seismic data to obtain a merged horizontal component; c) means for determining frequency spectra using a processing unit for the acquired three-component seismic data; d) means for determining a ratio of a vertical component of the seismic data to the merged horizontal component; e) means for determining an V/H integration-measure from the integration of the area bounded by a selected minimum-amplitude value and the amplitude values greater than the selected minimum-amplitude value; and f) means for storing the V/H integration-measure in a form for display.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein means for combining horizontal components of the three-component seismic data to obtain a merged horizontal component further comprises means for determining the square root of the sum of one-half of the squared horizontal component values.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the selected minimum-amplitude value is 1.

12. The system of claim 9 further comprising means for determining the V/H integration-measure in a predetermined frequency range.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the predetermined frequency range is a range selected between 1 Hz and 6 Hz.

14. The system of claim 9 further comprising means for applying a band pass filter to the data.

15. The system of claim 9 further comprising means for forming a display of the V/H integration-measure.

16. A set of computer program modules on a computer readable medium for execution on a processor in conjunction with an application program for determining an V/H integration-measure for displaying a hydrocarbon potential indicator determined from seismic data comprising: a first computer program module that receives data to determine a frequency spectrum for three component seismic data; a second computer program module that receives a selected minimum amplitude value; a third computer program module that receives a ratio of a vertical component of the seismic data to the merged horizontal component to obtain a V/H ratio; and a fourth computer program module that receives a V/H integration-measure from the integration of the V/H ratio for an area bounded by the selected minimum-amplitude value and the amplitude values greater than the selected minimum-amplitude value.

17. The set of computer program modules according to claim 16 further comprising: a fifth computer program module that receives instruction data for applying a zero-phase frequency filter to the seismic data.

18. The set of computer program modules according to claim 16 further comprising: a sixth computer program module that receives instruction data for determining the V/H integration measure within a predetermined frequency range.

19. The set of computer program modules according to claim 18 wherein the predetermined frequency range is a range selected between 1 Hz and 6 Hz.

20. The set of computer program modules according to claim 16 wherein the at least one program module is stored on a peer machine in a peer-to-peer network environment.