Systems and methods to build sedimentary attributes
View Patent ↗A method and system for computing and visualizing sedimentary attributes may include receiving, by a processor, paleo-geographic coordinates representing predicted approximate positions of particles of sediment deposited at a time period when a layer was originally formed. The processor may numerically compute or determine a sedimentation rate that varies laterally along the layer. The processor may determine a sedimentary attribute based on the lateral variation of the sedimentation rate along the layer with respect to the paleo-geographic coordinates. A monitor or display may display the sedimentary attribute of the layer in the present-day geological space.
1. A method to visualize sedimentary attributes that represent properties of a sedimentation process of particles of a geological layer during deposition, the method comprising:
in a computer processor:
receiving measured geological data representing a present-day configuration of the geological layer in present-day geological coordinates;
transforming the geological data to paleo-geographic coordinates representing predicted approximate positions of particles of sediment deposited at a time period when the geological layer was originally formed;
determining a sedimentation rate that varies laterally along the geological layer;
determining a sedimentary attribute as a function of a variation of the sedimentation rate with respect to the paleo-geographic coordinates; and
displaying the geological layer and the sedimentary attribute representing the sedimentation of particles of sediment within the geological layer with respect to the present-day geological coordinates.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sedimentary attribute includes sedimentary expansion, which represents variations in a flux of sediment being deposited.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is sedimentary potential, wherein the gradient of the sedimentary potential represents a vector field related to a lateral variation in the geological layer's thickness.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is sedimentary acceleration, wherein the sedimentary acceleration has a magnitude proportional to the rate of variation in the thickness of the geological layer and a direction oriented toward the direction of increasing layer thickness.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is selected from a group consisting of: sedimentary acceleration, sedimentary expansion, sedimentary potential, sedimentary expansion ratio, sedimentary horizontal divergence, sedimentary horizontal norm, curvature of an IPG-line, curvature of an N-line and normal divergence.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the paleo-geographic coordinates vary along a surface that follows the curvature of horizons bounding the geological layer.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the variation of the sedimentation rate depends on derivatives of the sedimentation rate with respect to the paleo-geographic coordinates.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sedimentation rate accounts for a compaction of sediment describing a decrease in porosity due to a weight of overlying layers of sediment.
9. The method of claim 1 , comprising transforming a function of the sedimentary attribute in the present-day geological space to a function of the sedimentary attribute at a time period when the geological layer was originally formed.
10. The method of claim 1 , comprising transforming a function of the sedimentary attribute at a time period when the geological layer was originally formed to a function of the sedimentary attribute in the present-day geological space.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is sedimentary potential, wherein the sedimentary potential depends on a logarithm of the sedimentation rate.
12. A system for visualizing sedimentary attributes that represent properties of a sedimentation process of particles of a geological layer during deposition, the system comprising:
a memory to store a set of paleo-geographic coordinates;
a computer processor configured to:
receive measured geological data representing a present-day configuration of the geological layer in present-day geological coordinates;
transform the geological data to paleo-geographic coordinate functions representing predicted approximate positions of particles of sediment deposited at a time period when a layer was originally formed,
determine a sedimentation rate that varies laterally along the geological layer, and
determine a sedimentary attribute as a function of a variation of the sedimentation rate with respect to the paleo-geographic coordinates; and
a display for displaying the geological layer and the sedimentary attribute representing the sedimentation of particles of sediment within the geological layer with respect to the present-day geological coordinates.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is sedimentary expansion, which represents variations in a flux of sediment being deposited.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is sedimentary potential, wherein the gradient of the sedimentary potential represents a vector field related to a lateral variation in the geological layer's thickness.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the sedimentary attribute is sedimentary acceleration, which represents the acceleration with which the particles of sediment were deposited.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is to transform a function of the sedimentary attribute in the present-day geological space to a function of the sedimentary attribute at a time period when the geological layer was originally formed.