Multi-scenario interpretations from sparse fault evidence using graph theory and geological rules
in: Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth, 126:2 (e2020JB020022)
Abstract
The characterization of geological faults from geological and geophysical data is often subject to uncertainties, owing to data ambiguity and incomplete spatial coverage. We propose a stochastic sampling algorithm which generates fault network scenarios compatible with sparse fault evidence while honoring some geological concepts. This process proves useful for reducing interpretation bias, formalizing interpretation concepts, and assessing first-order structural uncertainties. Each scenario is represented by an undirected association graph, where a fault corresponds to an isolated clique, which associates pieces of fault evidence represented as graph nodes. The simulation algorithm samples this association graph from a possibility graph, whose edges represent the independent association of any two pieces of fault evidence. Each edge carries a likelihood that the endpoints belong to the same fault surface is computed, expressing general and regional geological interpretation concepts. The algorithm is illustrated on several incomplete data sets made of three to six two-dimensional seismic lines extracted from a three-dimensional seismic image located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. In all cases, the simulation method generates a large number of plausible fault networks, even when using restrictive interpretation rules. The case study experimentally confirms that retrieving the reference association is tedious due to the problem combinatorics. Restrictive and consistent rules increase the likelihood to recover the reference interpretation and reduce the diversity of the obtained realizations. We discuss how the proposed method fits in the quest to rigorously (1)~address epistemic uncertainty during structural uncertainty studies and (2)~ quantify subsurface uncertainty while preserving structural consistency.
Download / Links
BibTeX Reference
@article{godefroy:hal-02562611,
abstract = {The characterization of geological faults from geological and geophysical data is often subject to uncertainties, owing to data ambiguity and incomplete spatial coverage. We propose a stochastic sampling algorithm which generates fault network scenarios compatible with sparse fault evidence while honoring some geological concepts. This process proves useful for reducing interpretation bias, formalizing interpretation concepts, and assessing first-order structural uncertainties. Each scenario is represented by an undirected association graph, where a fault corresponds to an isolated clique, which associates pieces of fault evidence represented as graph nodes. The simulation algorithm samples this association graph from a possibility graph, whose edges represent the independent association of any two pieces of fault evidence. Each edge carries a likelihood that the endpoints belong to the same fault surface is computed, expressing general and regional geological interpretation concepts. The algorithm is illustrated on several incomplete data sets made of three to six two-dimensional seismic lines extracted from a three-dimensional seismic image located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. In all cases, the simulation method generates a large number of plausible fault networks, even when using restrictive interpretation rules. The case study experimentally confirms that retrieving the reference association is tedious due to the problem combinatorics. Restrictive and consistent rules increase the likelihood to recover the reference interpretation and reduce the diversity of the obtained realizations. We discuss how the proposed method fits in the quest to rigorously (1)~address epistemic uncertainty during structural uncertainty studies and (2)~ quantify subsurface uncertainty while preserving structural consistency.},
author = {Godefroy, Gabriel and Caumon, Guillaume and Laurent, Gautier and Bonneau, Fran{\c c}ois},
doi = {10.1029/2020JB020022},
hal_id = {hal-02562611},
hal_version = {v2},
journal = {{Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth}},
note = {Preprint submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth},
number = {2},
pages = {e2020JB020022},
pdf = {https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-02562611v2/file/AGU_Stochastic_Asso_2020_author%20%281%29.pdf},
publisher = {{American Geophysical Union}},
title = {{Multi-scenario interpretations from sparse fault evidence using graph theory and geological rules}},
url = {https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-02562611},
volume = {126},
year = {2021}
}