Abstract

Structural deformation affects seismic reflectivity in several ways, by offset of otherwise continuous waveforms and changes in waveform shapes across faults. These changes are the result of offset of discrete reflectors, syntectonic deposition, pressure compartmentalization, and differential rotation of fault blocks. Waveform displacements and waveform changes are imaged by the well-established seismic coherence attribute. Changes in reflector vector dip can be imaged by newly developed measures of reflector dip, azimuth, curvature, and rotation. Such attributes are useful for delineating subtle features, including subseismic faults and stratigraphic features, over or under migrated structural features, and laterally narrow structural features such as fault gouge and echelon fault patterns. We have applied all of these multi-trace attributes to the study of the tectonics of the Central Basin Platform of West Texas. Coherence volumes clearly show: strike-slip faults with an east-west trend, indicate the complex nature of one fault zone, and allow calculation of offset along strike-slip faults. Displays of vector dip, curvature, rotation, and amplitude gradient attributes show: previously unimaged continuations of faults as monoclines, illuminate Reidel shears, and provide information for an alternate interpretation of a moderate size fault trend.