This glossary is merely a starting point for the technical language of petroleum seismology. The standard reference for all geophysical terms is Sheriff's Dictionary ^[165].

3D seismic

The process of shooting and processing seismic data in such a way that a volume of data is produced and interpreted for geologic meaning.

4D seismic

The process of shooting, processing, and interpreting multiple 3D surveys over a field. Each 3D survey has a different vintage (acquisition date). Also called time-lapse 3D (TL3D).

Acoustic impedance

The product of P-wave velocity and bulk modulus. Changes in acoustic impedance give rise to reflection coefficients.

Acoustic medium

A material characterized by bulk modulus and mass density. A fluid, which can support one mechanical wave type sound.

Acoustic reflection coefficient

Reflection coefficient for a wave striking the interface between two acoustic layers.

Acquisition area

Contains all source and receiver locations in a 3D seismic survey. See Figure 10.9.

Acquisition footprint

Any map view regularity or pattern in seismic data which is not of geological origin. Can be due to acquisition or processing problems.

Acquisition fringe

Area between image area and acquisition area. See Figure 10.9.

Aliasing

The process of sampling a continuous function using too large a sample interval. If a time function is involved, it is termed temporal aliasing or simply aliasing. When a wavefield (a function of space and time) is improperly sampled along a space axis, it is called spatial aliasing.

Amplitude map

A map, generated by tracking, which displays seismic amplitude associated with...