202: The next revolution in seismic interpretation

Seismic Soundoff

Steven Lynch discusses his article in The Leading Edge, "High visual resolution interpretation: The case for virtual seismic reality." Steve lays out the case for why the seismic you have is better than you think. He argues that the industry needs to undergo a complete change of mindset regarding visualization. Steve explains a natural seismic display, the third form of resolution that's often ignored, and the unsung technological hero of the 20th century. Steve hopes to convince you that there's a tremendous amount that you're not seeing. And that most of the information acquired in seismic has yet to be observed or interpreted. This episode will give you much to think about - and maybe help you unlock new oil in old places. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Steven Lynch is the Chief Geoscientist for "The Visual Wavefield Project." He received his B.Sc. in Biophysics from the University of Guelph in 1975 and his M.Sc. in Geophysics from the University of British Columbia in 1977. Following a 26-year academic absence, Steve returned to University in 2003 to study seismic visualization and received his Ph.D. from the University of Calgary in 2008. Steve has a wide range of experience in both geophysical research and software development. Early in his career, he managed seismic processing centers and developed techniques for such subjects as refraction statics, depth migration, ray trace structural modeling, and stratigraphic modeling. In the early 2000s, realizing that our ability to perceive seismic needs to keep pace with our ability to acquire and process it, Steve returned to his biophysical roots. He began to study visualization as a science. His research led him to pioneer the field of Virtual Seismic Reality. He now splits his time between developing software for it and teaching courses about it. RELATED LINKS * Steven Lynch, (2023), "High visual resolution interpretation: The case for virtual seismic reality," The Leading Edge 42: 541–549. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle42080541.1) * (2023), "Introduction to Special Focus: Visualization in geophysics," The Leading Edge 42: 540–540. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle42080540.1) * Read the August 2023 issue of The Leading Edge (https://library.seg.org/toc/leedff/42/8) Subscribers can read the full articles at https://library.seg.org/; abstracts are always free. CREDITS Seismic Soundoff explores the depth and usefulness of geophysics for the scientific community and the public. If you want to be the first to know about the next episode, please follow or subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Two of our favorites are Apple Podcasts and "Spotify. If you have episode ideas, feedback for the show, or want to sponsor a future episode, find the "Contact Seismic Soundoff" box at https://seg.org/podcast. Zach Bridges created original music for this show. Andrew Geary hosted, edited, and produced this episode at TreasureMint. The SEG podcast team is Jennifer Cobb, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis.