What are seismic facies?

A seismic facies unit is a mapped, three-dimensional seismic unit composed of groups of reflections whose parameters differ from adjacent facies units. Four types of features are used to define separate facies units: Seismic amplitude. Reflection geometry.

What does facies mean in geology?

1. n. [Geology] The overall characteristics of a rock unit that reflect its origin and differentiate the unit from others around it. Mineralogy and sedimentary source, fossil content, sedimentary structures and texture distinguish one facies from another.

What is seismic stratigraphy in geology?

Seismic stratigraphy, the science of interpreting or modeling stratigraphy, sedimentary facies, and geologic history from seismic reflection data, has been practiced for at least three decades. Seismic stratigraphy has initiated a revolution in stratigraphic analysis as profound as that caused by plate tectonics.

What are the types of sedimentary facies?

Sedimentary facies are either terrigenous, resulting from the accumulation of particles eroded from older rocks and transported to the depositional site; biogenic, representing accumulations of whole or fragmented shells and other hard parts of organisms; or chemical, representing inorganic precipitation of material …

What do you mean by facies?

1 : general appearance a plant species with a particularly distinct facies. 2 : an appearance and expression of the face characteristic of a particular condition especially when abnormal adenoid facies.

How do you describe facies?

In geology, a facies (/ˈfeɪʃiːz/ FAY-sheez; plural also facies) is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formation), and the changes that may occur in those attributes over a geographic area.

What is the purpose of seismic stratigraphy?

Seismic stratigraphy techniques help us for stratigraphic interpretation of seismic reflectors. It is important because geological concepts of stratigraphy can be applied on seismic data and hence, seismic stratigraphy can be used as a predictive tool for petroleum system elements like reservoir, seal and source rock.

What is seismic stratigraphy used for?

The methods of seismic stratigraphy are used to correlate sedimentary strata at depth, and they also reveal unconformity-bounded seismic sequences that provide the keys to the analysis of regional geologic history.

What is a facies model?

Facies models are intellectual aids to the understanding of sedimentary environments and the origin of ancient sedimentary rocks. A facies model may be plausible, yet totally inapplicable to the facies from which it was supposedly derived.

What is metamorphic facies in geology?

A metamorphic facies is a set of mineral assemblages in metamorphic rocks formed under similar pressures and temperatures. The assemblage is typical of what is formed in conditions corresponding to an area on the two dimensional graph of temperature vs. pressure (See diagram in Figure 1).

What is a lateral facies geology?

Sedimentary facies can be grouped spatially by associating genetically related lithologies that reflect linked environments in the stratigraphic record. This is known as a lateral association or assemblage of sedimentary facies (also called a facies tract) and is usually a lithofacies (rather than biofacies).

What do you need to know about seismic facies?

Seismic facies analysis is the description and geological interpretation of seismic reflectors between sequence boundaries (Sieck and Self, 1977). It includes the analysis of parameters such as the configuration, continuity, amplitude, phase, frequency, and interval velocity.

How are seismic reflector geometries used to classify seismic data?

Consider attributes of the seismic data such as reflection continuity, wavelet frequency, and reflection amplitude. Infer lithology type and extent within facies unit. Identification of the seismic reflector geometries is the first step towards facies classification and provides information about the depositional processes.

Which is a higher frequency seismic or subseismic scale?

The seismic-scale systems tracts consist of higher frequency sequences at subseismic scales (e.g. the FSST consists of three sequences in Well A).

What kind of analysis is done on facies?

Facies analysis included fabric, textural descriptions, quantitative point-counting data and semi-quantitative estimates of the abundance of biogenic and abiogenic components. Richard C. Selley, Stephen A. Sonnenberg, in Elements of Petroleum Geology (Third Edition), 2015