Image segmentation for velocity model construction and updating

Image segmentation can automatically delineate salt bodies in seismic data, an otherwise human-intensive and time-consuming task. In many instances, current segmentation algorithms successfully pick salt boundaries; a logical extension of such work is to apply these methods to the task of building and updating seismic velocity models. We apply image segmentation tools in conjunction with sedimentand salt-flood velocity estimation techniques to identify the top and base of a salt body. Furthermore, previously existing velocity models may be updated based on the results of segmentation and automated boundary picking. By using the existing model as a priori information for the picking algorithm in areas where the segmentation is ambiguous, we calculate an optimized boundary path across a seismic image. For both synthetic and real seismic data, migrations with velocity models derived from this method produce greatly improved images.