Interactive Seismic Stratigraphic Analysis: User-Guided Visual Enhancement and AI-Driven Depositional Element Extraction

While crucial to understand the subsurface, interpreting 3D depositional elements from seismic data is often challenged by issues such as effectively visualising subtle stratigraphic features and accurately transforming them into 3D objects that reflect geological reality. This paper introduces an interactive framework that directly addresses both through an innovative three-step workflow. The process begins with chronostratigraphic colour blending on stratal slices, enabling rapid visualisation of depositional patterns and sequence relationships. Next, to enhance feature separation, interpreters interactively place seed points within target elements and background facies, allowing for the automatic determination of optimal spectral decomposition frequencies. Finally, the interpreter guides an image segmentation foundation model with simple point prompts, facilitating the precise extraction of depositional elements without the bottleneck of geological-specific training data. Application of the method to fields, namely channel systems from the Maui Field, New Zealand, and carbonate build-ups and reefs from the Poseidon Field, Australia demonstrates a reduction in interpretation time from weeks to just days, all while maintaining high accuracy. This chronostratigraphic-centric approach guarantees that extracted objects represent true depositional architecture rather than arbitrary seismic anomalies.