Workflows, not just technology, make better models

摘要

The key to deriving reliable images from seismic data is high-quality anisotropic imaging and model building using all relevant data in efficient workflows that recognize there may not be one right answer. If workflows are simply recipes for achieving some desired result, why aren't we all gourmet chefs? The foregoing is a simple analogy that attempts to describe the complexity of seismic imaging and effective model building. The same analogy could be applied to other "workflows" such as symphonic musical scores - just being able to read the notes doesn't allow the conductor to create the masterpiece. Geoscientists have been imaging the subsurface for more than a century. One might conclude that the science is quite mature by now and that only incremental improvements can reasonably be expected at this point. If you thought this way, you'd be wrong.