FractVis: Visualizing microseismic events

Abstract

We present our efforts of applying information visualization techniques to the domain of microseismic monitoring. Microseismic monitoring is a crucial process for a number of tasks related to oil and gas reservoir development, e.g., optimizing hydraulic fracturing operations and heavy-oil stimulation. Microseismic data has many challenging features including high dimensionality and uncertainty. We present a brief introduction to the domain of microseismic monitoring, and derive a set of tasks and data abstractions that can establish common ground between microseismic monitoring domain experts and visualization researchers. We then present FractVis, a prototype for visual analysis of microseismic data, describing the ongoing process of iteratively refining FractVis through close collaboration and consultation with domain experts. FractVis is designed to offer microseismic monitoring experts with visual analytic tools that allow investigation of the 3D spatial distribution of microseismic events, time-varying analysis and interactive exploration of high-dimensional parameter spaces, extensively complementing the existing tools in their disposal. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.