Adding positional information for surfaces in a geological formation after transforming to a gapped representation

A computer-implemented method for operating on a geological data set that includes well picks for a number of wells in a geological formation, the method comprising:

• (a) receiving first user input selecting a subset of the wells;
• (b) displaying a cross section of the geological formation through the wells of said subset, wherein the displayed cross section includes well picks for the wells of said subset;
• (c) opening a gap in an unconformity of the displayed cross section, wherein the gap is opened at one or more wells of said subset that intersect the unconformity, wherein the gap represents non-deposition and/or material that is missing from the geological formation due to erosion;
• (d) receiving second user input specifying positions of tops within the gap;
• and
• (e) closing the gap, wherein said closing the gap includes calculating positions of restored tops based on the positions of the tops within the gap, wherein the positions of the restored tops are usable to model one or more surfaces in the geological formation, wherein the geological formation includes a number of rock layers, wherein the well picks of said number of wells represent samples of position on surfaces between the rock layers, wherein, after said opening of the gap, the well picks corresponding to each of the surfaces are aligned horizontally.

A computer system for operating on a geological data set that includes well picks for a number of wells in a geological formation, the computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to:
• (a) receive first user input selecting a subset of the wells;
• (b) display a cross section of the geological formation through the wells of said subset, wherein the displayed cross section includes well picks for the wells of said subset;
• (c) open a gap in an unconformity of the displayed cross section, wherein the gap is opened at one or more wells of said subset that intersect the unconformity, wherein the gap represents non-deposition and/or material that is missing from the geological formation due to erosion;
• (d) receive second user input specifying positions of tops within the gap;
• and
• (e) close the gap, wherein said closing the gap includes calculating positions of restored tops based on the positions of the tops within the gap, wherein the positions of the restored tops are usable to model one or more surfaces in the geological formation, wherein the geological formation includes a number of rock layers, wherein the well picks of said number of wells represent samples of position on surfaces between the rock layers, wherein, after said opening of the gap, the well picks corresponding to each of the surfaces are aligned horizontally.

A computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions for operating on a geological data set that includes well picks for a number of wells in a geological formation, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

• (a) receiving a first user input selecting a subset of the wells;
• (b) displaying a cross section of the geological formation through the wells of said subset, wherein the displayed cross section includes well picks for the wells of said subset;
• (c) opening a gap in an unconformity of the displayed cross section, wherein the gap is opened at one or more wells of said subset that intersect the unconformity, wherein the gap represents non-deposition and/or material that is missing from the geological formation due to erosion, wherein said opening the gap in the unconformity includes:
• (c1) receiving a second user input selecting a first well that intersects the unconformity;
• (c2) translating one or more well picks that correspond to the selected well and that reside above the unconformity, wherein said translating moves the one or more well picks vertically upward in the displayed cross section by an amount that is determined by a third user input;
• (d) receiving a fourth user input specifying positions of tops within the gap;
• and
• (e) closing the gap, wherein said closing the gap includes calculating positions of restored tops based on the positions of the tops within the gap, wherein the positions of the restored tops are usable to model one or more surfaces in the geological formation.

A computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions for operating on a geological data set that includes well picks for a number of wells in a geological formation, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

• (a) receiving first user input selecting a subset of the wells;
• (b) displaying a cross section of the geological formation through the wells of said subset, wherein the displayed cross section includes well picks for the wells of said subset;
• (c) opening a gap in an unconformity of the displayed cross section, wherein the gap is opened at one or more wells of said subset that intersect the unconformity, wherein the gap represents non-deposition and/or material that is missing from the geological formation due to erosion;
• (d) receiving second user input specifying positions of tops within the gap;
• and
• (e) closing the gap, wherein said closing the gap includes calculating positions of restored tops based on the positions of the tops within the gap, wherein the positions of the restored tops are usable to model one or more surfaces in the geological formation, wherein the geological formation includes a number of rock layers, wherein the well picks of said number of wells represent samples of position on surfaces between the rock layers, wherein, after said opening of the gap, the well picks corresponding to each of the surfaces are aligned horizontally.