Automatic mud diapir detection using ANFIS expert systems algorithm; a case study in the Gorgan plain, Iran.

Automatic seismic data interpretation is a significant method in the exploration of geophysics. Complexities of the subsurface structures and the subsurface wave propagation media, make the decision-making process difficult in seismic data interpretation. Nevertheless, the extent of related knowledge and using the expert system method in seismic data interpretation can mitigate this problem. An expert system is a knowledge-based system that applies its knowledge in a complex and specific area and acts as an expert end-user consultant. This study investigates the design of an ANFIS expert system for mud diapirs detection with seismic data analysis in Gorgan plain. This method was applied to seismic attributes from a complex geological mud diapir bearing structure from south of the Caspian Sea. The south of the Caspian Sea is one of the richest area as petroleum reserves, and the Gorgan plain has various mud diapirs, which act as indicators of hydrocarbon reservoirs. The expert system design process to identify mud diapirs on seismic sections was modeled in two approaches including manual and automatic seismic data interpretation. In the first approach, the experience of the expert was collected by manual interpretation of training data and used to create a knowledge base and inference of the expert system in the second approach. The validation verified the accuracy of this method with an average accuracy of 90.1% according to using minimum knowledge to develop a knowledge base of the designed ANFIS expert system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]