Creating a survey

Seismic interpretation data and seismic cubes are both associated with a seismic survey.

Upon importing seismic data, for example a SEG-Y file, a seismic survey is created automatically in the JewelExplorer. There are, however, situations you may encounter where you want to create a survey manually. Among the various tools in the Seismic sub-strip, you will find the Create Survey form (prepare > Seismic > Tools), which you can use to manually create a survey. For example when you want to store interpreted (imported) horizons and faults and will import the underlying seismic data later, or when you want to create a synthetic seismic cube.

To create a seismic survey

You can enter values in different units (feet rather than meters for example) by right clicking on the unit and selecting a different unit from the context menu. (The units initially displayed are based on the settings in HOME > Settings > Units > Display Units. By default the units are taken from the unit of the Distance quantity for the horizontal units.)
  1. Open the Create Survey form (prepare > Seismic > Tools).
  2. Make sure Create new is selected in the 3D survey drop-down list and enter a name for the new survey underneath.
  3. For Method, select either 3 Points or 1 Point. If you have either a 2D grid (an interpreted horizon perhaps) or an area you want to use to define the survey, click Autofill (see Using Autofill for details).
  4. If you are not using autofill and you selected 3 Points, enter values for Easting, Northing, Inline index and Crossline index for the three points - see Creating a survey with the 3-point method for details. If you selected 1 Point, specify survey bin and indexing settings.
  5. When you have finished entering values, the table listing the four points of the survey is completed and a preview of the survey depicting these points is shown on the right. The survey origin is represented by a square. When you are happy with the values, click Apply or OK to create the survey.

Creating a survey with the 3-point method

In the table, enter values for Easting, Northing, Inline (the index of the inline at that point) and Crossline (the index of the crossline) for the three points. This is the recommended method to create a survey to minimize projection errors.

Due to rounding and other potential errors, these three points may not create inlines and crosslines that are exactly perpendicular to each other, although they should be very close to this.

JewelSuite 2026.1 Subsurface Modeling will determine the shorter side of the survey and then calculate how much the corresponding point (other than origin) of that direction needs to be shifted to create a perfect 90 degree angle between inline and crossline. If this distance is

  • Less than 50cm: JewelSuite Subsurface Modeling will automatically correct the values entered for northing and easting.
  • Between 50cm and 1m: You will be given a warning. If you click Yes to continue, the correction will be made.
  • Greater than 1m: JewelSuite Subsurface Modeling will display an error message indicating that the coordinates entered are not valid, and no survey will be created.

Creating a survey with the 1-point method

To create a survey using the 1-point method, first enter values for Easting, Northing, Inline and Crossline in the first row of the table (for the survey origin). This is the recommended method if you intend to create a synthetic cube (voxel grid).

In the Inline section , enter the distance between inlines in the Inline bin size field, and specify the extent of the survey in the crossline direction by specifying the Number of inlines. For Indices, specify whether the indices of the inlines should increase in the crossline direction (Incrementing) or decrease (Decrementing).

In the Crossline section, enter equivalent values for bin size, number of lines and indices for the crosslines.

Under General, specify the Azimuth of the survey orientation relative to Grid North (clockwise rotation from Grid North to the inline).

Finally, check the Swap inline/crossline axes if you would like to reflect (mirror) the displayed survey in the inline crossing the origin.

Using Autofill

Instead of entering values manually in the table for Easting, Northing, Inline index and Crossline index, you can have JewelSuite Subsurface Modeling complete the table for you using either an area or 2D grid. Click the Autofill button to do this. In the form that appears, select either Area or 2D Grid and then use the drop-down lists to locate the area or 2D grid you want to use. Click either Apply or OK to derive survey parameters from the selected area / 2D grid surface.