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Organizing Your Data

Contents

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 Organizing Your Data

This chapter discusses how to initially arrange your data directories and what they will contain after you have saved your work
in VoxelGeo.If you simply want to render the sample dataset provided, or if your system administrator has already set up
datasets for you, you may skip this chapter for now.

Note: Components of VoxelGeo can utilize the Epos database and directory structure. Refer to the
appropriate Epos document for more information.

Data Directory Structure

The most general level of organization for VoxelGeo is the data directory. The data
directory has subdirectories including the project directories. The project directory
contains all the 3D seismic data, interpretations, and culture associated with that
project’s region.
Assuming that all the projects you are working on are in the directory named Data,
the general structure of the directory would look like this:

/Data

/Project1 /Project2 /Project3 voxel.color voxel.opacity

The project level is the default location for the files voxel.color and
voxel.opacity. These files contain “global” tables for color and opacity, and are
accessible when using any volume in a session. See “Tools for Visualizing Seismic
Properties” on page 6-2. These files may also be located in a separate directory specified
in your .voxelgeorc file. See “Starting VoxelGeo and Checking System
Performance” on page 2-2.

Project Directory Structure

A project directory can contain one or more volume directories:

/Project1

/VolumeA /VolumeB /VolumeC

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Volume Directory Structure
The volume directories within the project directory contain the seismic volumes for
that project. There can be several volumes measuring different earth properties of a
given project area (for example, reflection coefficients, velocities, etc.).The volumes can
be of different size, overlap, or be subsets of data in other volume directories.
A volume directory can have the following structure:

/VolumeA

name.vol /slices /vg_geometry voxel.opacity voxel.color name.sets

_dimensions /vg_view

_project _world /vg_movie /vg_attribute_maps

A volume directory contains the following elements:

• One or more single file versions, name.vol (see the next subsection), and/or time
slice files or a directory named slices containing the slice files.
• A directory vg_geometry, containing GeoSet files and subdirectories with all the
interpretations and other GeoObjects you have created for this volume while using
VoxelGeo.
• One or more visualization parameter settings files, name.sets (after you have
worked in VoxelGeo and saved your work).
• A _dimensions file containing the dimensions of the dataset in voxels, and axis
labeling information (only required for slice files).
• Volume-specific (as opposed to global) voxel.color and voxel.opacity files containing
tables created for, and saved to, a particular volume.
• A _world file containing the world coordinate information from imported files.
The _world file allows VoxelGeo to export that same information, and also
display the cursor location in world coordinates (only needed for slice files).

Note: If this information is in the .vol file header, the _world file is not needed.

• A _project file containing the GeoDepth project axes definition. This file allows
VoxelGeo to display a set of project axes corresponding to an associated GeoDepth
project. A VoxelGeo volume is assumed to be a subset of this project.
• A directory vg_view, containing view files. These are used to recreate views for
presentations and for building animations.
• A directory vg_movie, containing movie (animation) files.
• A directory vg_attribute_maps, containing grid files. These are used to map an
attribute to a surface.

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Single File Volumes vs. Slices Volumes
VoxelGeo can use two volume formats: single-file volumes and slices volumes. VoxelGeo
recognizes and loads slices files either within a volume directory or within a
subdirectory named slices.

The Embedded Geometry Directory (vg_geometry)

The vg_geometry directory contains all the interpretations, culture, etc. for the
volume. Within the geometry directory are class subdirectories, for example,
Horizons, Faults, Wells, which hold the individual object files for each
interpretation. Also in the vg_geometry directory are GeoSet files (name.vgs),
which allow you to load any combination of objects across classes, with one loading
operation.
The embedded geometry directory has the following general structure:
/vg_geometry

/ArbPlanes /Horizons /Faults /Wells /Polygons /Text /WellTraverses /Culture

/ArbTraverses /RegLines /WellSections

Slices
name.vgs

The Horizons and other directories contain GeoObject files, filename.iv (Inventor
object files), which are created, loaded, and saved using the Interpretation Manager.
For information, see “Interpretation Manager” on page 3-16 and “Creating
Interpretations” on page 8-2.

Settings Files (name.sets)

Settings files contain a variety of visualization parameters that combine to give you an
orientation and a set of voxel properties that you may want to save, as a starting point
or a return point for your work.

Coordinate Systems
An important element of using VoxelGeo is understanding the types of coordinates
used for annotation and data import and export. There are three coordinate systems by
which the volume can be annotated: slice number (voxel) coordinates, survey
coordinates, and world coordinates.
• Slice number (voxel) coordinates
Slice number is simply the sample number along any axis, starting with 1 at the
origin and increasing by an increment of 1 along those axes. They represent the
order in which the data is stored in the computer.
• Survey coordinates

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 Survey coordinates are a regular numbering system parallel to the slice numbers,
with user-defined starting points and increment. They represent the numbering
system used when the data was acquired or processed. This is usually inline
number, crossline number, and time.
• World coordinates
World coordinates are orthogonal coordinates that are not necessarily aligned to
the x and y axes of the survey coordinates. They represent the actual locations of
the data in a real-world x,y,z coordinate system. This is often UTM coordinates in
feet or meters. See “World Coordinates (_world) File” on page 1-7.
• Project coordinates
The project axes are for display only and are not currently used for any other
purpose. See “Project Coordinates (_project) File” on page 1-8.
For information on how to use VoxelGeo to verify and edit your volume coordinates, see
“Appendix C: Verifying and Editing Volume Coordinates” on page -1.
Note that the data value (v) can also be thought of as an axis. Because VoxelGeo works
on 8-bit data, the lowest level label of these values is 0 – 255. A survey coordinate
labeling for this axis can also be given with a user-defined starting point and
increment. (See “Volume Coordinates” on page 5-26.) The survey coordinate value is
the only one displayed by VoxelGeo for the value axis.

Header Information (_dimensions) File

The _dimensions file is a text file containing header information that is required for
slices volumes. This file must reside in the volume directory with the slices data.

Note: The _dimensions file is not required for any other type of volume.

The _dimensions file relates the slice number (voxel) coordinates to the survey
coordinates, with the user supplying the number of slices (size) along all axes, the
starting label (offset), label increment (scale), and axes labeling (unit, label).
For example, the coordinate transformation along the z axis of a time volume is given
by:
time = zvoxel * zscale + zoffset
where:
zvoxel is the sample position in voxel (slice) coordinates,
zscale is the sampling rate of a voxel (such as –4 ms),
zoffset is the survey coordinate value of the origin on the z axis.
If zunits are milliseconds, the length of one voxel along the positive z axis is –4.0 ms. If
zoffset is 3000, the bottom time slice is 3000 ms. The negative zscale means that time
will decrease up the z axis.

Note: The origin of a VoxelGeo volume is always the lower left corner. This means that z axis labels start
at the bottom and go up.

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 Accessing an Example Header File

To see an example of a _dimensions file, change to the directory that contains the
sample dataset Stratton. You may need to contact your system administrator for the
location of the installation directory and its subdirectory data. To change to that
directory, enter the following command at a command line prompt:

cd installation _directory/data/Stratton

Next, enter:

cat _dimensions

This displays a file similar to the one shown in Fig. 1.

*********** VoxelGeo Data Set Descriptor File (field for-

mat shown): ******
* [zsize] [xsize] [ysize] [interps] [bits/voxel] *
* [zoffset] [xoffset] [yoffset] [voffset] [normal bits] *
* [zscale] [xscale] [yscale] [vscale] *
* [zunits] [xunits] [yunits] [vunits] *
* [zlabel] [xlabel] [ylabel] [vlabel] *
************** This header must also remain in the file
VERBATIM!! *****
512 256 220 0 8
2800 12375 330 -128 0
-4 -55 55 1
Milliseconds Unitless Unitless *
time inline xline refl

Fig. 1: Example Header (_dimensions) File

Line Entries in the Header File

Line 1. Volume data and the visual image

Line 1 of the _dimensions file contains the z, x, and y dimensions of the dataset, in
voxels (samples) and the number of data bits per voxel in the dataset. The number of
bits per voxel is 8.

Line 2. Offsetting the data

Line 2 is the offset values, which give the values (in survey units) of the volume origin
for the z, x, and y axes. As an example, this might be the minimum inline, crossline,
and time of the seismic volume.
The fourth column in the second line, voffset, is used with vscale (explained
below) to offset the data values relative to zero amplitude. For example, a commonly
used entry is –128, which makes the range –128 to 127 (default is
0 – 255).
The fifth column in the second line, normal bits, was used by older versions of VoxelGeo
and should be left at 0.

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 Line 3.Scale factor of the z, x, y, and v dimensions
This line specifies the increment of the voxels. For example, in the above sample
_dimensions file, the increment of a voxel is –4.0 ms along the z axis, -55 feet along
the x axis, and 55 feet along the y axis.
The fourth column in the third line, vscale, allows you to calibrate your data to
physical properties, for example, reflectivity. In this case, values should range from 0.0
to 1.0. To set the appropriate values, you must distribute 255 intervals over the
intended range. The following formula can be used:
last range # - first range #/255 = vscale
In the above example, the vscale would be 0.3921569.

Line 4. Specifying units

Line 4 in the _dimensions file is for specifying units for the dataset. The units of
measure do not have to be the same. For example, the x and y dimensions could be
unitless, and the z dimension in milliseconds. The fourth column in line four, vunits,
describes the units, if any, of the property being measured by the seismic which, in the
case of reflection coefficients, has no units.

Note: The x and y axes are typically labeled in inline and crossline numbers, which are unitless in terms
of standard units of measure such as feet or meters.

Line 5. Labeling each axis

Line 5 is for entering the text that will label each axis of the volume (when they are
displayed as annotations) and, for vlabel, the property being measured (for example,
reflectivity, impedance, velocity). The default labels are inline, xline (crossline), and
time, to denote the axes. You can change them to other designations, for example,
depth, lines, and traces.

Note: It is not necessary to enter a value or name if the corresponding information is not available or
relevant for your dataset. By placing an asterisk (*) in unit or label fields, VoxelGeo will use default
values.

Note: The entries in the _dimensions file must be separated by tabs. The entries will be read in single
precision, meaning that numbers with more than five digits will lose accuracy. As a result, UTM’s
should not be used as survey coordinates.

World Coordinates (_world) File

The _world file relates the survey coordinates to world coordinates. Three non-
colinear points are needed to define this relation. These points can come from
anywhere; they do not have to be located physically within the volume, or be corners.
The main purpose of this file is to make sure that data files imported from multiple
sources are aligned correctly, even when they do not have common slice and survey
coordinates. You have access to world coordinate information for your data in the
Cursor Location fields when you select World from the Coordinate button pop-up menu
in the viewer. (See “Viewing Cursor Location” on page 5-7.) Fig. 2 shows an example
world coordinates (_world) file.

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 **** VoxelGeo World Descriptor File (field format shown):
**********
* [XCoord_1] [YCoord_1] [Line_1] [XLine_1] *
* [XCoord_2] [YCoord_2] [Line_2] [XLine_2] *
* [XCoord_3] [YCoord_3] [Line_3] [XLine_3] *
* [XUnits] [YUnits]
*
* [Survey_Name] *
* [Projection_Name] *
* [Datum] *
* [Ellipsoid] *
* [World Coord Pos Y] *
***** This header must also remain in the file
VERBATIM!! ******
330 330 330 330
330 12375 330 12375
14355 330 14355 330
Meters Meters
Survey Name: DEFAULT_VOXEL_GEO
Projection N
Name: UNKNOWN
Datum: UNKNOWN
Ellipsoid: UNKNOWN
World Coord Pos Y: North

Fig. 2: Example _world file

Note: For the World Coordinates option to be selectable in the viewer, either a _world file must be in
the volume directory, or the world coordinate portion of the volume header must exist. The header
and .vol file created from imported data has this information inserted.

To edit the headers of .vol files, refer to “Volume Coordinates” on page 5-26.

Line Entries in the World Coordinates File

Lines 1–3 of the _world file are the x and y world coordinates and survey coordinates
in the inline and crossline directions of three points. These points must not fall on the
same line.
Line 4 specifies the world coordinate units for the x and y world coordinate axes.
Lines 5–9 contain optional information describing the projection system that relates the
world x and y coordinates to latitude and longitude. These lines may be left empty.

Project Coordinates (_project) File

The _project file provides VoxelGeo the information needed to display an additional set
of coordinate axes which correspond to a common project in Paradigm’s GeoDepth
suite. The VoxelGeo volume is a subset of this project area. This file must be manually
created in order to be displayed in VoxelGeo. These axes are for display purposes only
and currently serve no other purpose. Fig. 3 shows an example project coordinates

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 (_project) file.

**** VoxelGeo Project Descriptor File (field format shown): ****

* [Proj_Xmin] [Proj_Ymin] [Proj_Zmin] *
* [Proj_Xmax] [Proj_Ymax] [Proj_Zmax] *
* [Proj_XLabel] [Proj_YLabel] [Proj_ZLabel] *
* [Proj_XUnits] [Proj_YUnits] [Proj_ZUnits] *
* [XCoord_1] [YCoord_1] [ProjY_1] [ProjX_1] *
* [XCoord_2] [YCoord_2] [ProjY_2] [ProjX_2] *
* [XCoord_3] [YCoord_3] [ProjY_3] [ProjX_3] *
***** This header must also remain in the file VERBATIM!! ******
120 10 -500
640 90 3000
PROJ_X PROJ_Y PROJ_Z
unitless unitless milliseconds
245000 6000000 70 190
245000 6006000 70 575
268100 6000000 20 190

Fig. 3: Example _project file

Note: For the project axes to be visible in a View window, the _project file must exist in the Volume
directory.

Line Entries in the Project Coordinates File

After a nine line header, the lines in the file are formatted as follows:
Lines 1–2 of the _project file define the project area bounding box by specifying the
minimum and maximum values along each of the project axes.
Line 3 contains project axes labels.
Line 4 defines the project axes units.
Lines 5–7 define three reference points in world space (first two columns) and project
space (cols. 3 and 4) to use for project-to-world transformation.

Now that you understand the directory structure of VoxelGeo and how it uses volume coordinates,
you are ready to start VoxelGeo, as described in “Starting VoxelGeo and Checking System
Performance” on page 2-2.

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 Contents

Organizing Your Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Data Directory Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Project Directory Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Volume Directory Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Single File Volumes vs. Slices Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
The Embedded Geometry Directory (vg_geometry) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Settings Files (name.sets) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Header Information (_dimensions) File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
World Coordinates (_world) File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Project Coordinates (_project) File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

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