Kestrel IDM is working with Earth Resource Mapping on a concept called MASIV -  Map Accessible Scanned Image Vault.

As part of our Integrated Data Management services for oil companies, Kestrel IDM manages the cross-referencing and verification of seismic line names in the catalogues for seismic tapes and sections in archives with the various map-based sources of seismic line information used to locate data. As a by-product of this work we are scanning the original seismic sections for storage as images in place of the original films, providing customers with the additional benefits of:

 While high-resolution scanning and TIFF output is a good way of both preserving and maintaining hardcopy data in a standard format for future use, the TIFF format, together with current repository and network technology, does not provide the best way of accessing, viewing and using the data. Typically, one has to physically download individual files first before being able to view the data, and then one is only presented with a static image representation of the original data.

 MASIV is designed to improve the initial access, viewing and usage elements of the data, prior to a user committing to a download of the original TIFF file.

MASIV utilises Earth Resource Mapping's Image Web Server technology [www.earthetc.com] to hold TIFF images in ECW format on a dedicated web server.  All scanned seismic section images are held online on the server such that users view the data in a hosted environment rather than downloading them across an internet or network connection to their desktop.

Seismic section images for lines at a common scale are geo-spatially referenced at start and end points of the line, such that a query or selection made of the map front end (such as DEAL) will provide instant visual display of all the corresponding data on screen.

The benefits to users of working in this way come from the ability to view the data fully and ensure it is exactly what they are looking for before committing to a download.

Using Image Web Server's unique ability to both hold and combine huge amounts of data into one single montage or mosaic image, we are able to select multiple seismic sections from a series of parallel lines to create the impression of a movie or "walk-through" presentation of the data.

Similarly, as the lines are geo-spatially referenced, we can create an artificial contiguous line made up of several original intersecting lines from various surveys.

Both of these effects provide users with a more thorough understanding of the data, as well as providing a better visual interpretation of an area from what has traditionally been a very static and "awkward to use" volume of data. As Image Web Server is holding the data, and the user is both viewing and manipulating the data hosted on our web site, so the effects and presentation are instantaneous.

Finally, we are planning to provide users with a set of interpretation tools for picking horizons and faults within the data contained on the MASIV web-hosting server. Users will be able to save the viewed data and interpretations as projects to either the server or their own internal workstations.