UNITES (UNcertainties and Interdisciplinary Transfers Through the End-to-end System)

Abstract

LONG-TERM GOALS. Our research group is collecting and analyzing various levels of high-resolution seismic data and cores, for ground-truthing seismic facies, on continental margins with a spectrum of depositional boundary conditions. The long-term goal of this work is develop stochastic models of variation of geotechnical and seismic property distribution on margins subjected to a spectrum of depositional regimes. The product of this research is are models of continental margins that show the probability of encountering a specific lateral distribution of geologic conditions as well as the probability that certain geologic/acoustic units will be lie beneath the seafloor and the various geologic units that lie at or near the seafloor. Essentially the product will be a measure of the level of 3-dimensional geologic variability that exists on continental margins subjected to various environmental conditions. This measure of variability is essentially the level of uncertainty that exists in our knowledge of geology of the continental margin environment. The importance of producing these stochastic models is that it provides a means of making predictions (with assignment of statistical risk) of the variation of geotechnical and seismic properties in areas where the only data that may exist for that margin at the time that a prediction is needed is information on physical oceanography or other gross descriptions of depositional conditions on the margin. We are also assessing the quantity of data that are required to recognize the nature of the variability of the geology of the margin. We call this Minimum Data Density Analysis (MINDDA) and the product of it is essentially a measure of uncertainty that is associated with making operational decisions with a specific quantity of geologic data in the operation area.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2003
Accession Number
ADA628192

Entities

People

  • Louis R. Bartek

Organizations

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Measurement
  • Acoustic Propagation
  • Acoustics
  • Boundaries
  • Data Sets
  • Electronic Mail
  • Environment
  • Factor Analysis
  • Heterogeneity
  • High Resolution
  • North Carolina
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Physical Oceanography
  • Spatial Distribution
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Uncertainty

Fields of Study

  • Geology

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Geotechnical Engineering.