Velocity Calibration
Corrects a velocity model so that well markers tie their corresponding layer-model horizons. The depth errors (misties between well markers and layer-model horizons) measured by a Depth Errors process are interpolated across the velocity model extents using universal kriging, producing a corrected velocity volume.
Create a Velocity Calibration process
- In the Control Panel, open the Process tab.
- Click the blue + icon, and select New Process.
- Scroll down and select Velocity Calibration > Add.
- Type a name for the process, and click OK.
Configuring Velocity Calibration
- Input depth errors: Select the Depth Errors process that supplies the misties. The wells, layer model, and input velocity volume are all taken from this process.
- Datum Horizon: Select the water bottom, topography, or other reference horizon below which velocity calibration begins. No correction is applied above this horizon; the correction ramps smoothly from zero at the horizon down to the full kriged value over the Ramp length. If no horizon is supplied, the datum is assumed to be at time zero. Note that any layer-model horizons that fall within the ramp window will not be fully tied in depth.
- Ramp length (ms): Set a ramp length value that represents the two-way-time distance from the Datum Horizon over which the depth correction ramps from zero to its full value. For offshore data, the datum horizon is typically the water bottom. If the water column in the input velocity model is already reliable, use a ramp to keep it unchanged while allowing the correction to build gradually below the datum horizon. When a constant trend term is enabled, a ramp is required to avoid non-physical velocities near the datum horizon.
- Horizontal kriging range: Specify a lateral search range used by the kriging (in survey distance units). This controls how far horizontally a well’s misties influence the output.
- Vertical kriging range (ms): Specify a vertical search range used by the kriging in two-way-time milliseconds.
- Vertical kriging taper (ms): Set a vertical kriging taper value that represents the two-way-time distance below the deepest tie point in each well over which the correction tapers back to the background trend. This prevents the kriged correction from oscillating in untied regions below the wells.
Trend terms
One or more trend terms form the background (deterministic) component of the kriging. Adding appropriate trend terms improves extrapolation away from wells.
- Constant trend: Select to include a spatially constant offset as a trend term. Recommended in most cases.
- Depth-based trend: Select the appropriate option to add a term that varies with two-way time (or depth), capturing systematic depth-dependent velocity errors. The following are available options:
- None
- Depth
- Datum depth
- Depth below datum.
- Geobody horizons: Select to include pairs of horizons that define geobody regions. A separate drift volume is constructed for each geobody and included as a trend term, allowing layer-specific velocity corrections.
- Drift volumes: Select to include external velocity-domain volumes used as additional trend terms. Useful when a prior model (e.g. from tomography) can guide the spatial variation of the depth correction.
- Geobody taper length (ms): Specify a length value that represents the taper applied at the top and base of each geobody drift volume, to avoid sharp discontinuities at the horizon boundaries.
Outputs
- Open table viewer: Click to open a dynamic table of the residual misties after the trend correction is applied — i.e. the misties evaluated against the trend-corrected velocity. These are the values that the kriging then corrects. Table views can be used to display bubble plots of these residuals (see Create mistie bubble plots).
- Open the Volume tab to view the following outputs:
- Mistie trend: The trend component of the kriged depth error (in metres). This represents the large-scale, spatially smooth depth error predicted by the selected trend terms.
- Mistie kriged: The full kriged depth error (trend plus residual, in metres). Both mistie volumes describe the depth errors of the input velocity model, not the output.
- Velocity trend: The input interval velocity volume corrected using only the depth-error trend. Useful for understanding the large-scale velocity adjustment.
- Velocity kriged: The input interval velocity volume corrected using the full kriged depth error. This is the primary output: a velocity model whose depth-converted horizons match the supplied well markers.



