Conventional data display and implications for the interpretation of seismic profiles: a discussion on the ViDEPI seismic database offshore Apulia (southern Italy)

The present paper analyses old seismic profiles and exploration well logs, from the marine zones B, D and F (offshore the Apulia region, southern Italy), included in the Visibility of Petroleum Exploration Data in Italy (ViDEPI) project. The public seismic profiles available from this project present several limitations since basic information for an accurate geological interpretation are missing, such as the basic shape of the seismic wavelets and the seismic polarity. In this study, a review of the basic pulse shape and polarity of seismic wavelets, as well as the shape and polarity of principal reflectors, has been addressed. With the purpose of revealing the shape and polarity of the seismic profiles from the marine zones B, D and F, the seismic pattern of the reflectors at the sea floor has been analysed. Finally, lithostratigraphic and sonic logs have been used to identify abrupt interval velocity variations between different lithostratigraphic successions, resulting in a geological meaning of the principal reflectors.