Non-real but realistic distribution of small high-frequency structures in 2D seismic data

The generation of maps based on 2D seismic data involves a number of simplifications and approximations related to the fact that the algorithms used to generate the maps work by interpolations. Therefore, the maps are constrained to real values along the seismic lines and are extrapolated and largely smoothed in the intermediate areas where data are missing. This is a particular problem when dealing with small high-frequency structures (with an average diameter of a few tens or hundreds of meters), such as salt diapirs, magmatic or mud volcanoes, pockmarks, and sinkholes: in a map based on 2D seismic data, these structures are well constrained and are best mapped only along seismic profiles, while the map is inadequate in all other areas. In this work, we present alternative ways to produce isochrones maps that show the distribution of these types of structures, in particular we focused on the salt diapirs interpreted in two areas of the western Mediterranean.