Seismic modelling of outcrop data from a sand injection complex enables detection of subseismic sandstone intrusions, but the geometry and orientation of individual intrusions remain unresolved. Sand injection complexes are increasingly recognised as a common shallow-crustal process, comprising millimetre- to decametre-scale, close to bedding-concordant sills and strongly bedding-discordant dykes, as well as intrusions with less regular geometry. These features can act as basin-scale fluid migration conduits, hydrocarbon reservoirs and possible sites for CO2 sequestration. This paper presents 2D point-spread function (PSF) seismic modelling of a digital outcrop model containing a wide range of intrusion geometries, including thin, complex and interconnected features. The results provide insights into the seismic response of subseismic (unresolved) geological features and enable evaluation of the effects of illumination, lateral resolution, dominant frequency and noise on seismic imaging. Multiple densely spaced thin intrusions generate interference as a function of wavelength, producing complex seismic patterns caused by the dense spacing and cross-cutting geometry of intrusions. The seismic patterns show little resemblance to the geometry of the intrusions. Increases in dominant frequency improve the resolution and interpretation of large intrusions from seismic data and preferentially intensify some seismic characteristics, sometimes creating bedding-like, sub-horizontal features that do not exist in the outcrop data. This ambiguity caused by enhancement of sub-horizontal intrusions relative to sub-vertical intrusions can lead to misinterpretation of sandstone presence and distribution. Individual intrusions with a thickness of 1 m may be detected under favourable conditions but are not directly resolvable in seismic data and increased dominant frequency does not necessarily result in improved geological interpretation. High-angle dykes (> 45o) display linear zones with amplitude dimming, which are attributed to their cross-cutting character, thus facilitating their interpretation. Seismic amplitudes from host strata interact with those of intrusions, diminishing the clarity of the seismic response of intrusions. Limited illumination reduces the accuracy of interpretation. The addition of noise increases the complexity of intrusion-related seismic responses, both enhancing and reducing amplitudes associated with intrusions, specifically in intervals with complex intrusion networks.

Thin sedimentary units typically constitute a large part of the volume of reservoirs targeted for hydrocarbons, CO2 storage, or groundwater but are considered to be below resolution thresholds of conventional seismic reflection data. Nonetheless, they affect seismic imaging through interference, and where lithology varies significantly over short distances, reflection characteristics may change laterally. This is especially valid for interbedded siliciclastic-carbonate systems characterised by lateral and vertical changes in lithology. We use high-resolution digital outcrop models of two interbedded siliciclastic-carbonate outcrops from Svalbard as input for seismic modelling using a 2D point-spread-function based convolution. The digital outcrop models show Carboniferous to Triassic strata, from southern Spitsbergen and Bj & oslash;rn & oslash;ya. We investigate detection thresholds (bed thickness, layer geometry, lithologic variability) and discuss their implications for resolvability on seismic data. Our base-case seismic models illustrate that units below the vertical resolution can be detected, even at high velocities (5-5.5 km/s). We present 6 scenarios to test the influence of thin (metre-scale) beds, lithological variability, faults, karstification, and imaging parameters on the seismic models. They illustrate that in mixed successions variations in reflection amplitudes, dimming and tuning effects become important for recognising thin units. Additionally, thin interfingering units can create artefacts such as apparent "faults", thus leading to misinterpretation of seismic sections in this type of depositional setting. Varying seismic imaging parameters, such as adding random noise or reducing dominant frequency decrease the detectability of thin units.

Constraining and detecting fault-controlled hydrothermal dolomite bodies in the subsurface generally depends on the use of seismic reflection data, but the practical understanding of how dolomite presence affects seismic images is limited. Using 3D seismic modelling, we here attempt to bridge this gap in understanding by linking outcrop data from fault-controlled hydrothermal dolomite to their response in seismic images. We investigate nine seismic models that contain fault-controlled stratabound and non-stratabound dolomite bodies, testing the sensitivity of seismic images to dolomite-limestone acoustic impedance, seismic wavelet selection and noise. The results show that (1) massive dolomite bodies are generally well imaged albeit transparent and non-reflective, (2) the presence and restriction of stratabound dolomite bodies to certain stratigraphic intervals can be interpreted or inferred, but that (3) individual stratabound dolomite bodies cannot be reliably detected or identified. Furthermore, (4) seismic images elucidate dolomite trends along and across bounding faults, and (5) stratigraphic trends in dolomite presence are clearly distinguishable in the models. The findings are important for understanding seismic imaging of dolomite in the subsurface, which in turn has implications for understanding fluid flow, for instance associated with groundwater management, geothermal energy and petroleum, as well as in underground storage of CO2 and hydrogen.

Sills play a leading role in the transport of magma in sedimentary basins. The contact between sills and host rocks reflects the acting emplacement processes during sill propagation and evolution. Recent studies have shown that the propagation of sills and dykes is strongly influenced by the lithology of the host rocks, but none have detailed documentation of marginal features in large-scale intrusive complexes. Three-dimensional seismic data is the primary method of mapping and investigating such complexes, but it is difficult to accurately image sills due to their low thickness compared to seismic resolution. By understanding the relationship between local lithology and marginal sill features, we can better understand the imaging of sills in seismic datasets and their resulting geometry. In this study, we present a seismic-scale sill analogue through multiple high-resolution three-dimensional models, with corresponding logs and field observations from Cedar Mountains, San Rafael Swell, US. This model was further used to develop a synthetic seismic dataset, providing us with a strong control on which marginal sill features fall beneath seismic resolution. We found that lithology plays a critical control in sill geometry and morphology. In Cedar Mountains, sills emplaced within massive sandstones frequently exhibit strata-discordant base contact with the host rock. Conversely, sills found within heterolithic intervals and mudstones typically display strata-concordant base contact with the host rocks. Sills within heterolithic intervals also tend to exhibit a more complex segmentation with multiple broken bridges. Furthermore, our findings show that sills are more than 3.7 times more likely to intrude in mudstone compared to sandstone and heterolithic intervals. These results suggest how sill geometries can be adapted to interpret lithology in seismic datasets from sedimentary basins with little to no well control. We anticipate that our findings may provide better knowledge for interpreting sills in sedimentary basins and contribute to developing more sophisticated geomechanical emplacement models for igneous intrusions. In our study, we investigate the limitations of seismic imaging of mafic sills by developing a synthetic seismic dataset rooted in field outcrops. Our observations highlights the limitations of seismic imaging of mafic sills, often due to subseismic structures and high density contrast between igneous intrusions and sedimentary host rocks.image

Summary Sand injection complexes are large-scale petroleum plays composed of high- to low-angle injected sands that are challenging to interpret. Sandstone intrusions are common within the greater Balder area of the North Sea, but due to irregular geometry, imaging issues are common, and interpretation is often inaccurate. Additionally, characteristics such as fluid contact and hydrocarbon dynamics are difficult to ascertain, which increases reservoir model uncertainty. Using a 3D field-based outcrop model, well data, velocity models, and wavelet information from the greater Balder area, 3D Point-Spread Function based seismic modelling is conducted to produce synthetic seismic data. Sensitivity testing is conducted to assess the influence of steeply dipping dykes on seismic and to evaluate 4D response signatures that are present in the region. Results demonstrate the efficiency and improvement of PSF-based seismic modelling over the 1D convolution modelling due to the presence of surrounding geology. Similarities between true and synthetic seismic elucidate the complexity of the intrusions in the contact zones and indicate that the 4D effects are related to fluid movements. PSF-based seismic modelling permits improvements to interpretation accuracy and better understanding of the subsurface complexity while decreasing the uncertainty in reservoir models.

Seismic modelling studies of outcrop analogues have proven a powerful method to provide a link between geology as observed at outcrop, and the interpretation of subsurface geology from seismic data. Seismic imaging of fault zones is inherently challenging, as they may be associated with steep dips, narrow zones of heterogeneously deformed rocks, and complex geometries at the limit of seismic resolution. We here investigate how along-strike variations in fault geometry and structural style are imaged in reflection seismic images, based on seismic modelling of well-exposed outcrops of the Maghlaq Fault hosted in the Miocene-Oligocene carbonate rocks in Malta. Using two-dimensional seismic modelling, selected structural cross-sections have been modelled, focusing on variations in fault- and hangingwall bed geometries, and dominant seismic signal frequency. The seismic models show great variability in resolution and, thus, level of resolved geologic detail. The modelled seismic images show that, for all signal frequencies, the fault itself is not imaged, but is manifested by terminations of footwall reflections as well as fault-related strain in the form of drag folding of hangingwall beds, in addition to fault-proximal seismic imaging artefacts. Rotated and ‘drag-folded’ hangingwall beds along the fault produces a high-amplitude fault parallel reflection bundle in the immediate hangingwall of the fault. The illumination issues that dominate in low dominant frequency seismic models are less prevalent in the higher-resolution, higher dominant frequency models. The results of this outcrop-to-seismic study offer insight to the relationship between faults and seismic images, which may improve our ability to accurately interpret faults in the subsurface form reflection seismic data.

Faults with throws that fall below vertical seismic resolution are challenging to identify in reflection seismic datasets. Nevertheless, such small-scale faults may still affect the seismic images, and in this study, we build seismic models of outcrop analogues to investigate how. Using photogrammetry from faults affecting Oligocene to Miocene carbonate rocks in Malta, we build a series of geological models from which synthetic seismic images are produced. The resulting seismic images are analysed to elucidate the effects of varying geologic input, signal properties and introduction of noise, and compared to real seismic data from the SW Barents Sea, offshore Norway. Our results suggest that at signal peak frequencies of 30 Hz and higher, using the classic Ricker wavelet type and without introducing noise, graben forming faults with a combined displacement down to -5 m affect the seismic image by slight downwarping of reflections, whereas single faults with displacement down to -10 m show detectable non-discrete reflection offsets in form of a monoclinal geometry at signal peak frequencies at 60 Hz. Using an Ormsby wavelet, we get seismic images with a quality that lie in between that of the 30 Hz and 60 Hz Ricker, even though the peak frequency is lower. The identified structures can also be seen when noise is included, although the reflections are more irregular and harder to detect. This suggests that under relatively noise-free conditions in high-quality reflection seismic datasets, lower-throw faults (as low as 5 m in this study) that do not induce discrete reflection offsets in seismic images may still produce reflection distortions. Additionally, seismic modelling using the Ormsby wavelet, and its effect on the seismic image, is lacking in literature as of today. We suggest that the results and examples shown in this study may be used to geologically inform fault interpretations in real seismic datasets and may form an empirical basis for geologically concept-driven fault interpretation strategies.

Faults are characterized by a complex internal architecture. In carbonates, the geometry, attitude, and distribution of fault-related fractures and subsidiary faults can largely affect the petrophysical properties and hydraulic behavior of the fault zone. This work investigates the footwall damage zone of a seismic-scale normal fault (throw similar to 300 m) from a structural, petrophysical and seismic point of view. The studied Venere Fault (VF) bounds the intra-mountain Fucino Basin (central Italy) and crosscuts Lower Cretaceous platform carbonates. A significant portion of the footwall VF damage zone (VF-DZ) is well exposed in the 400 x 200 m Santilli Quarry. There, we assess the amount of outcrop-scale fracture porosity and permeability by in-situ fracture analyses and permeability measurements. The results show a composite power-law decay of fracture intensity away from the main slip surfaces, strongly influenced by subsidiary faults. An outcrop-based, digital 2D model of the VF-DZ is constructed and populated with acoustic properties (Vp, Vs and density) derived from both the matrix and fracture porosities. This model is enlarged five times and used for seismic modelling to investigate the seismic signature of the VF-DZ under different but realistic geological and geophysical conditions. Seismic modelling suggests that within the modelled damage zone and for wave frequencies of 20-40 Hz, seismic impedance contrasts associated with subsidiary faults may be imaged, depending on the degree of fracture porosity, fracture aperture, and the illumination angle (a measure of the maximum dip that can be imaged), the last two parameters being controlled by overburden depth. These results have implications for the seismic interpretation and characterization of fault zones in carbonates, and hence for the evaluation of fluid migration through these structures.

Thin (<20 m), sand injectites, too small to resolve in conventional seismic reflection data, can constitute a large part of the net-to-gross volume and affect fluid flow in the reservoir. However, they may also cause challenges for well placement and reservoir development because they are too small to be reliably imaged in seismic reflection data. It is therefore important to better understand how small-scale injectites influence seismic images, and how they may be recognized and characterized above reservoirs. The Grane Field (North Sea) hosts numerous small-scale sand injectites above the main reservoir unit, challengin well placement, volume estimates and seismic interpretation. Here, we investigate how such small-scale sand injectites influence seismic images and may be characterized by (1) using well, 3D seismic and outcrop data to investigate geometries of small-scale sand injectites (0–15 m thick), (2) performing seismic convolution modelling to investigate how these would be imaged in seismic data, and (3) comparing these synthetic seismic images with actual 3D seismic data from the well-investigated Grane Field. Our results show that despite injectites being below seismic resolution, small-scale sand injectites can be detected in seismic data. They are more likely to be detected if they have high thickness (>5 m), steep dip (>30°), and when densely spaced. Furthermore, as the fraction of sand injectites increases the top reservoir amplitude will decrease. Moreover, comparison of the synthetic seismic images with real seismic data from the Grane Field indicates that the low-amplitude anomalies and irregularities observed above the reservoir may be a result of the overlying sand injectites. Additionally, the comparison strongly suggests that the Grane Field hosts sand injectites that are thicker and located further away from the top reservoir than is indicated by well observations. These results may be used to improve well planning and develop reservoirs with overlying sand injectites. Supplementary material: A PDF file containing all the seismic modelling results allowing the reader to flip back and forth between the models is available at https://www.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14333102 and well logs from well 25/11-18T2 are available at https://factpages.npd.no/pbl/wellbore_documents/2358_25_1_18_COMPLETION_REPORT_AND_LOG.pdf

Summary This study focuses on limitations in imaging of fault geometries explored by combined seismic interpretation and modelling. The challenges and pitfalls related to interpreting normal faults are addressed by evaluating objective and subjective uncertainties. Geological models with different architecture were made based on fault interpretations on 2D seismic section by a test-panel of 20 geoscientists. More detailed and realistic fault architectures, based on published knowledge from outcrop studies including damage zones and fracture corridors, are included in refined geological models. The geological fault models, both with and without damage zones, were explored with 2(3)D point-spread function (PSF)-based convolution seismic modelling to investigate the potential of seismic data to image detailed fault architectures and associated fluids. The high-resolution seismic data show more details that combined with seismic modelling can add confidence to interpretation of conventional data. Synthetic seismic sections from the refined geological models are used to address detection thresholds for structural details in seismic data, both conventional and high-resolution. The results show that: (1) The fault is characterized by brighter reflection(s) when adding a damage zone; (2) There are stronger amplitudes for the models with CO2-filled fractures; and (3) Fracture corridors are clearly visible as dipping reflections crossing continuous horizons/layers.

Seismic resolution and illumination issues are sources of challenges in the detailed imaging and detection of subsurface fault architecture and fluid migration. Improved constraints on resolution can provide input into monitoring requirements and detectability of CO2 leakage, and fault-sealing properties during subsurface visu-alization of migration pathways. This study explores detection and resolution thresholds via synthetic seismic imaging of a detailed shallow normal fault model with realistic fault architecture including sub-seismic structures of damage zones. The base fault model is built from interpretations of high-resolution P-Cable seismic data and is further developed and conditioned by outcrop-based observations and empirical laws for fracture and deformation band distribution. Damage zones of sandstone layers host deformation bands contrary to shale layers with fractures, while mixed lithologies (shaley sandstone and sandy shale) are subjected to a combination of the two deformation mechanisms. We utilize a 2D point-spread function based convolution seismic modelling to produce the synthetic seismic images. Test scenarios include one baseline fault model without a damage zone (M1), and five more advanced/detailed fault models incorporating features known from outcrops (M2-M6; damage zones, an isolated fracture corridor, and gas seeps (CO2) along damage zones of faults and in the fracture corridor). Furthermore, sensitivity analyses on two selected models test the effect of changing the illumination angle and wavelet. The results show that: (1) faults with damage zones have larger disturbances in seismic signals than faults without damage zones, (2) stronger amplitudes are distinguished for models with CO2-filled fractures, (3) a fracture corridor (5 m at it widest) is clearly visible where it crosses horizons bounding horizontal layers, (4) sensitivity tests show good imaging for illumination >= 45 degrees, which is the average dip of the main fault segment, and (5) learnings from fault modelling offer guidance for seismic monitoring.

Seismic migration commonly yields an incomplete reconstruction of the Earth model due to restricted survey aperture, band-limited frequency content and propagation effects. This affects both illumination and resolution of the structures of interest. Through the application of spatial convolution operators commonly referred to as point-spread functions, simulated prestack depth-migrated images incorporating these effects may be obtained. Such simulated images are tailored for analysing distortion effects and enhance our understanding of seismic imaging and subsequent interpretation. Target-oriented point-spread functions may be obtained through a variety of waveform and ray-based approaches. Waveform approaches are generally more robust, but the computational cost involved may be prohibitive. Ray-based approaches, on the other hand, allow for efficient and flexible sensitivity studies at a low computational cost, but inherent limitations may lead to less accuracy. To yield more insight into the similarities and differences between point-spread functions obtained via these two approaches, we first derive analytical expressions of both wave- and ray-based point-spread functions in homogeneous media. By considering single-point scatterers embedded in a uniform velocity field, we demonstrate the conditions under which the derived equations diverge. The accuracy of wave-based and ray-based point-spread functions is further assessed and validated at selected targets in a subsection of the complex BP Statics Benchmark model. We also compare our simulated prestack depth migrated images with the output obtained from an actual prestack depth migration (reverse time migration). Our results reveal that both the wave- and ray-based approaches accurately model illumination, resolution and amplitude effects observed in the reverse time-migrated image. Furthermore, although some minor deviations between the wave-based and ray-based approaches are observed, the overall results indicate that both approaches can be used also for complex models.

Abstract. The Covid-19 pandemic occurred at a time of major revolution in the geosciences – the era of digital geology. Digital outcrop models (DOMs) acquired from consumer drones, processed using user-friendly photogrammetric software and shared with the wider audience through online platforms are a cornerstone of this digital geological revolution. Integration of DOMs with other geoscientific data, such as geological maps, satellite imagery, terrain models, geophysical data and field observations strengthens their application in both research and education. Teaching geology with digital tools advances students’ learning experience by providing access to spectacular outcrops, enhancing visualization of 3D geological structures and improving data integration. Similarly, active use of DOMs to integrate new field observations will facilitate more effective fieldwork and quantitative research. From a student’s perspective, geo-referenced and scaled DOMs allow an improved appreciation of scale and of 3D architecture, a major threshold concept in geoscientific education.In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, DOMs allow to bring geoscientists to the outcrops digitally. At the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), located at 78° N in Longyearbyen in Arctic Norway, DOMs are actively used even in non-pandemic years, as the summer field season is short and not overlapping with the Bachelor “Arctic Geology” course package held from January to June each year. In 2017, we at UNIS developed a new course (‘AG222: Integrated Geological Methods: from outcrop to geomodel’) to encourage the use of emerging techniques like DOMs and data integration to solve authentic geoscientific challenges. In parallel, we have established the open access Svalbox geoscientific portal, which forms the backbone of the AG222 course activities and provides easy access to a growing number of DOMs, 360° imagery, subsurface data and published geoscientific data from Svalbard. Considering the rapid onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Svalbox portal and the pre-Covid work on digital techniques in AG222 allowed us to rapidly adapt and fulfill at least some of the students’ learning objectives during the pandemic. In this contribution, we provide an overview of the course development and share experiences from running the AG222 course and the Svalbox platform, both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Abstract Understanding and predicting architecture and facies distribution of syn-rift carbonates is challenging owing to complex control by climatic, tectonic, biological and sedimentological factors. CarboCAT is a three-dimensional stratigraphic forward model of carbonate and mixed carbonate–siliciclastic systems that has recently been developed to include processes controlling carbonate platform development in extensional settings. CarboCAT has been used here to perform numerical experiment investigations of the various processes and factors hypothesized to control syn-rift carbonates sedimentation. Models representing three tectonic scenarios have been calculated and investigated, to characterize facies distribution and architecture of carbonate platforms developed on half-grabens, horsts and transfer zones. For each forward stratigraphic model, forward seismic models have also been calculated, so that modelled stratal geometries presented as synthetic seismic images can be directly compared with seismic images of subsurface carbonate strata. The CarboCAT models and synthetic seismic images corroborate many elements of the existing syn-rift and early-post-rift conceptual model, but also expand these models by describing how platform architecture and spatial facies distributions vary along-strike between hanging-wall, footwall and transfer zone settings. Synthetic seismic images show how platform margins may appear in seismic data, showing significant differences in overall seismic character between prograding and backstepping stacking patterns.

Forward seismic models of outcrop analogues are used in hydrocarbon exploration to generate more coherent geological-geophysical models that provide an important scale link between outcrops and seismic survey data. Exploration within slope carbonate plays can be problematic with uncertainties about the reservoir geometries, distribution and volumes owing to complex seismic imaging and lack of closely spaced wells. This seismic modelling study provides a synthetic seismic characterization of the carbonate platform-to-slope-to-basin transition exposed across the Maiella Mountain, central Italy. This outcrop represents an analogue for exploration in carbonate slope strata in the Adriatic offshore area. Integration of original and previously published data allows 2D and 3D geological modelling, providing a better characterization of relationships between the palaeoescarpment and resedimented deposits. The seismic response of the various geological features of this transitional carbonate system is simulated via synthetic seismic modelling using innovative, modern techniques. The seismic simulation was performed in both post-stack-time- and pre-stack-depth-migrated domains. These synthetic seismic models help in understanding and predicting the seismic architecture and character of the palaeoescarpment and resedimented slope deposits.

Paleokarst originates from the collapse, degradation, and infill of karstified rock, and it typically features spatially heterogeneous elements such as breakdown products, sediment infills, and preserved open cavities on all scales. Paleokarst may further contain aquifer or hydrocarbon reservoirs and may pose a drilling hazard during exploration. Seismic characterization of paleokarst reservoirs therefore remains a challenging and important task. We have determined how the application of 2D (3D) spatial convolution operators, referred to as point-spread functions (PSFs), allows for seismic modeling of complex and heterogeneous paleokarst geology at a cost equivalent to conventional repeated 1D convolution. Unlike the latter, which only considers vertical resolution effects, PSF-based convolution modeling yields simulated prestack depth-migrated images accounting for 3D resolution effects vertically and laterally caused by acquisition geometries, frequency-band limitations, and propagation effects in the overburden. We confirm the validity of the approach by a comparison of modeled results to results obtained from a published physical modeling experiment. Finally, we present four additional separate case studies to highlight the usability and flexibility of the approach by assessing different issues and challenges pertaining to characterizing and interpreting seismic features of paleokarst. Through PSF-based convolution modeling, geoscientists working with paleokarst seismic data may be better able to understand how various acquisition and modeling parameters affect seismic images of paleokarst geology.

We analyze data from passive and active seismic experiments conducted in the Adventdalen valley of Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic. Our objective is to characterize the ambient wavefield of the region and to investigate permafrost dynamics through estimates of seismic velocity variations. We are motivated by a need for early geophysical detection of potentially hazardous changes to permafrost stability. We draw upon several data sources to constrain various aspects of seismic wave propagation in Adventdalen. We use f-k analysis of five years of continuous data from the Spitsbergen seismic array (SPITS) to demonstrate that ambient seismic noise on Svalbard consists of continuously present body waves and intermittent surface waves appearing at regular intervals. A change in wavefield direction accompanies the sudden onset of surface waves when the average temperature rises above the freezing point, suggesting a cryogenic origin. This hypothesis is supported further by our analysis of records from a temporary broadband network, which indicates that the background wavefield is dominated by icequakes. Synthetic Green's functions calculated from a 3D velocity model match well with empirical Green's functions constructed from the recorded ambient seismic noise. We use a shallow shear-wave velocity model, obtained from active seismic measurements, to estimate the maximum depth of Rayleigh wave sensitivity to changes in shear velocity to be in the 50-100 m range. We extract seasonal variations in seismic velocities from ambient noise cross-correlation functions computed over three years of SPITS data. We attribute relative velocity variations to changes in the ice content of the shallow (2-4 m depth) permafrost, which is sensitive to seasonal temperature changes. A linear decreasing trend in seismic velocity is observed over the years, most likely due to permafrost warming.

Seismic mapping of subsurface faults is hampered by factors such as seismic resolution, velocity control for depth conversion and human bias. Here, we explore the challenges and pitfalls related to interpreting normal faults by comparing objective and subjective uncertainties. A panel of 20 interpreters, with different geoscientific backgrounds, interpreted faults in modern conventional (dominant frequency 40 Hz) and high-resolution P-Cable (dominant frequency 150 Hz) 3D seismic data from the Hoop area, SW Barents Sea. The interpretations created by the test-panel were sorted into 10 scenarios characterized by different fault geometries. These scenarios were explored with 2(3)D point-spread function based convolution seismic modelling to investigate the potential of seismic data to image detailed fault architectures. The results reveal that: (1) Statistical analysis shows considerable variations between manually picked faults. (2) Identifying the location of fault tips is challenging and smaller antithetic faults are rarely recognizable. (3) Uncertainties arise from masking of closely spaced fault segments even where displacement values are large, showing distorted reflection signatures of apparent extensional fault tip monoclines. The distortion is larger for conventional versus high-resolution data. (4) In the conventional and high-resolution seismic data the vertical resolution of closely spaced reflections and small offset faults is 20 m and 5 m, respectively. (5) The utilisation of high-resolution seismic data, combined with seismic modelling, add confidence to interpretation of conventional seismic data in the same area. We conclude that subsurface fault mapping with seismic data requires insight in objective uncertainties associated with the data. Automatic machine-learning fault interpretation is void of subjective bias but still hampered by objective limitations. Further, a risking workflow requires acknowledgement of uncertainties that are transferred to seismic based fault analysis techniques such as juxtaposition analysis, quantitative fault seal analysis, and fault stability analysis.