2.13 Warning Dialogs

Dialog boxes are activated by the program to warn of inappropriate and invalid data entries to both the EDIT menu, EXEC menu and the file retrieval dialog (see Section 2.06).

When changing values of variables input from the EDIT menu, Error Reports may be generated by bad data entries. If for instance a Basin Surface is given an age out of the range of the simulation an Error Report dialog is generated (Figure 2.13.1). Buttons on the dialog are:

€ Continue which enables the editing session to continue;
€ Stop and Fix, which enables the problem entry to be changed. Similarly if a variable, which is time-dependent, is given an age which is out of the time range of the simulation an Error Report for Time Range is generated (Figure 2.13.2).

Figure 2.13.1 Error report for a Basin Surface whose Age Marker is out of the range of the simulation.

Figure 2.13.2 Error report for a data point on the Sea Level chart that is out of the Time Range of the simulation.

Inappropriate execution of the program triggers Warning dialogs which are accompanied by similar messages which appear within the lower left border of the SEDPAK SIMULATION window (Figure 2.13.3). For instance if, when executing the simulation for clastic deposition, the program is unable to find the shoreline, (either because the shore lies above the basin edge or because the basin is overfilled with sediment), a warning of a Shore Error is given in the dialog area, lower left hand corner of the SEDPAK simulation window and a warning dialog box (Figure 2.13.2) is activated too!

Figure 2.13.3 SEDPAK SIMULATION with shore error message on lower left border of window.

Figure 2.13.4 Dialog box warning of shore error.

If a Directory is highlighted on the File dialog (see Section 2.06) and instead of clicking Filter, OK is pressed, a warning is activated that no file (e.g. .db, .sur, or .facies, etc.) has been given.

Figure 2.13.5 Dialog warning of no .db file given.

If bad data are entered for a parameter activated from the EDIT menu, e.g., a negative number instead of positive, this generates a dialog reading:

Figure 2.13.6. Dialog warning that sediment supply cannot be negative.

Since a bad data entry of the kind described in Figure 2.13.6 will not allow the program to run and the EXEC loses contact with the simulation, a warning is activated as given in Figure 2.13.7.

Figure 2.13.7 Dialog warning of break in communication of the EXEC with the simulation.

If a number that has been entered either into the Plotting Controls or the Display Controls of the EXEC menu which is outside the appropriate range other warning dialogs are activated (Figures 2.13.7 and 2.13.8).

Figure 2.13.8 Dialog warning of out of range value for "n" steps.

Figure 2.13.9 Dialog warning of too many time steps set for simulation.

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2.14 User Inputs versus Default Values in SEDPAK

Each operation module in Table 2.2.2 may require one or more user-defined input values. Many of the inputs must be specified for proper initialization of SEDPAK. It is recommended that this manual be read, since it describes the simulation input values in the order that they are displayed by SEDPAK's interactive editor.

Modules within the program may also use certain variables whose values have been preset and are permanent. The program is supplied as compiled code, so these values cannot be altered by the user. Although they cannot be changed, interpretation of the simulation results and performance of the software depends on knowledge of these parameters, so their effects can be identified and correlated with the observed SEDPAK outputs.

The problem of the use of default values for variables shown throughout Section 3 can be avoided by using suitable values provided in the Benchmark files of the Benchmark Directory. However, remember that once variables in these input files are changed, the other values in the Benchmark files may no longer be appropriate for that SEDPAK simulation. Moreover, the SEDPAK simulation may not execute because the combination of user-defined values and the values set in the Benchmarks may not satisfy the constraints of the model which SEDPAK is attempting to simulate. In this case the problematic values of these variables should be changed.

2.15 Non-Interactive Execution of SEDPAK

SEDPAK may be executed as a non-interactive program. This is primarily of use when SEDPAK is to be used in "batch" mode so that SEDPAK will read an input file and produce an output file. The output file contains numeric information sufficient for another computer application to reconstruct the geometries produced by SEDPAK. Additional information regarding this mode of execution is available as a Technical Supplement in Appendix A of this manual.

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2.16 Overlay

This function is used to overlay SEDPAK time line surfaces over a previously digitized gif image of a seismic line or well cross section (Figure 2.16.1). It can be used to compare data in the form of seismic data and/or interpolative stratigraphic cross sections directly with SEDPAK simulation outputs. The function is initiated from the SEDPAK LAUNCH menu, by clicking on overlay. This produces an empty Overlay display window which, as in Figure 2.16.1, has a menu bar with pull down menus which include File, Well Options, General Options, and Help.

Figure 2.16.1. Overlay Window with "gif " image of scanned uninterpreted and interpreted seismic. Upper part of image overlain by SEDPAK basin surfaces outlined in white

File contains the menu items Load Cross Section, Load Sedpak, Unload Cross Section, Unload Sedpak, and Quit.

€ Load Cross Section invokes a file dialog entitled Load Cross Section which enables the user to navigate to the directory to where the gif image is stored of the cross-section being modeled (see Section 2.06 on the File Menu ). Files containing the extension .gif will be searched for automatically. gif files should be images of scanned interpreted seismic and/or may be images of well cross sections (Figure 2.16.1). The way in which these images are scanned is a matter of personal preference or convenience, but whatever their origin, these images have to be saved in gif format to be read by SEDPAK.

€ Load Sedpak similarly invokes a dialog to retrieve the previously generated Surface File of the SEDPAK output. This surface file is created from the SEDPAK EXEC menu by pulling down the File menu to make a Surface Snapshot. This creates a file of the currently displayed SEDPAK output in the SEDPAK SIMULATION WINDOW which is saved using the dialog box activated by this action. The program automatically appends the extension .sur to the file. Its output can be displayed as in Figure 2.16.2. Sometimes the frequency of basin surfaces is so high that when they are overlaid on the .gif file of the basin cross section, the overlap of the surface lines produces a solid mass, or the lines are so close together they are difficult to separate. When this happens the General Options menu should be pulled down and the Line Density cascade menu activated. Different line frequencies can be tried down to the level of sequence boundaries to produce the most suitable basin surface overlay.

Figure 2.16.2. Overlay surface file output.

€ Unload Cross Section and Unload Sedpak are menu options which remove the current gif image and the SEDPAK surface data respectively from the Overlay display window.

€ Quit causes the Overlay function to terminate.

The Well options menus are Create Sedimentary well, Create Time Boundary Well, and Remove Well. These menu items are used once the "surface file" has been loaded into the Overlay display window.

Figure 2.16.3. The Overlay dialog box used to place a well on the basin surfaces.

€ Create Sedimentary Well produces the Create Sedimentary Well dialog (Figure 2.16.3) which enables the positioning of a pseudo well on the cross section by column number and width. This displays a single color column which can be matched in position to a real well (Figure 2.16.4). The width of column is controlled by clicking the mouse at the side of the scroll bar; and the bar will move towards the mouse arrow by a unit each time it is clicked.

€ Create Time Boundary Well produces the Create Time Boundary Well dialog which also enables the positioning of a pseudo well on the cross section by column number and width. This displays column striped by alternating colored layers that match the time layers of the "surface a file" display.

€ Remove Well removes the well display from the Overlay display window.

Figure 2.16.4. Overlay sediment pseudo well.

The General Options pull-down menu includes the following cascade menu items:

€ Line Color (Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow) colors the lines of the surface file display.
€ Line width (Thinnest, Thin, Normal, Thick, Thicker) controls the thickness of the lines of the "surface file" display.
€ Line Density (All Lines, Every Third Line, Every Sixth Line, Every Ninth Line) controls the number of lines of the "surface file" display.
€ Handle Color (Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow) controls the "handles" on the corners of the "surface file" - these are grabbed with the mouse to change the dimensions of the overlay display; Handle Size (Tiny, Small, Medium, Large) which controls the size of the handles on the corners of the "surface file".
€ Well Line Color (Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow) controls the outline color of the pseudo well placed on the overlay display.
€ Well Line Width (Thinnest, Thin, Normal, Thick, Thicker) controls the width of the pseudo well outline.
€ Show Lines In Well (Yes, No) controls the presence of the time lines crossing the pseudo well placed on the overlay display.
€ Reset To Defaults returns the display characteristics to those of the default set.

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2.17 Adobe

It is often desirable to modify SEDPAK simulation output by changing or adding labels or text. This function enables the creation of an Adobe Illustrator Postscript file of SEDPAK simulation output which can be graphically edited on a Mac or PC with the Adobe Illustrator application. Initially, a Postscript file is created from the SEDPAK EXEC menu. Pause the SEDPAK execution of the simulation at the time step that an Adobe Illustrator Postscript file is desired. Pull down the File menu on the SEDPAK EXEC menu and select Print Selection and to File. This invokes a dialog for selecting an output file. Now select Adobe on the SEDPAK LAUNCH icon menu to invoke the SEDPAK to Adobe dialog (Figure 2.17.1). Retrieve the Postscript file saved earlier by clicking on it in the dialog. This copies the file name to the Selection type in area. Press OK and the Postscript file will be converted into an Adobe file with a similar name but with .adobe as a suffix, e.g. filename.adobe. This image can then be transferred to a Mac or PC using the "ftp" facility or floppy disk, and edited with the Adobe Illustrator program.

Figure 2.17.1. Sedpak to Adobe dialog for changing SEDPAK Postscript file to Adobe Illustrator format.

Chapter 3

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