An Object-Oriented Expert System for Sedimentary Basin Analysis

MILLER, BETTY M., U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA

Some of the basic earth-science problems that span industry, academia, and the government, and are likely candidates for the application of knowledge-based expert systems, pertain to energy and mineral resource studies. Most of the world's energy resources and many of its metallic and mineral resources are derived from complex sources in sedimentary basins. A comprehensive basin analysis requires an understanding of data from many specialities including sedimentology, stratigraphy, geophysics, structural geology, and geochemistry. Such an integrated analysis is almost impossible without a computer.

Research efforts in the U.S. Geological Survey are currently being directed at exploring the feasibility of applying expert systems and knowledge acquisition techniques to the design and development of a global system of classification and geological analysis of sedimentary basins to assess their petroleum potential. The primary objective is the design of a prototype object-oriented expert system, interfaced with a Geographic Information System (GIS), that captures both the logic used to define the geologic concepts and the reasoning under uncertainty that enables geologists to understand and reconstruct the geologic history of a sedimentary basins.

Several hybrid expert systems that have the ability to support both a reasoning system and an object-oriented representation currently are being used as design tools to provide high-level expert-oriented features to create, edit, and build knowledge bases for the basin analysis program. These basin systems provide these capabilities through documentation of major basin analysis components such as stratigraphy, structural geology, and sedimentology. The systems are designed to analyze the traditional concepts of source, reservoir, and trapping mechanism; to help diagnose geologic conditions favorable for the occurrence of petroleum or other energy resources; and to assist in assessing these resources. The design and content of the expert systems program is discussed for application to asin analysis studies to aid in petroleum resource assessment.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91005 © 1991 Eastern Section Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 8-10, 1991 (2009)