Patent ID: 8547793

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving data from a velocity model for seismic modeling, the velocity model representing a subsurface earth volume in a time domain; receiving well depth data associated with the subsurface earth volume; extracting uncorrected average velocity surfaces of time horizons in the velocity model using a velocity cube of the velocity model; extracting average velocities at well markers in the well depth data; and correcting, using a processor, a velocity object of the velocity model in accordance with the well depth data, wherein correcting the velocity object comprises: calculating corrected average velocity surfaces for the time horizons based on the average velocities at the well markers; calculating correction factor surfaces for the time horizons; calculating a corrected average velocity cube; combining well markers in neighboring cells of the corrected average velocity cube into groups; estimating average velocity values in cells that surround the well markers in the corrected average velocity cube by minimizing an error in average velocity for each of the groups; and updating the corrected average velocity cube with the average velocity values estimated in the cells that surround the well markers, to reconcile the time horizons in the average velocity cube with the well depth data.