Patent ID: 7433785

Claim:
A method for predicting the grain size distribution at a designated location within a water-lain sedimentary deposit that is used to determine the general geologic structure of a subsurface region for hydrocarbon exploration or development, said method comprising: (a) determining the vertical thickness of said sedimentary deposit at said designated location; (b) determining the vertical thickness of said sedimentary deposit and the grain size distribution in said sedimentary deposit at a second location within said deposit; (c) determining a distance parameter corresponding to said designated location and said second location; (d) using said distance parameter, said vertical thicknesses at the designated location and at the second location, said grain size distribution at said second location, and a settling velocity of grains within a fluid flow from which said deposit was formed, to calculate said grain size distribution at said designated location based on physics of sediment transport mechanisms; and (e) using the calculated grain size distribution to determine the general geologic structure of a subsurface region for hydrocarbon exploration or development.