Geosoft in Toronto offers Oasis montaj, a mapping and geological data analysis tool for subsurfaces and ocean floors.
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Surfer
Score 9.0 out of 10
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Surfer is a data visualization suite from Golden Software in Colorado for oil and gas companies, or other entities in other industries requiring geological or environmental data.
As I mention throughout the review, Oasis montaj shines both for processing and visualizing data while working with gravimetric data . It's 2D and 3D geologic basement models can be really detailed and, depending on the interpreter, can be really accurate. Plus, they can serve as an excellent tool for oil exploration when integrating them with seismic and well log information. Since it is an expensive software, small companies or universities with low budgets would be better using other programming tools.
Surfer has been excellent for us, a small company, to process the electrical resistivity, refraction microtremor, and MASW data collected in the field. There are an increasing number of programs capable of assisting in this geophysical analysis but Surfer is the most advanced. The ability to create both 2D and 3D figures in the program while managing data is a huge help. It also greatly improved report quality and helped clients better understand what the results were for a study.
Geological basement modeling both in 2D and in 3D.
Processing and quality control on geophysical, geochemical and geological data.
Data both in the database or uploaded is provided through a spreadsheet and an integrated profile display window, so it is extremely easy to visualize the information or modify it.
The user interface can be tricky at first. It's a little rough around the edges and takes a little time to get the hang of.
Not an ideal application for older employees. There are too many things with the interface that make it not worthwhile to train employees with less computer experience.
Manipulating data within Surfer is difficult because you have to do things in a certain order. Not terrible if you get the hang of it but certainly frustrating at first.
Surfer is very unique with respect to its capabilities. I am not aware of any other mapping software that is at the same time flexible, has a friendly interface, and creates such nice-looking maps.
Using oasis montaj allowed to work on several projects for gravimetric data interpretation that represented a great profit for our business.
Oasis was an excellent learning tool that brought profit to our university since all the work we did were actual problems that when solved generated profit for the faculty
The worst thing about Surfer is the cost. My company can only afford one license at the moment which means only one employee gets to use it regularly. Not so great when someone is sick or you have a huge wave of projects.
The user interface is a little rough but younger employees have been great at catching on quickly and producing great images.
There's nothing else quite like Surfer. It's versatile and not to difficult to use so, though the licenses are expensive, it is an excellent program that has done wonders for our company!
