  Modern geosciences have to deal with large quantities and a wide variety of
data, including 2-D, 3-D and 4-D seismic surveys, well logs generated by
sensors, detailed lithological records, satellite images and meteorological
records. These data serve important industries, such as the exploration of
mineral deposits and the production of energy (Oil and Gas, Geothermal, Wind,
Hydroelectric), are important in the study of the earth crust to reduce the
impact of earthquakes, in land use planning, and have a fundamental role in
sustainability.
  The volume of raw data being stored by different earth science archives today
makes it impossible to rely on manual examination by scientists. The data
volumes resultant of different sources, from terrestrial or aerial to satellite
surveys, will reach a terabyte per day by the time all the planned satellites
are flown. In particular, the oil industry has been using large quantities of
data for quite a long time. Although there are published works in this area
since the 70s, these days, the ubiquity of computing and sensor devices enables
the collection of higher resolution data in real time, giving a new life to a
mature industrial field. Understanding and finding value in this data has an
impact on the efficiency of the operations in the oil and gas production chain.
Efficiency gains are particularly important since the steep fall in oil prices
in 2014, and represent an important opportunity for data mining and data
science.
