For those accustomed to thinking in terms of realistic 3D models and animated movies, there would seem to be little connection between a graphics card and a deep-water oil well. Even less intuitive is the notion that the same technologies powering today's most immersive video games might lead to increased energy independence tomorrow. But as oil and gas companies seek new ways to work with the ever-larger datasets involved in exploration and seismic analysis, the industry is being transformed through the processing power of general-purpose GPU computing, as well as the increasing graphics memory and GPU density now available for visualization. Its a long way from the graphics industry's roots, but for a geoscientist, an untapped energy resource can make for the prettiest picture of all.
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