In contrast to existing methods wherein derived horizons are interpreted in isolation, the disclosure provides a process that does not interpret patches themselves but determines the relationships between patches, in order to associate and link patches to derive a holistic geological interpretation. Predefined patches, such as from a pre-interpreted suite, are received as inputs to determine the relationships and derive an interpretation for a complete volume. In one aspect the disclosure provides an automated method of generating a geological age model for a subterranean area. In one example, the automated method includes: (1) abstracting seismic data of a subsurface into a limited number of patches, (2) abstracting the patches by defining patch-links between the patches, and (3) generating a geological age model of the subsurface by solving for the relative geological age of each of the patches using the patch-links.