Seismic Imaging And Inversion Volume 1

Describes the use of inverse scattering theory in seismic imaging for seismic processing practitioners and theoretical geophysicists.

This second volume provides a foundation for understanding the vigorous, relevant, and fascinating field of seismic processing, addressing that portion which precedes migration. Written for the non-expert, this second volume of the two-volume introductory text reveals the limitations and potential pitfalls of seismic data, prepares both seismic interpreters and acquisition specialists for working with seismic processing geophysicists, explains seismic processing operations as a series of solutions to problems, and demonstrates the dependence of a final interpretable seismic volume on its many seismic processing decisions. Although seismic processing is inherently mathematical, this text uses numerous illustrations and real data examples, providing an intuitive understanding of the seismic processing procedures and resorting to an algebra-based argument only on rare occasions. The first volume starts with migration. This second volume addresses pre-migration processing. In combination, these two volumes present seismic processing topics in order reverse of a typical processing sequence. Through this reverse ordering, the reader understands an algorithm's input requirements, providing motivation for understanding the preceding algorithm in the processing sequence.

For more than 80 years, the oil and gas industry has used seismic methods to construct images and determine physical characteristics of rocks that can yield information about oil and gas bearing structures in the earth. This book presents the different seismic data processing methods, also known as seismic "migration," in a unified mathematical way. The book serves as a bridge between the applied math and geophysics communities by presenting geophysicists with a practical introduction to advanced engineering mathematics, while presenting mathematicians with a window into the world of the mathematically sophisticated geophysicist.

This book describes the theory and practice of inverting seismic data for the subsurface rock properties of the earth. The primary application is for inverting reflection and/or transmission data from engineering or exploration surveys, but the methods described also can be used for earthquake studies. Seismic Inversion will be of benefit to scientists and advanced students in engineering, earth sciences, and physics. It is desirable that the reader has some familiarity with certain aspects of numerical computation, such as finite-difference solutions to partial differential equations, numerical linear algebra, and the basic physics of wave propagation. For those not familiar with the terminology and methods of seismic exploration, a brief introduction is provided. To truly understand the nuances of seismic inversion, we have to actively practice what we preach (or teach). Therefore, computational labs are provided for most of the chapters, and some field data labs are given as well.

"Extracting information from seismic data requires knowledge of seismic wave propagation and reflection. The commonly used method involves solving linearly for a reflectivity at every point within the Earth. The resulting reflectivity, however, is not an intrinsic Earth property, and cannot easily be extended to nonlinear processes which might provide a deeper understanding and a more accurate image of the subsurface"--

"Extracting information from seismic data requires knowledge of seismic wave propagation and reflection. The commonly used method involves solving linearly for a reflectivity at every point within the Earth. The resulting reflectivity, however, is not an intrinsic Earth property, and cannot easily be extended to nonlinear processes which might provide a deeper understanding and a more accurate image of the subsurface"--

Written for practicing geophysicists, “Land Seismic Case Studies for Near-Surface Modeling and Subsurface Imaging” is a comprehensive guide to understanding and interpreting seismic data. The culmination of land seismic data acquisition and processing projects conducted by the author over the last two decades, this book contains more than nearly 800 figures from worldwide case studies—conducted in both 2D and 3D. Beginning with Chapter 1 on seismic characterization of the near-surface, Chapter 2 presents near-surface modeling by traveltime and full-wave inversion, Chapter 3 presents near-surface modeling by imaging, and then Chapter 4 includes detailed case studies for near-surface modeling. Chapter 5 reviews single- and multichannel signal processing of land seismic data with the key objective of removing surface waves and guided waves that are characterized as coherent linear noise. Uncommon seismic data acquisition methods, including large-offset acquisition in thrust belts to capture the large-amplitude supercritical reflections, swath-line acquisition, and joint PP and SH- SH seismic imaging are highlighted in Chapter 6, and Chapter 7 presents image-based rms velocity estimation and discusses the problem of velocity uncertainty. The final two chapters focus exclusively on case studies: 2D in Chapter 8 and 3D in Chapter 9. An outstanding teaching tool, this book includes analysis workflows containing processing steps designed to solve specific problems. Essential for anyone involved in acquisition, processing, and inversion of seismic data, this volume will become the definitive reference for understanding how the variables in seismic acquisition are directly reflected in the data.

Expanding the author's original work on processing to include inversion and interpretation, and including developments in all aspects of conventional processing, this two-volume set is a comprehensive and complete coverage of the modern trends in the seismic industry - from time to depth, from 3D to 4D, from 4D to 4C, and from isotropy to anisotropy.