Seismic data analysis using local time-frequency decomposition

Published as Geophysical Prospecting, 61, 516-525 (2013)

Seismic data analysis using local time-frequency decomposition

Yang Liu, Sergey Fomel
College of Geo-exploration Science and Technology,
Jilin University
No.6 Xi minzhu street,
Changchun, China, 130026
Bureau of Economic Geology,
John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences
The University of Texas at Austin
University Station, Box X
Austin, TX, USA, 78713-8924

Abstract:

Many natural phenomena, including geologic events and geophysical data, are fundamentally nonstationary - exhibiting statistical variation that changes in space and time. Time-frequency characterization is useful for analyzing such data, seismic traces in particular.

We present a novel time-frequency decomposition, which aims at depicting the nonstationary character of seismic data. The proposed decomposition uses a Fourier basis to match the target signal using regularized least-squares inversion. The decomposition is invertible, which makes it suitable for analyzing nonstationary data. The proposed method can provide more flexible time-frequency representation than the classical S transform. Results of applying the method to both synthetic and field data examples demonstrate that the local time-frequency decomposition can characterize nonstationary variation of seismic data and be used in practical applications, such as seismic ground-roll noise attenuation and multicomponent data registration.

Seismic data analysis using local time-frequency decomposition