Seismic reflector characterization by a multiscale detection-estimation method

Seismic transitions of the subsurface are typically considered as zero-order singularities (step functions). According to this model, the conventional deconvolution problem aims at recovering the seismic reflectivity as a sparse spike train. However, recent multiscale analysis on sedimentary records revealed the existence of accumulations of varying order singularities in the subsurface, which give rise to fractional-order discontinuities. This observation not only calls for a richer class of seismic reflection waveforms, but it also requires a different methodology to detect and characterize these reflection events. For instance, the assumptions underlying conventional deconvolution no longer hold. Because of the bandwidth limitation of seismic data, multiscale analysis methods based on the decay rate of wavelet coefficients may yield ambiguous results. We avoid this problem by formulating the estimation of the singularity orders by a parametric nonlinear inversion method.

https://slim.gatech.edu/Publications/Public/Conferences/EAGE/2007/maysam...