Introduction to Geophysical Imaging

Using reflection seismic data such as shown in Figure 1 we create models of the Earths near surface (Figure 2).

Time

Figure 1: Migrated seismic section. (Conoco seismic processing. Shown with permission.)

Figure 2: Idealized model.

Velocity

Depth

This text assists you in understanding the steps in the creation

of data such as in Figure 1 so that you will be able to judge the
accuracy of the subsequent models (Figure 2).

While this text contains examples from the hydrocarbon

industry, its relevance extends beyond that industry. In the last
few years, other geophysical practitioners adopted the
petroleum industrys seismic processing techniques. Figure 3
shows such an example. It illustrates the use of seismic
processing techniques, including prestack depth migration, as
applied to radar data. This figure displays two, 2D intersecting
radar images. Notice the vertical axis extends to 20 meters, a
depth the traditional seismic processing geophysicists would
term the surface. While the petroleum industry supplied the
examples in the following chapters, their techniques are also
applicable to near-surface imaging applications.

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Depth (m)

Figure 3: Prestack depth migration of radar data. (Bradford, 2006) Permission granted by author.

Introduction to Geophysical Imaging

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