E

E: 1. Exa, the SI prefix for 10 18 . 2. The electric field
vector.
␧: Epsilon 共q.v.兲. 1. Dielectric permittivity; see Maxwell’s
equations. 2. One of the Thomsen anisotropic param-
eters 共q.v.兲.
␩: Eta 共q.v.兲. 1. Electric susceptability 共q.v.兲. 2. One of the
Thomsen anisotropic parameters 共q.v.兲.
EAGEÕSEG 3D models: See SEG/EAGE 3D models and
Figure S-3.
E&P: Exploration and Production.
early-time apparent resistivity: See apparent resistivity.
earth, Earth: 1. Ground or soil, the solid component of
the Earth. 2. Ground potential; the electrical reference
potential. 3. Capitalized when it means the third planet
in the solar system.
Earth’s gravity field: The field varies from about 978 000
mGal at the equator to 983 000 mGal at the poles. See
International gravity formula and gravitational con-
stant.
earth holography: 共⳵rth hō’log r⳵ fē兲 Recording of the
wave pattern from a constant frequency source along
with a reference wave. The resulting hologram can be
viewed by light to allow one to ‘‘see’’ in 3D the
structure that generated the wave pattern. See hologra-
phy and Hoover 共1972兲.
Earth’s magnetic field: See magnetic field of the Earth
and normal magnetic field.
Earth model: A numerical representation of some prop-
erty 共e.g., seismic velocity or density兲 as a function of
location. Geophysical models of the whole Earth often
assume that it consists of concentric, homogeneous, and
isotropic layers within each of which the velocity varies
smoothly. The deeper layering and variation of physical
properties with depth is indicated in Figure E-1. Ray-
paths and wavefronts for direct P-waves are shown in
Figure E-2.
earthquake: Sudden movement of the earth resulting
from the abrupt release of accumulated strain, usually a
result of faulting or volcanism. An earthquake is clas-
sified according to the depth of its focus or hypocenter:
shallow ⬍60 km, intermediate ⬍300 km, deep
⬎300 km (sometimes⬎450 km). The seismicity of
an area is its likelihood of having earthquakes. Some of
the energy released in an earthquake is radiated as
seismic energy. Intensity is a measure of the effects of
the ground motion at a specific locality; magnitude is a

FIG. E-1. Earth layering. „a… Terminology. „b… Variation of physical properties with depth within the Earth. P
⫽pressure in 10 11 Pa, ␳ ⫽density in g/cm3, ␤ ⫽S-wave velocity in km/s, ␣ ⫽P-wave velocity in km/s, G⫽gravity in Gal,
T⫽temperature in K. The dashed curve represents the solidus in the core. (After Haddon and Bullen, 1969.)

112
earthquake prediction 113 eccentricity

measure of the energy released in an earthquake; see
intensity scale and magnitude of earthquake.
earthquake prediction: The aspect of seismology that
deals with the conditions or indications that precede an
earthquake, with the objective of predicting the magni-
tude, time, and location of an impending shock.
earthquake seismology: Study of earthquakes and their
resulting seismic waves as a means of understanding
the structure of the Earth. A schematic seismic record
showing several of the wave arrivals from an earth-
quake is shown in Figure E-3. The scheme for identi-
fying different arrivals is discussed under wave notation
共q.v.兲. The time intervals between different arrivals
depend upon the distance from the earthquake hypo-
center to the observing station; see Jeffreys-Bullen
curves.
Earth tide: Deformation because of Earth-Moon-Sun
gravitational effects. Produces displacements of the
solid Earth up to about 10 cm and creates up to 0.2–0.3
mGal gravity effect.
easting: 1. Distance east of a reference line. See depar-
ture. In the Universal Transverse Mercator system
共q.v.兲 each standard meridian is assigned the value 500
000 m so that distances west of it will have positive
values; this is called false easting. 3. Component of a
survey leg in the east direction.
EBCDIC: Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange
Code, a computer code for character symbols. Used
mainly on IBM mainframe computers.
eccentering arm: A device that presses a well-logging
sonde against the borehole wall. See Figure D-5a.
eccentricity: 共ek, sen tris’ ⳵ t⳵兲 1. The ratio of the focus-
to-center distance to the length of the semimajor axis
for an ellipse; see Figure E-12. 2. The condition occur-

FIG. E-2. „a… Earthquake wavefronts and raypaths for direct P-waves. (From Gutenberg 1959.) „b… Raypaths for some
reflected and refracted waves illustrating wave nomenclature. See also wave notation.
Eccles-Jordan trigger
FIG. E-3. Earthquake seimogram schematic (a) The vertical component; (b) one horizontal component.
ring when the source is not located at 共or perpendicu-
larly offset to兲 the center of what is intended to be a
split spread. This occurs on marine records when a
separate source boat is employed.
Eccles-Jordan trigger: 共ek’ ⳵lz jord’ ⳵n兲 A flip-flop 共q.v.兲
device.
ECF: Elevation Correction Factor. See elevation correc-
tion.
echelon: 共esh’ ⳵ lon兲 A staggered arrangement of parallel
features; see Figure E-4. Usually called en echelon.
echo check: See check.
echogram: An echo sounder or fathometer record.
echo logging: Ultrasonic surveying of a cavity such as a
storage reservoir in a salt dome.
echo sounder: Fathometer 共q.v.兲.
ecliptic: 共i klip’ tik兲 The apparent annual path of the Sun
among the stars. The plane of the Earth’s orbit and the
approximate plane of the solar system.
ecliptic coordinates: Celestial latitude and celestial longi-
tude.
economic basement: See basement.
EDA: Extensive Dilatancy Anisotropy. See anisotropy
(seismic).
eddy current: 共ed’ ē兲 A circulating electrical current
induced in a conductive body by a time-varying mag-
netic field. Lenz’s law states that the direction of eddy
current flow is such as to produce a secondary magnetic
field that opposes the primary field. The secondary field
has a quadrature component that depends on the ratio of
the resistance to the reactance of the eddy-current path.
In electromagnetic prospecting, eddy currents should be
distinguished from naturally occurring currents or those
of natural electrochemical origin.
edge detection: Processing to emphasize edge disconti-
nuities.
edge effects: Distortions at the edge of a domain that are
artifacts of the implicit assumptions of a numerical
algorithm or of the limited span of data used to solve
the problem. Common in computer contouring.
edit: To prepare data, text, etc. for processing. 1. Specifi-
cally, to prepare a digital tape containing geophysical
information. Editing often involves rearranging data
共reformatting兲, testing data validity, deleting unwanted
data 共killing兲, selection of data, insertion of data 共such
FIG. E-4. Echelon arrangement.
114 effort
as headers, process parameters, or instructions兲, break-
ing the data up into blocks 共gapping兲, etc. Editing may
involve some calculations 共such as removing the effects
of the gain changes that were made in recording and
substituting a correction for spherical divergence兲. It
may include static-shift and normal-moveout correc-
tions. 2. The removal of data that are judged not to be
members of the set to be analyzed 共perhaps because a
measurement does not fit with other data兲, e.g., the
removal from navigation-satellite data of Doppler
counts for which the satellite was low in the sky.
editor: A program that permits a user to create new files or
to modify existing files.
EDM: Electronic Distance Measurement.
eel: 共ēl兲 An array of hydrophones in a separate cable. A
tube containing a hydrophone group fastened to a
streamer that floats on the surface or to a cable that is
laid on or dragged along the sea floor. With a surface
streamer, this permits the hydrophones to be deep
enough in the water to improve their response and still
remove them from surface noise while keeping the
streamer above obstacles such as reefs or wrecks that
would threaten it if it were deeper in the water or
dragged along the sea floor. With a bottom cable, eels
allow use of a light cable and modular replacement of
arrays, and it permits the hydrophones to float above
the bottom so that they have good uniform coupling.
EEZ: Exclusive Economic Zone, a marine area where
mineral exploration/exploitation activities are reserved
to the adjacent country but that is generally open to
shipping.
effective aperture: See aperture.
effective array length: See array (seismic).
effective bandwidth: See bandwidth.
effective depth: Skin depth 共q.v.兲.
effective permeability: The presence of one fluid effec-
tively changes the permeability to another fluid, hence
the effective permeability of fluids depends on their
relative saturations.
effective porosity: Connected porosity through which
pore fluids can flow freely. See porosity.
effective pressure: Differential pressure 共q.v.兲.
effective stress: Differential pressure 共q.v.兲.
efferent: Opposite of afferent 共q.v.兲.
E-field ratio telluric method: See telluric profiling.
effort: The number of separate elements combined
together to produce the final product. For example, the
number of separate raypaths that are combined, that is,
the number of energy sources 共holes, thumps, pops,
etc.兲 per source point times the number of geophones
per group times the number of records stacked or
Eh
mixed. Also called multiplicity.
Eh: Oxidation potential.
eigencurrents: Eddy currents that circulate in a finite con-
ducting body.
eigenfrequency: See eigenfunction.
eigenfunction: 共ı̄ g⳵n fun, sh⳵n兲 One of a set of functions
that satisfies both a differential equation and a set of
boundary conditions. For example, a stretched string or
an organ pipe might vibrate in a number of modes, each
with a characteristic frequency 共eigenfrequency, eigen-
value, or characteristic root兲. The superposition of
these eigenfunctions is the general solution. The eigen-
functions corresponding to different eigenvalues are
orthogonal 共or independent兲. ‘‘Eigen’’ is German for
‘‘characteristic.’’
eigenstate: The condition of a system represented by one
eigenfunction 共q.v.兲.
eigenvalue: 共ı̄ g⳵n val, yoo兲 See eigenfunction.
eigenvector: A nonzero vector whose direction is not
changed in a linear transformation in multicomponent
parameter space. The multicomponents distinguish the
mode of the system. Also called a characteristic vec-
tor.
eikonal equation: 共ı̄ kōn’ ⳵l兲 A form of the wave equation
for harmonic waves in which the local velocity V is
compared to a reference velocity V R 共analogous to
comparing a velocity to the speed of light in vacuum兲:
FIG. E-5. Elastic constants for isotropic media expressed in terms of each other and P- and S-wave velocities (␣
⫽V P and ␤ ⫽V S ,) and density ␳.
115 elastic constants, elastic moduli
ⵜ 2 ␾ ⫽ 共 V/V R 兲 2 ⫽n 2 ,
where n is an index of refraction and ␾ is the wave
function. Valid only where the variation of properties is
small within a wavelength, sometimes called the ‘‘high-
frequency condition.’’
eikonal traveltimes: Depth-migration operators.
elastic: 共ē las’ tik兲 The ability to return to its original
shape after removal of a distorting stress. The return of
shape is complete and essentially instantaneous rather
than gradual.
elastic afterworking: Slow creep following the cessation
of a stress.
elastic binning: Flex binning 共q.v.兲, filling out missing
elements in a bin 共especially offset elements兲 using
elements in surrounding bins.
elastic constants, elastic moduli: Elasticity deals with
deformations that vanish entirely upon removal of the
stresses that cause them. For small deformations,
Hooke’s law holds and strain is proportional to stress.
The passage of a low-amplitude seismic wave is an
example. The general elasticity tensor relating stress
and strain can be expressed as a matrix equation 共Figure
H-7兲. In anisotropic media this tensor possesses up to
18 –21 independent constants. In transversely isotro-
pic media 共where properties are the same measured in
two orthogonal directions but different in the third兲,
elastic deformation 116 Elastic wave generator™

these reduce to five independent constants 共see also
Thomsen parameters兲. Isotropic media 共where proper-
ties are the same measured in any direction兲 have only
two independent elastic constants. The stress-strain
properties of isotropic materials that obey Hooke’s law
are specified by elastic moduli 共Figure E-6兲.
elastic deformation: A nonpermanent deformation; the
body returns to its original shape when the stress is
released. Often limited to deformations in which stress
and strain are linearly related in accordance with
Hooke’s law.
elastic impedance: Acoustic impedance 共q.v.兲 that is angle
dependent, generally determined from the gradient of
an AVO plot.
elasticity tensor: The Hooke’s law relationship between
stress and strain, each of which are 2nd rank tensors, so
that the elasticity tensor is a 4th rank tensor. However,
because of symmetry, stress and strain can each be
expressed as 6 ⫻ 1 vectors so that the elasticity tensor
can be expressed as a 6 ⫻ 6 matrix. See Figure H-7.
elastic limit: The greatest stress that can be applied with-
out causing permanent deformation.
elastic medium: A material that supports both P- and
S-wave travel.
elastic moduli: Elastic constants 共q.v.兲.
elastic rebound: The sudden release of energy that has
been gradually stored as strain energy because a fault
was locked; the cause of an earthquake.
elastic wave: A seismic wave, including both P- and
S-waves.
Elastic wave generator™: An impulsive seismic energy
source that involves a spring-powered rubber mecha-

FIG. E-6. Elastic moduli in isotropic media.

elastodynamic modeling
nism that accelerates a 550 lb mass against a ground-
coupled baseplate. Tradename of Bison Instruments
Inc.
elastodynamic modeling: Seismic modeling that includes
frequency effects 共dispersion兲.
E-layer: 1. The Heaviside layer, a layer of very thin air
about 110 km high in the ionosphere that is ionized by
sun light and that reflects high-frequency 共HF兲 radio
waves back to the earth during the daytime and medium
frequency 共MF兲 waves at night. See Figure A-22 and
also F-layer and D-layer. 2. A layer within the Earth;
see Figure E-1.
elbow: A change in the direction of a line.
Elcord: An explosive delay unit, used to match explosion
velocity to formation velocity, the objective being to
send more of the energy vertically downward. Dupont
tradename. See also elongated charge.
electrical anisotropy: See anisotropy (electrical).
electrical basement: See basement.
electrical imager: See: electric imager.
electrical imaging: Inversion of a pseudosection to an
estimate of subsurface distribution of electrical conduc-
tivity. A nonunique process.
electrical methods and units: See Figures E-7 and E-8.
electrically square: Consisting of a number of similar
FIG. E-7. Electrical and electromagnetic methods. (From Swift, 1987.)
117 electric field
elements connected in a parallel-series arrangement so
that the apparent impedance is the same as that of a
single element; see Figure E-9.
electric current: Types of electric circuits encountered in
geophysics include conduction currents 共flow of elec-
trons兲, electrolytic conduction 共flow of ions兲, and
dielectric conduction 共currents involved in capacitive
storage of electric charge兲.
electric dipole: Two equal charges q of opposite sign that
are separated by the very small distance ␦ x giving a
dipole strength of q ␦ x.
electric drilling: Electric sounding 共q.v.兲.
electric field: A spatial vector quantity equal to a potential
gradient, produced by charged bodies or a time-varying
magnetic field. Unit is volts per meter. The electric field
E induced in a loop equals the negative time derivative
of the magnetic flux ␾ cutting the loop 共dI is a length
element of the loop兲:
冖
E•dI⫽⫺⳵␾ /⳵t.
It is also expressed in terms of the change in the
magnetic induction B with time t:
ⵜ⫻E⫽⫺⳵B/⳵t.
electric imager 118
electric imager: A logging tool that has numerous elec-
trodes in the form of small buttons on multiple pads.
The pads are pressed against the formation while the
tool is being logged. The image is used for dip analysis
and to determine formation fractures and vugs. See
Figure I-1 and formation microimager (FMI).
electric log: 1. A generic term including all electrical
borehole logs 共SP, normal, lateral, laterologs, induction,
microresistivity logs, electrical image log, through-
casing resistivity log兲. Two basic electrode configura-
tions are shown in Figure E-10. 2. Records of surface
resistivity surveying; compare electric survey. 3. Elec-
trolog, a borehole log that usually consists of SP and
two or more resistivity logs, such as short and long
normal and long lateral logs. Electrolog is a Dresser
Atlas tradename.
electric match: The part of a blasting cap that ignites
when heated by an electric current passing through a
wire imbedded in it.
electric potentials: Electric potentials involved in geo-
physics include the zeta 共adsorption兲 potential, liquid-
junction 共diffusion兲 and shale 共Mounce or Nernst兲
potentials 共see electrochemical SP兲, electrolytic contact
potential, electrokinetic 共streaming兲 potential, and
polarization potential 共see IP兲. See italicized entries.
electric profiling: An IP, resistivity, or electromagnetic
method using fixed spacing of electrodes or antennas in
which the measuring system is moved progressively
along profile lines to detect resistivity changes along
the profiles. See moving source method.
electric sounding: A dc resistivity or IP method in which
electrode spacing is increased to obtain information
from successively greater depths at a given surface
location 共assuming horizontal layering兲. See also elec-
tromagnetic sounding.
electric survey: 1. Measurements made at or near the
earth’s surface of natural or induced electric fields, the
objective usually being to map mineral concentrations
or for geologic or basement mapping. See Figure E-7
and electric profiling, electric sounding, electromag-
netic method, induced-polarization method, magneto-
telluric method, resistivity method, self-potential
method, telluric current method. 2. Electric log 共q.v.兲
run in a borehole.
electric susceptibility: The ratio of electric field to elec-
tric polarization, the electrical analog of magnetic per-
meability. Symbol: ␩.
electrochemical SP: The component of the SP 共self-
potential兲 comprising the sum of the liquid-junction
potential and the shale potential, both of which are
determined by the ratio of the activity of the formation
water to that of the mud filtrate. The liquid-junction
potential is produced at the contact between the inva-
sion filtrate and the formation water as a result of
differences in ion diffusion rates from a more concen-
trated to a more dilute solution 共concentration cell兲.
Negatively charged chloride ions have greater mobility
than positive sodium ions and an excess negative
charge tends to cross the boundary, resulting in a poten-
tial difference. The shale potential 共also called the
shale membrane, Nernst, or Mounce potential兲
results because shale acts as a cationic membrane per-
mitting sodium cations to flow through it but not chlo-
ride anions. The liquid-junction and shale potentials are
electromagnetic array profiling „EMAP…
additive. See also SSP and electrokinetic potential.
electrode: 1. A piece of metallic material that is used as an
electric contact with a nonmetal. Can refer to a ground-
ing contact, to metallic minerals in a rock, or to electric
contacts in laboratory equipment. 2. Porous pot 共q.v.兲.
electrode array: See array (electrical).
electrode equilibrium potential: The reversible 共no
energy loss兲 equilibrium potential across the interface
between an electrode and an electrolyte, measurable
when no current passes through the interface. Measured
as the voltage difference between a reference electrode
and the electrode in question. It is primarily caused by
the free energy of the electron-transfer process.
electrode impedance: 1. In electrochemistry, the total
impedance across the interface between an electrode
and an electrolyte. The equivalent-circuit model
includes solution resistance, capacitances in the fixed
and diffuse layers, and Warburg impedance. 2. In
electrical-circuit theory, the self-impedance of a single
electrode or the mutual-impedance between electrodes.
electrode polarization: 1. In electrochemistry, an elec-
trode is polarized if its potential deviates from the
reversible or equilibrium value. 2. Polarization also can
be induced because of the passage of current through an
interface or to a change in ion concentration at an
electrode surface. The amount of extra polarization is
the overvoltage or induced polarization of the elec-
trode.
electrode potential: See electrode equilibrium potential.
electrode resistance: The electric resistance between an
electrode and the immediate surroundings; sometimes
called contact resistance, self resistance, grounding
resistance, or mutual resistance, depending on the
situation.
electrodialysis: 共i lek, trō dı̄ al’ i sis兲 Migration of charge
through a membrane in an electric field.
electrodynamic geophone: 共i lek, trō dı̄ nam’ ik兲 Moving-
coil geophone; see geophone.
electrofacies: The set of well-log responses that charac-
terize a lithologic unit and permit that stratigraphic
interval to be correlated with, or distinguished from,
others.
electrokinetic potential: 共i lek, trō kı̄ net’ ik兲 A voltage
that results from flow of a fluid containing ions; stream-
ing potential 共q.v.兲. Application of a voltage also causes
fluid flow.
Electrolog: Electric log 共q.v.兲. Dresser-Atlas tradename.
electrolyte: 共i lek, tr⳵ lı̄t’ or i lek, trō lı̄t’兲 1. A material in
which the flow of electric current is accompanied by the
movement of matter in the form of ions. 2. Any sub-
stance that disassociates into ions.
electrolytic contact potential: A potential developed
between dissimilar metals when immersed in an elec-
trolyte.
electrolytic polarization: Membrane polarization 共q.v.兲.
electrolytic tank: A container holding a conductive solu-
tion in which electric model experiments can be carried
out. See analog modeling.
electromagnetic array profiling „EMAP…: 1. Electro-
magnetic measurements, airborne or ground, using a
multiplicity of transmitters and/or receivers in an
invariant configuration. 2. A variant of the magnetotel-
luric method 共q.v.兲 where electric field measurements
along a profile are made in a continuous fashion. Data
electromagnetic coupling
is then processed to remove the effects of near-surface
inhomogeneities. See Bostick 共1986兲.
electromagnetic coupling: See coupling.
electromagnetic method „EM method…: 共i lek, trō mag
net’ ik兲 A method in which the magnetic and/or electric
fields associated with artificially generated subsurface
currents are measured. In general, electromagnetic
methods are considered to be those in which the electric
and magnetic fields in the earth satisfy the diffusion
equation 共which ignores displacement currents兲 but not
Laplace’s equation 共which ignores induction effects兲
nor the wave equation 共which includes displacement
currents兲. One normally excludes methods such as
ground-penetrating radar 共q.v.兲 that use microwave or
higher frequencies 共and which consequently have little
effective penetration兲 and methods that use dc or very
low frequencies where induction effects are not impor-
tant 共resistivity and IP methods兲. Natural field meth-
ods 共such as Afmag and magnetotellurics兲 employ natu-
ral energy as the source; controlled source
electromagnetis methods 共CSEM兲 共such as loop-loop
techniques兲 require a man-made source. See Figure
E-7.
electromagnetic propagation tool „EPT…: A tool that
measures the velocity and attenuation of EM waves
using microwaves. Occasionally used to identify hydro-
carbon zones.
electromagnetic radiation: Energy propagated through
space or material in the form of an advancing interac-
tion between electric and magnetic fields.
electromagnetic sounding: An electromagnetic technique
designed to determine variations in electrical conduc-
tivity with depth, usually assuming horizontal layering.
Measurements are usually made at a number of fre-
quencies 共in frequency-domain sounding兲 or at sev-
eral time intervals after a transient pulse 共in time-
domain or transient electromagnetic sounding兲 using
a fixed source and receiver. Soundings can also be
made at constant frequency by varying the spacing
between source and receiver. See transient electromag-
netic method and Spies and Frischknecht 共1989兲 and
compare electric sounding.
electromagnetic spectrum: The range of frequencies or
wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. See Figure
E-11.
electron density: Number of electrons per unit volume,
including both free and orbital electrons that are part of
atoms. See density log.
electronic: Relating to devices, circuits, or systems in
which conduction is primarily by electrons moving
through a vacuum, gas, semiconductor, or conductor.
electronic conductor: A material such as a metal that
conducts electricity by virtue of electron mobility. See
conductor.
electron-positron pair formation: Creation of an elec-
tron and positron that may result from radiation or
collisions more energetic than 1 MeV.
electron-transfer reaction: An electrode surface phe-
nomenon involving an oxidation-reduction reaction,
generating a Faradaic current.
electron volt „ev…: The energy acquired by an electron by
accelerating through a one volt potential difference.
electro-osmosis: 1. The phenomenon whereby an electric
field moves a fluid through a membrane. 2. Charge
119 elliptical polarization
separation in an electrolyte by osmotic action.
electrostatic plotter: 共i lek, trō stat’ ik兲 A rastor-oriented
plotter in which the image is produced by implanting an
electrostatic charge on the medium 共paper or film兲 that
is then passed through a toner 共the fine black powder
that makes the image readable兲.
electrostrictive: 共i lek, tr⳵ strik’ tiv兲 The property of a
material that causes it to change dimensions when
subject to an electric field. See piezoelectric.
elevation angle: In transit satellite navigation, the angle
measured from horizontal at the receiver location to a
satellite. Satellite passes are often designated by the
elevation angle at closest approach.
elevation correction: 1. The correction applied to reflec-
tion or refraction arrival times to reduce observations to
a common reference datum. 2. In gravity, the sum of the
free-air and Bouguer corrections. The elevation correc-
tion is obtained by multiplying the difference between
station and reference elevation by the elevation correc-
tion factor „ECF…: ECF⫽(0.09406⫺0.01278 ␳ )
mGal/ft⫽(0.3086⫺0.04192 ␳ ) mGal/m, where ␳
⫽density in g/cm3.
elevation correction factor „ECF…: See elevation correc-
tion.
elevation datum: See datum.
ELF: Extremely Low Frequency; electromagnetic energy
between 300 and 3000 Hz. Natural energy in this band
originates most often from lightning strikes. See sferics
and Figure E-11.
ELFAST: Multifrequency version of Turam method 共q.v.兲.
ellipse: 共i lips’兲 A conic section; see Figure C-12 and
E-12.
ellipse area: A quantity measured in telluric surveys that
can be interpreted in terms of variations in earth resis-
tivity.
ellipse of polarization: See polarization ellipse.
ellipsoid: 共i lip’ soid兲 A solid figure for which every plane
cross-section is an ellipse. An ellipsoid of revolution
can be generated by rotating an ellipse about one of its
axes. An ellipsoid of revolution is usually used to
approximate the geoid 共q.v.兲. Some standard ellipsoids
are listed in Figure G-2. See Geodetic Reference Sys-
tem.
ellipsoid of anisotropy: An equipotential surface about a
point current source in an anisotropic, homogeneous
medium. Such a surface is an ellipsoid of revolution,
whose flattening is the coefficient of anisotropy; see
anisotropy (seismic).
elliptical anisotropy: The situation where a graph of seis-
mic velocity vs. azimuth has an elliptical shape.
SH-waves in a transverse isometric medium exhibit
elliptical anisotropy. P-or SV-waves, or waves in other
symmetry systems, generally do not involve elliptical
anisotropy except for special situations. Fitting a hyper-
bolic NMO equation to CMP data to obtain the stacking
velocity of the horizontal component is equivalent to
assuming an ellipsoidal wavefront. Nonelliptical wave-
fronts yield offset-variable stacking velocities. See
anisotropy, transverse isotropy, Figure A-14c, and Hel-
big 共1983兲.
elliptical polarization: The situation where motion in two
orthogonal directions has the same frequency and a
constant phase relationship; the hodograph has ellipti-
cal shape.
ellipticity
ellipticity: 共i lip tis’ ⳵ tē兲 1. The ratio of the major to minor
axes of an ellipse 共Figure E-12兲. 2. Specifically, in
electromagnetic surveying, the ratio for the polarization
ellipse, which can be determined by measuring the
amplitudes and phases of two orthogonal components
of the magnetic field.
E-log: Electric log 共q.v.兲.
elongated charge: A long column of explosives used in
an effort to achieve directivity. Types used include
sausage powder, Elcord delay units, acoustic delay
units, and broomstick units. An elongated charge is
designed to direct the input pulse downward by match-
ing the effective detonation velocity to the formation
velocity. Its physical dimensions must be an appre-
ciable fraction of a seismic wavelength to achieve sig-
nificant directivity.
EM: ElectroMagnetic; see electromagnetic method.
EMAP: ElectroMagnetic Array Profiling 共q.v.兲.
emanometer: 共em, ⳵ nom’ ⳵d ⳵r兲 An instrument for mea-
suring the radon content of water or soil. See radon
sniffer.
embedded wavelet: The wavelet shape that would result
from reflection of an actual wavetrain by a single sharp
interface with positive reflection coefficient. See con-
volutional model. Often called equivalent wavelet or
basic wavelet.
EM coupling: See coupling.
emergent angle: 1. The angle of a seismic ray on leaving
an interface. 2. The critical angle at which energy
emerges 共peels off兲 from a refractor.
FIG. E-8. Electric quantities and units.
120 endian
EMIDSH: A numerical code for computing the electro-
magnetic response of a thin tabular conductor lodged in
a two-layer medium. Written at E.O. Lawrence Berke-
ley National Laboratory.
emission spectroscopy: Measuring the unique emission
lines of atomic species in an arc or plasma 共inductively-
coupled plasma兲.
emissivity: The ratio of radiation emitted to that of a
blackbody at the same temperature.
empty hole: A borehole that is filled with air or gas.
EM 37: A shallow transient electromagnetic system devel-
oped by Geonics Ltd. of Canada.
emu: The cgs-ElectroMagnetic system of Units, which is
similar to the cgs-esu system except that ‘‘practical’’
electrical units 共except for the abampere兲 are used. See
Figure E-8.
emulate: 共em’ yo lāt,兲 To have the same input/output
characteristics as a different system so that, from a
performance standpoint, it appears identical to the dif-
ferent system 共except as regarding speed兲.
emulator: A program or hardware device that duplicates
the instruction set of one computer on a different com-
puter. It is used in program development for the emu-
lated computer when that computer is not available.
EMW: Equivalent Mud Weight; see mud weight 共q.v.兲.
encapsulation: 共en kap’ sū lā sh⳵n兲 Modeling and imple-
mentation technique that separates external aspects of
an object from internal implementation details.
endian: 共en’ dē ⳵n兲 Refers to the byte 共and bit兲 order of
multibyte quantities. Big Endian order means that the
end-of-file gap
FIG. E-9. Electrically square arrangement of nine similar
geophones.
most significant byte preceeds less-significant bytes,
whereas little endian means the opposite. Refers to
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, who debated
whether it was better to crack an egg at the big or the
small end.
end-of-file gap: An elongated gap on magnetic tape to
indicate the end of a file of records.
end-of-file mark: Machine-readable mark on digital mag-
netic tape indicating the end of a complete group of
data, such as the end of a seismic record.
end-on: Seismic field arrangement wherein the source is
at 共or near兲 the end of the geophone spread. See Figure
S-18. Sometimes called end-line.
endothermic: 共en d⳵’ th⳵r mik兲 A reaction that absorbs
heat.
en echelon: Echelon 共q.v.兲.
energy: 1. The capacity to do work. 2. The sum of the
squares of the amplitudes of the elements in a wavelet
共times a proportionality constant that is often omitted兲.
Thus if the wavelet b t is
b t ⫽ 关 b 0 ,b 1 ,b 2 ,b 3 ,...b n 兴 ,
the energy is
FIG. E-10. Electric-log configurations. „a… Normal log; „b… lateral log.
121 enhanced oil recovery „EOR…
k 共 b 0 2 ⫹b 1 2 ⫹b 2 2 ⫹b 3 2 ⫹...⫹b n 2 兲 ⫽k 兺b i
2
,
given by the value of the autocorrelation at zero shift. 3.
Depositional energy refers to the kinetic energy
共because of waves or currents兲 present in the environ-
ment in which sediments were deposited. High energy
has the capability of producing good particle-size sort-
ing.
energy surge: An increase in amplitude used as a picking
criterion.
energy reflectivity: See reflectivity.
engineering geophysics: Use of geophysical methods to
get information for civil engineering. The aim is usually
to describe not only the geometry of the subsurface but
also its nature 共for example, its elastic characteristics as
determined by measurements of seismic velocities and
densities兲. Shallow seismic reflection and refraction,
gravity, magnetic, electric, and sampling methods are
commonly employed to find the depth of bedrock and
the strength of sediments for foundation purposes, to
determine the rippability 共q.v.兲 of rock, to measure the
degree of fracturing, to detect underground cavities, to
detect near-surface gas pockets, to locate buried-
pipeline hazards below the sea floor, buried barrels of
polutants, the integrity of landfills. In water-covered
areas high-powered fathometers, sparkers, gas guns,
and other seismic reflection methods employing high
frequencies 共up to 5 kHz兲 are used to obtain reflections
from shallow interfaces so that bedrock and the nature
of fill material can be diagnosed. Such methods are also
used to locate large pipelines on, or buried in, the sea
bottom by the prominent diffractions that they generate.
Usually restricted to shallower than 1000 ft penetration.
enhanced oil recovery „EOR…: Thermal, miscible, and
enhancement 122 envelope

chemical methods for producing oil left behind in the
ground after primary and secondary recovery 共q.v.兲.
Thermal enhanced-recovery methods 共q.v.兲 include
steam stimulation 共huff and puff兲, steam flooding, and
in-situ combustion. Miscible recovery methods 共q.v.兲
include injection of hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and
nitrogen. Chemically enhanced recovery 共q.v.兲 includes
flooding with polymers, surfactants, and alkaline fluids.
enhancement: Improvement of data by filtering or noise-
rejection processes.
enthalpy: 共en thal’ pē or en’ thal pē兲 The internal energy
of a thermodynamic system plus the product of the
reaction, according to the second law of thermody-
namics. See thermodynamic functions and Figure T-2.
2. A set G has the entropy H(G):
H 共 G 兲 ⫽log2 N,
where N is the minimum number of elements needed to
specify G. 3. A measure of the uncertainty in a message.
If P(m i ) is the probability that the message m i has
been transmitted, then the entropy H, where there are i
possible messages, is given by

兺 P 共 m 兲 log
system’s pressure and volume. The heat transferred
during an isobaric process equals the change in H⫽⫺ i 2 P共 mi兲.
i
enthalpy. See thermodynamic functions and Figure T-2.
entity: Thing of significance, whether real or imagined, The entropy of a situation with no uncertainty is zero.
about which information needs to be known or held. Entropy is a measure of the average information con-
entropy: 共en’ tr⳵ pē兲 1. A thermodynamic quantity that tent of a message.
measures the unavailable energy. Higher entropy repre- envelope: The low-frequency curves encompassing or
sents increased disorder. Entropy never decreases in a bounding deflections of higher frequency. The curves

FIG. E-11. Electromagnetic spectrum. Designation of portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The blackened areas
in the right-hand graph show attenuation caused by atmospheric absorption. The window in the absorption spectrum at
V is visible light and window T is the thermal infrared window. In terms of energy, 10 ⫺6 m wavelength⫽1 eV;
10 ⫺12 m⫽1 keV; 1 m⫽1 meV. (after Reeves et al., 1975, 54.)
envelope amplitude
are usually drawn by smoothly connecting adjacent
peaks and adjacent troughs. See Figure C-11.
envelope amplitude: See complex trace analysis and ana-
lytic signal and Figure C-11.
environmental geophysics: The use of geophysical mea-
surements of part of the shallow earth to evaluate or
help remediate problems in the Earth’s environment.
EOM: Equivalent Offset Migration 共EOM兲, a prestack
migration that forms common-scatter-point 共CSP兲 gath-
ers at each migrated trace location. Used to refine a
velocity model for depth migration.
EOR: Enhancd Oil Recovery 共q.v.兲.
Eötvös effect: 共⳵t’ v⳵sh兲 The vertical component of a
Coriolis acceleration observed when measuring gravity
while the measuring instrument is in motion with
respect to the Earth, as in dynamic gravity. The meter’s
velocity over the surface adds vectorially to the velocity
because of the Earth’s rotation, varying the centrifugal
acceleration and hence the apparent gravitational attrac-
tion. The Eötvös correction E in mGal for a meter
whose speed is V knots at an azimuth angle ␣ and
latitude ␾ is
E⫽7.503 V cos ␾ sin ␣ ⫹0.004154 V 2 .
The Eötvös uncertainty dE in terms of direction uncer-
tainty d␣ and speed uncertainty dV is
dE⫽ 共 7.503 V cos ␾ cos ␣ d␣
⫹ 共 7.503 cos ␾ sin ␣ ⫹0.008308 V 兲 dV.
See Glicken 共1962兲. Named for Baron Roland von
Eötvös 共1848 –1919兲, Hungarian physicist.
FIG. E-12. Ellipse terminology. An ellipse is
the locus of points for which the sum of
the distances from the two foci is constant. A
satellite follows an elliptical path about a body at one
focus. If a⫽semimajor axis, b⫽semiminor axis,
eccentricity ⫽␧ ⫽c/a ⫽(2 f⫺f 2 ) 1/2 ⫽[1⫺(1/E) 2 ] 1/2 ;
ellipticity ⫽E ⫽a/b ⫽1/(1⫺f ) ⫽(1⫺␧ 2 ) ⫺1/2 ;
flattening⫽f⫽(a⫺b)/a⫽1⫺1/E; and
␪ ⫽eccentric anomaly when satellite is at S.
The polar equation of an ellipse with one focus at the
origin is ␳ ⫽␧h/(1⫺␧ cos ␾) where h⫽distance from the
focus to a directrix line.
123 equinoctial
Eötvös unit „EU…: 共et’ vos兲 A unit of gravitational gradi-
ent or curvature; 10 ⫺6 mGal/cm.
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency, a U.S. govern-
ment agency.
epeiric sea: A sea on the continental shelf or continental
interior.
epeirogenic: 共ep, i roj’ ⳵ nik兲 See tectonic types.
E-phase VLF: An airborne electromagnetic method based
on a remote VLF transmitter that measures the quadra-
ture component of the electric-field wavetilt. Barringer
tradename.
ephemeral data: 共⳵ fem’ ⳵ r⳵l兲 The part of the data broad-
cast by a navigation satellite that varies with each
broadcast. The ephemeral data include the time since
the hour or half hour and corrections to the satellite
location; see Figure K-1.
ephemeris: 共⳵ fem’ ⳵ r⳵s兲 Predicted position of celestial
共and satellite兲 bodies at a particular time.
ephemeris time: 共i fem’ ⳵ ris兲 A table showing the posi-
tion of a body 共such as a navigation satellite兲 at various
times.
epicenter: 共ep’ i sen, t⳵r兲 The location on the Earth’s
surface below which the first motion in an earthquake
occurs. Compare hypocenter.
EPIS: Exploration and Production Information System.
epithermal neutron: 共ep, ⳵ therm’ ⳵l兲 A neutron with
energy larger than the thermal range 共⬍0.025 eV兲; see
neutron log.
Epoch: A geochronologic subdivision; see stratigraphic
classification.
E-polarization: See transverse electric.
EPROM: Erasable, Programmable, Read-Only Memory.
epsilon ␧: 1. Dielectric permittivity; see Maxwell’s equa-
tions. 2. The fractional change in the P-wave velocity:
␧ 共 epsilon兲 ⫽ 共 c 11 ⫺c 33 兲 /2c 33 )⫽ 共 ␣⬜ ⫺ ␣ 储 兲 /2 ␣ 储 ,
where c 11 and c 33 are transverse isotropy elastic con-
stants. See Thomsen anisotropic parameters.
EPT: Electromagnetic Propagation Tool 共q.v.兲.
EQ magnitude: See magnitude of EarthQuake.
equalization: 1. Trace equalization involves adjusting
the gain of different channels so that their average
amplitudes 共probably their rms amplitudes兲 over some
analysis window are equal. 2. Cross-equalization
involves matching the frequency spectrum of different
channels to each other or to a predetermined curve,
possibly including adjustments because of phase differ-
ences. 3. Filtering to correct for frequency discrimina-
tion in recording or playback such as the linear-with-
frequency response inherent in magnetic-tape pickup
from direct analog recordings.
equalizing: See deconvolution.
equal-ripple filter: See Chebyshev array.
equatorial array: A configuration of electrodes used in
resistivity surveying. See Figure A-19.
equilibrium condition: 1. A condition of balance at a
state of minimum energy where energy is neither pro-
duced nor consumed. 2. A condition predicted by the
law of mass action where the velocities of forward and
reverse reactions of a reversible process are equal.
equinoctial: 共ē’ kw⳵ nok, sh⳵l兲 The celestial equator; the
intersection of the plane of the Earth’s equator and the
celestial sphere.
equipotential method
equipotential method: Mapping the potential field pro-
duced by stationary 共often remote兲 current electrodes.
The mapping is done by moving a potential electrode
over the area. Also called equipotential survey and
applied-potential method. In the equipotential-line
method the line of points on the surface of the ground
that constitutes the locus of a given voltage difference
from another electrode is mapped with a ‘‘probe’’ elec-
trode.
equipotential surface: The continuous surface that is
everywhere perpendicular to lines of force. No work is
done against the field when moving along such a sur-
face. Mean sea level is an equipotential surface with
respect to gravity. An electrical equipotential surface is
everywhere perpendicular to current flow.
equipotential survey: See equipotential method.
equiripple response: A directivity pattern in which the
minor lobes are of equal height, as results from a
Chebyshev array. See Figure C-3.
equivalence: 共i kwiv’ ⳵ l⳵ns兲 1. See map projection. 2. See
equivalent electrical response.
equivalence principle: See principle of equivalence.
equivalencing: Reducing a multilayer model to a single-
layer model by applying the relationships given under
principle of equivalence 共q.v.兲.
equivalent circuit: An electrical circuit that has the same
input-output relationship as another circuit.
equivalent electrical response: Combinations of layer
resistivities and thicknesses that would produce practi-
cally indistinguishable electrical sounding responses.
Also called layer equivalence.
equivalent mud weight „EMW…: The mud weight needed
to balance formation-fluid pressure; see mud weight.
equivalent offset: The offset for which the two-way trav-
eltime for any source-scatterpoint-receiver raypath is
the same as one where the source and receiver are
colocated. The equivalent offset converts the double-
square-root equation into hyperbolic form.
equivalent offset migration „EOM…: Prestack migration
that uses the equivalent offset to form common-scatter-
point 共CSP兲 gathers at each migrated trace location.
equivalent source layer: A single layer containing gravity
or magnetic sources that yields the same gravity or
magnetic field as the actual distribution. See Dampney
共1969兲.
equivalent velocity: 1. Stacking velocity 共q.v.兲, the con-
stant velocity that gives nearly the same normal
moveout as observed in a velocity analysis. 2. Apparent
velocity 共q.v.兲.
equivalent wavelet: See embedded wavelet.
equivalent width: The width of a boxcar with the same
peak amplitude that contains the same energy.
equivoluminar wave: S-wave 共q.v.兲, not involving vol-
ume changes.
erf„x…: ERrorFunction 共q.v.兲.
ergodic: 共⳵r gad’ ik兲 Having the same statistical properties
throughout the ensemble. An ergodic system will even-
tually return arbitrarily close to any prior state. The
statistical properties measured over sufficiently long
intervals anywhere throughout the ensemble will be the
same. From the Greek for ‘‘road.’’
error: A deviation from the correct value. Errors arise 共a兲
because the problem description is not exact, as when
the data are not exact „inherent error…, 共b兲 because the
124 Euclidian space
method used is not exact, as when an exact solution
would require an unacceptably large number of calcu-
lations „method error…, and 共c兲 because of round-off
errors „computational error…. Gross errors are the
results of blunders or mistakes. See round-off error,
truncation error, random error, systematic, accuracy,
and probable error. Error differs from uncertainty,
which is the precision with which a measurement or
value is known.
error bar: A graphic representation showing the range of
probable error or some range 共90%兲 of probable error.
error checking: Techniques for detecting errors which
occur during the processing and transfer of data. See
check, cycle-redundancy check, and parity check.
error control: A system for detecting errors and some-
times for also correcting them. See check.
error ellipse: A measure of the uncertainty in a position
measurement. UKOOA recommend that position
ellipses contain 95% of estimates.
error function: The error function erf(t) is
冕
erf共 t 兲 ⫽ 共 1/ ␲ 1/2 兲 e ⫺y2 dy⫽e y2 ,
erf共 0 兲 ⫽0, erf共 ⬁ 兲 ⫽1.
The complementary error function erfc(t) is erfc(t)
⫽1⫺erf(t). For data which have a Gaussian distribu-
tion, the probability that an error lies between ⫾a is
erf(ha), where h⫽precision index.
error message: A message from a computer application or
operating system about an incompatibility in program
instructions or erroneous conditions in the data.
ERTS: See Landsat image.
ES: Electric Survey 共q.v.兲.
ESP: Electric Submersible Pump.
E3D: A staggered-grid, finite-difference code, 2nd order
in time and 4th order in space, used in acoustic or
elastic calculations. Written at Lawrence Livermore
Laboratory.
eta, ␩: 1. Electric susceptability 共q.v.兲. 2. One of the
Thomsen anisotropic parameters 共q.v.兲 that captures the
deviation of long-offset P-wave moveout from what it
would have been for isotropicity:
␩ ⫽ 共 ␧⫺ ␦ 兲 / 共 1⫹2 ␦ 兲 ,
where ␦ 共delta兲 is another Thomsen anisotropic param-
eter.
eTh, eU: Equivalent thorium, equivalent uranium. Used
because measurements are often of daughter products
( 208 Tl, 214 Bi) rather than of Th, U themselves.
Ethernet: 共ē’ th⳵r net兲 A communications standard for
local area networks involving both hardware and soft-
ware, with the purpose of connecting computers and
terminals.
eU: See eTh.
EU: Eötvös Unit 共q.v.兲.
Euclidian space: 共yoo klid’ e ⳵n兲 An orthogonal linear
space where the distance between (x 1 ,x 2 ,...,x n ) and
(y 1 ,y 2 ,...,y n ) is given by
Euler-Cauchy method
冋兺 n
i⫽1
共 x i ⫺y i 兲 2 册 1/2
.
The dimension of the space is n. Named for Euclid of
Alexandria, the ‘‘father’’ of geometry.
Euler-Cauchy method: A finite-difference method of
solving differential equations. See Sheriff and Geldart
共1995, 529兲.
Euler deconvolution: 共oi’ l⳵r兲 A procedure applied to
profile gridded map data to solve Euler’s homogeneous
equation 共q.v.兲 for the locations and depths of sources
for an assumed Euler structural index. On profiles, each
calculation is run for different window lengths to obtain
solutions for different depths. With gridded magnetic or
gravity maps, calculations are run over square windows
that are moved by a grid unit for the next depth calcu-
lation. Pick values cluster together at a valid structural
index; a fault might be indicated by a vertical align-
ment. See Thompson 共1982兲; Reid et al. 共1990兲.
Eulerian differential operator: The differentiation
operator ⳵/⳵t, which implies differentiation at a fixed
point in space. Compare the Lagrangian differential
operator d/dt, which implies differentiation following
the motion of a wave or of material.
Euler equation: See Euler’s homogeneity equation.
Euler identity: The relationships
e i ␪ ⫽cos ␪⫹i sin ␪⫽cis␪,
cos ␪ ⫽ 共 e i ␪ ⫹e ⫺i ␪ 兲 /2⫽cosh共 i ␪ 兲 , and
sin ␪ ⫽ 共 e i ␪ ⫺e i ␪ 兲 /2i⫽⫺i sinh共 i ␪ 兲 ,
where i⫽ 公(⫺1). Named for Leonhard Euler 共1707–
1783兲, Swiss mathematician.
Euler pole: Movement of a portion of the surface of a
sphere over the sphere can be described as a rotation
about an Euler pole. Pole of spreading 共q.v.兲.
Euler’s homogeneity equation:
共 x⫺x o 兲 dF/dx⫹ 共 y⫺y o 兲 dF/dy⫹ 共 z⫺z o 兲 dF/dz
⫽N 共 B⫺F 兲 ,
where (x o ,y o ,z o ) is the source location whose mag-
netic field F is measured at 共x, y, z兲; B is the regional
value of the total field; and N is Euler’s structural
index. N is a measure of the rate of field change with
distance. For example, the magnetic field of a sphere
falls off as the cube (N⫽3), of a pipe as the square
(N⫽2), of a thin dike linearly (N⫽1), for a more or
less linear basement fault or dyke 共N ⫽ 0.5兲, of a semi-
infinite body, not at all (N⫽0). An Euler depth esti-
mate increases with increased N. Real bodies are simu-
lated by a superposition of bodies.
Euler structural index: See Euler’s homogeneity equa-
tion.
eustasy: 共yoo’ st⳵ sē兲 Worldwide sea level regimes and
their changes. The interplay of eustatic changes with
isostatic subsidence and tectonic 共thermal兲 uplift pro-
duces relative sea-level changes. Relative sea level and
sediment supply produce sequence boundaries 共q.v.兲.
eustatic cycle: 共yoo tek’ tik兲 The time interval during
which a worldwide rise and fall of sea level takes place.
See Figure E-13.
125 exchange current
eutectic mixture: A mixture of two materials that has a
lower melting point than either of the materials by
themselves.
eutectic temperature: The lowest melting point of a mix-
ture of alloy substances.
eV: Electron Volt, the energy change of an electron in
being accellerated by one volt gradient.
evanescent waves: 共ev, ⳵ nes’ ⳵nt兲 Waves that fade away
rapidly with distance from a boundary. See Sheriff and
Geldart 共1995, 63兲. From the Latin for ‘‘vanishing.’’
evaporite: A rock formed by precipitation from evaporat-
ing saline water. Salt, gypsum, and anhydrite are typical
evaporites.
even function: A function that has the same value when
the sign of the variable is changed; i.e., f (x)⫽ f
(⫺x). The Fourier transform of an even function is the
cosine transform; its frequency-domain representation
is zero phase. Any function can be represented as an
even part plus an odd part. Aeromagnetic anomalies are
sometimes separated into even and odd parts for inter-
pretation. Antonym: odd function.
event: 1. A lineup on a number of traces that indicates the
arrival of new seismic energy, denoted by a systematic
phase or amplitude change on a seismic record; an
arrival. May indicate a reflection, refraction, diffrac-
tion, or other type of wavefront. The distinguishing
features of various types of events are discussed in
Sheriff and Geldart 共1995, 145–146兲. 2. A command
entered by a user, such as a mouse click or a typed
command. 3. Evidence in the stratigraphic column of
something happening within a very short period of
time, such as a volcanic eruption that produces a layer
of volcanic ash or tephra, a meteor impact that involves
a rare element, etc.; an event bed or event horizon.
Events during deposition may be caused by storm
waves, flooding, sediment gravity flows 共e.g., slumps,
turbidite flows兲, volcanic eruptions, etc. Nondeposi-
tional events may be caused by erosion or depositional
hiatus 共such as sediment bypassing兲. Events related to
sea-level variations, such as condensed sections 共q.v.兲,
are sometimes included. Events should be thin and have
at least reasonable geographical extent to be useful in
age dating. Especially distinctive events are called
marker beds 共q.v.兲.
Evison wave: 共ev’ ⳵ son兲 Channel wave of SH-type par-
ticle motion in a low-velocity layer between two higher
velocity half-spaces. Compare Krey wave and see Evi-
son 共1955兲.
evolute: 共ev ⳵ loot’兲 The locus of centers of curvature of
another curve, or the curve that is the common tangent
to normals to the other curve.
exaggeration: Use of a different vertical than horizontal
scale. See Figure V-9.
EXCEPT gate: A circuit with multiple inputs that func-
tions when signal is present on one input and absent on
other inputs. Also called exclusive OR. Differs from an
OR gate, which does not have the restriction of absent
signal on the other inputs. See gate and Figure B-5.
excess-three code: See binary-coded decimal, and Figure
N-4.
excess time: The vertical traveltime through the weather-
ing minus the time it would have taken if travel had
been at the subweathering velocity.
exchange current: A term in electrochemistry for the
exchange current 126 exchange current

FIG. E-13. Eustatic cycles. (a) Generalized orders of cyclicity. (b) Changes in the Earth system. The period from about
450 to 100 Ma is a first-order eustatic cycle. (From Busch, 2000, 22.).
excitation-at-the-mass method
reversible electric current at an electrode that is in
equilibrium with an electrolyte.
excitation-at-the-mass method: Mise-à-la-masse method
共q.v.兲.
exclusion zone: An area within a 3D survey area where
either sources or receivers cannot be placed.
exclusive filter: A filter with a very sharp, narrow pass-
band.
exclusive OR: EXCEPT gate 共q.v.兲.
executive: An operating system 共q.v.兲 or supervisor.
exhumation: Exposure of earlier geologic section because
of erosion.
exothermic: A reaction that liberates heat.
expand: 1. To break down into elements, as to expand in
terms of frequency components. 2. To increase the gain,
as with a gain control. 3. To extend a spread to longer
offsets.
expander: 1. Expanding spread 共q.v.兲; specifically, a
depth probe. 2. An IP and resistivity-surveying tech-
nique in which the electrode-separation interval is suc-
cessively expanded so as to achieve greater depth of
exploration. Also called sounding or probing. Data
from an expander is usually interpreted to give the
depth to horizontal layers with contrasting physical
properties, if such exist.
expanding spread: 1. A spread moved to greater offsets
for successive energy releases from the same location,
to give the equivalent of recording more geophone
groups from a single source. Used in refraction work, in
noise analysis, and in velocity analysis. 2. Depth probe
共q.v.兲.
expanding-spread vertical-loop technique: Electromag-
netic-survey method using a fixed transmitter and mov-
able receiver, often along lines at about 45° to the
anticipated strike of the conductor sought.
expectation: 1. An operator that denotes the mean, or
weighted mean where values are not equally probable.
Usually denoted by braces, E兵...其. 2. In seismic process-
ing usage, it indicates the sum of elements for finite
wavelets (b t ), or the mean of an infinite time series
(u t ):
E 兵 b t 其 ⫽b 1 ⫹b 2 ⫹b 3 ⫹...⫹b n , or
E 兵 u t 其 ⫽ lim 共 u ⫺n ⫹u ⫺n⫹1 ⫹...⫹u 0 ⫹u 1 ⫹u 2 ⫹...
n→⬁
⫹u n 兲 / 共 2n⫹1 兲 .
expected value: Expectation 共q.v.兲.
expert mode: A mode of work-station operation that is
more efficient, though less user-friendly, than the ordi-
nary system.
expert system: A system of rules that mimics the behavior
of an expert in analysis or diagnosis. A part of artificial
intelligence. Also called knowledge-based system.
exploded view: An illustration showing the parts or com-
ponents of a unit or of an operation.
exploding reflector: A direct modeling scheme in which
the model surfaces are assumed to explode at time zero
with explosive strengths proportional to their reflectiv-
ity; velocities are cut in half so that the one-way trav-
eltime to the surface equals the two-way traveltime for
coincident source-receiver pairs at the surface. A form
of wave-theory modeling.
127 external drift
exploding wire: A modification of a sparker 共q.v.兲 for use
in fresh water where the conductivity of the water
between the sparker electrodes is not sufficient to ini-
tiate a spark. A thin wire connects the electrodes; the
sparker discharge vaporizes the wire to initiate vapor-
izing the water.
exploration: The search for commercial deposits of useful
minerals, including hydrocarbons, geothermal
resources, etc.
exploration geophysics: The application of geophysics to
exploration 共q.v.兲 and also to engineering and archae-
ology. Synonym: applied geophysics.
exploration 3D: A widely spaced form of 3D acquisition
with lines spaced 2–3 times as far apart as required by
the sampling theorem, relying on interpolation to give
the data sampling required for migration. An explora-
tion 3D survey reveals broad structural aspects but
lacks resolution.
exploratory well: A well drilled some distance from a
previously demonstrated accumulation, or drilled to a
stratigraphic objective not previously known to be pro-
ductive; a wildcat. See Figure W-8.
exponential distribution: A frequency distribution of the
form
F 共 f 兲 ⫽1⫺e ⫺ f / ␾ ,
where ␾ is the mean. It has a high initial value and then
declines with increasing f. Often used to model effects
that vary with their separation.
exponentiate: 共ek’ spō nen, sh⳵ āt兲 1. To introduce time-
dependent gain in processing, that is, to multiply input
values by e kt where k may be either a positive or
negative real number. The value of k is often deter-
mined arbitrarily or empirically. Often refers to addi-
tional gain adjustment after removal of gain effects
during recording and correction for spherical diver-
gence. 2. To magnify variations in input data so that the
output is proportional to a constant raised to an expo-
nent of the input value.
exponential decay: Decrease of amplitude proportional to
e ⫺ ␣ x or e ⫺ ␤ t where ␣ and ␤ are decay constants, x
⫽distance, and t⫽time. See Figure D-2.
exponential ramp: A taper used at the edge of a window.
Involves multiplying values for t⬎t 1 by e k(t⫺t 1 ) , where
k is a negative real number.
extended-range shoran: An extremely sensitive shoran
system that depends on energy refracted around the
Earth’s curvature and hence is not line-of-sight limited,
as ordinary shoran is. Has a range of the order of 250
km.
extended resolution: Efforts to increase the upper fre-
quency response of a bandpass system to improve reso-
lution. See Sheriff and Geldart 共1995, 253兲.
extended spread: Inline-offset spread; see inline offset.
extended well test: A formation test that extends for an
appreciable time to determine the probable long-term
rate of decline.
extensive dilatancy anisotropy „EDA…: Microcrack-
generated anisotropy that results in azimuthal anisot-
ropy when the microcrack orientation is nonhorizontal.
See anisotropy (seismic).
external drift: Use of a regionalized variable 共e.g., a
seismic attribute兲 to control the shape of a map created
by kriging or simulation. A geostatistical linear regres-
external magnetic field 128 eyebrow structure

sion technique that uses a spatial model of covariance.
external magnetic field: See solar wind.
extrinsic conduction: The low-temperature ionic or elec-
tronic conduction in solid electrically conducting mate-
rials, caused by weakly bonded impurities or defects.
Also called structure-sensitive conductivity. See
intrinsic conduction.
eyeball: To make an educated guess after casual visual
inspection, without actually measuring or calculating.
eyebrow structure: A seismic line across a buried reef
may show two convex-upward events 共the opposite
sides of the reef兲 separated by a low central lagoon or
reef collapse.