Signal and Image Processing Seminar

A large number of scientific methods have been used throughout this century in the search for oil and gas. By far, the most common method in this search has been the seismic method. This approach to hydrocarbon exploration includes the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of seismic data. That is, sound waves are sent into the ground, and various reflections, refractions, and diffractions of these waves are recorded by receivers on the surface of the earth. This data is subsequently processed to generate a 3-dimensional image of the subsurface rock formations. Finally, the resulting image is interpreted by geologists and geophysicists to determine the location of potential commercial quantities of oil and gas.

In this talk, we focus on the signal processing aspect of the seismic method. In particular, we address the following issues:

• Temporal resolution and the need for deconvolution.
• Random noise and the need for redundancy.
• Spatial resolution and the need for imaging.
• Out-of-plane effects and the need for 3-dimensional processing.
• The possibility of direct hydrocarbon detection.

Finally, we focus on some of the new emerging lines of research in this field, with special emphasis on those areas closely related to signal processing.