HR: 0800h
AN: NG31A-0859    [Abstracts]
TI: Using the Hilbert-Huang Transform to Improve Seismic Profiling of Gas Hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico
AU: * Battista, B M
EM: bbattista@geol.sc.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences University of South Carolina, 701 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208
AU: Knapp, C
EM: camelia@geol.sc.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences University of South Carolina, 701 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208
AB: Advancements in the collection and processing of seismic reflection data allow for improved imaging and analysis of complex targets. High resolution (10,000+ samples/sec) marine vertical cable (VC) data from the Atwater Valley (AT14) block in the Gulf of Mexico are analyzed for gas hydrate content. The gas hydrates in this region form in thick, Pleistocene sediments and lack the presence of a Bottom Simulating Reflector (BSR) on previously recorded multi-channel seismic reflection data at selected sites. The goals of this research are to: 1) assess the ability of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) to quantify meaningful geologic information in both the time and frequency domains regarding these anomalous gas hydrates, and 2) develop a processing flow employing the HHT to prepare the data for velocity analysis. The advantage of the HHT over Fourier methods is freedom from the criterion that the analyzed signal must be stationary and linear. Most acoustic waves returning from the subsurface are both nonlinear and non-stationary and, therefore, Fourier techniques may fall short of providing the best possible analysis. Further, the HHT allows for empirically derived characteristics to be used in filter design and application, resulting in better filter performance and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio over other techniques.
DE: 9820 Techniques applicable in three or more fields
DE: 3025 Marine seismics (0935)
DE: 3094 Instruments and techniques
DE: 3220 Nonlinear dynamics
DE: 0935 Seismic methods (3025)
SC: Nonlinear Geophysics [NG]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting