Seismic inversion and the importance of low frequencies

Kristopher A. Innanen, Gary F. Margrave

CREWES has made a significant effort this year to support seismic inversion by generating (1) data rich in low frequencies (the Hussar experiment), and (2) model-based methods to extend the spectra of bandlimited data. Here we provide in a tutorial setting illustrations of the reasons why missing low frequencies have such a deleterious influence on inversion. After a brief review of inverse scattering and full waveform inversion, 1D examples quickly expose the influence of low frequencies, as does an example synthesized from Hussar well-log data.