Seismology Basics: Physical Understanding
Basic wave properties: amplitude, wavelength, frequency
Elasticity, stress, and strain
Math & Physics of Ray Propagation:
Wave solutions
Snell’s Law
Ray paths
Travel times
Group vs. phase velocity
Decibels, signal-to-noise ratio, dynamic range
Measurements
Seismic Sources & Waves: Active vs. Passive sources, P and S waves, Seismograms, Energy partitioning
Differences between Earthquake Seismology and Exploration Seismology
Instrumentation:
Geophones
Broadband seismometers
Digitizers
Field Deployment
Survey Design: Networks, arrays, channel grouping, shot spacing
Geometry: Network geometry, station spacing, spatiotemporal resolution
Design surveys starting from a geologic target
Instrumentation:
Source/Receiver Fundamentals
Instrument mechanics and deployment
Other field techniques: GPS, field note-taking, compass orientation
Processing/Modeling
General workflows for both active and passive seismic data
Data formats: SEG-Y, SEED
Metadata handling
Active Seismic Processing:
Seismic Unix
Shot record processing
Static corrections
NMO
CDP stacking
Passive Seismic Analysis:
H/V spectral ratio
Beamforming
Earthquake signal detection
Linking seismic data to subsurface geology
Interpretation
Rock Properties: Velocity variations with lithology, porosity, and other factors
Integration with geologic models to interpret seismic data meaningfully