Spectral analysis of seismic data based on a combined generalized S transform

Abstract

The S transform is widely used to delineate seismic spectral anomalies associated with hydrocarbons during reservoir characterization. To overcome the relatively poor time-frequency resolution due to the fixed varying pattern of the window used in the S transform, we present a combined generalized S transform (CGST) for the spectral analysis of seismic data. First, the CGST decomposes the signal into a series of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using a complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD). An objective function is defined to quantitatively determine the spectral energy concentration criteria for optimal parameter selection of the improved Gaussian windows. Then, the time-frequency spectra for all the IMFs within narrower frequency bands are calculated using the respective Gaussian windows with normalized energy and individual optimal controlling parameters. We applied the CGST to spectral analyses of both synthetic signals and seismic field data. The results indicate that the CGST exhibits good performance with a higher time-frequency resolution. Field examples illustrate that the CGST can be used to characterize the spectral behavior of thin beds and indicate low-frequency shadows associated with hydrocarbon reservoirs.