Kenneth S Allen

US Patent:

42349389, Nov 18, 1980

Filed:

Oct 25, 1977

Appl. No.:

5/844549

Inventors:

Kenneth P. Allen - Stamford CT
Maynard S. Redeker - Farmers Branch TX

Assignee:

Mobil Oil Corporation - New York NY

International Classification:

G01V 138

US Classification:

367 24

Abstract:

In marine seismic exploration, measurements of reflectivity and water depth are made from seismograms produced by the firing of a seismic energy source towed by a marine vessel. The measurements are made by generating the auto-correlation coefficients of a window of the seismogram and combining these coefficients for different time lags. The time lag producing the minimum energy in the combined autocorrelation coefficients represents water depth. The reflectivity of the water bottom is obtained by generating an estimate of the reflectivity from the values of the auto-correlation function of the window, and modifying this estimate by a factor which converts the estimate to the reflectivity. The measured water depth and reflectivity are converted into an inverse operator. A linear array of sources is then fired in a sequence such that the acoustic pulses combine to produce a resultant acoustic pressure wave having the inverse time domain operator characteristics.