(XOPHYSICS,

INVERSE

R.

B.

CONVOLUTION

VOL.

SSiII,

NO

1 (FEBKUAKY,

1962).

p,,

4 1X, 14 Fl(;%

FILTERS*

RICEt

Tte difficult problem of trying to locate stratigraphic traps with the reflection seismograph would be simplified
(at least in good record areas) if it were possible to perform the inverse of the reflection process, i.e., to divide out
the reflection wavelet of which the record is composed, leaving only the impulses representing the reflection coefficients. This process has been discussed by Robinson under the title predictive decomposition, but his approach
requires that the basic composition wavelet be a one-sided, damped, minimum-phase time function. Most seismic
wavelets which we observe or are accustomed to working with (e.g. the symmetric Ricker wavelet) are not of this
class. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a digital computer approach to the problem. Finite, bounded inverse
filter functions are obtained which will reduce seismic wave forms to best approximations to the unit impulse in the
least squares sense.The degree of approximation obtained depends upon the time length of the inverse filter. Inverse
filter functions of moderate length produce approximate unit impulses whose breadths are 50 percent or less than
those of the original wavelets. Hence, these filters will increase resolution well beyond the practical limits of instrumental filters. Their effectiveness is more or less sensitive to variations in the peak frequency and shape of the
composition wavelet, and to interference, depending upon individual conditions. Although this sensitivity problem
can be solved to some extent through the proper design of the inverse filter, it is aggravated by the usual lack of
knowledge about the form of the composition wavelet.

Robinson (1957) has treated the inverse filtering problem under the title predictive decomposition. Starting with a seismic trace or portion
thereof, he gives theoretical and statistical methods for computing (1) one form of the seismic
wavelet composing the trace and (2) the prediction operator or inverse wavelet for effecting the
contraction to a sequence of spikes. His techniques are based on discrete or digitized time
functions which are amenable to treatment on
digital computers. This approach has the advantage that completely arbitrary wavelet shapes or
impulsive responses, which may be quite expensive if not impossible to simulate electroniically, are handled with ease.
Robinson restricts his attention to cases in
which the basic composition wavelet is a onesided, damped, minimum-phase time function, a
mathematical definition of which will be given
later. The reason for imposing this restriction is
that these are the only wavelets for which
bounded, one-sided inverses exist. However, most
seismic wavelets which we observe or are accustomed to working with (e.g. the theoretical
Ricker wavelet) are not of this restricted class.

INTRODUCTION

The

problem

of trying

traps with the reflection

to locate

stratigraphic

seismograph

is a difficult

one. One of the reasons for the difficulty

lark

of detail

Hence,

or resolution

the problem

is the

on the seismic record.

would be simplified

(at least

in good record areas) if it were possible to perform

the

inverse

divide
record

out

applying
wavelet

the

point

reflection

the reflection

is composed,

representing
another

of

the

leaving

reflection

of view,

a filter

process,

wavelet

which

only

the

From

this process consists

contracts

to
the

impulses

coefficients.

to a spike representing

and amplitude

i.e.,

of which

of

each reflection
the arrival

time

of that reflection.

In his paper dealing in part with wavelet contraction, Ricker (1953) discusses this problem
from an instrumental point of view. He was able
to design electronic filters which will reduce conventional seismic wavelets to 70 or 80 percent of
their original breadth. The application of such
filters to seismograms only achieves a partial
transformation back to the reflection coefficient
function, but a considerable improvement in resolution is effected.

* Presentedat the 30th Annual SEC Meeting, Galveston, Texas, November 9, 1960. Manuscript receivedby the
Editor June 9, 1961.
t The Ohio Oil Company, Littleton, Colorado.
4

inverse

f(t)

g(t)

Convolution

-80)

-+z-/-

h(t)= -6 (11=

laf(r,g(t-r)

-v-

dr

-a,
FIG. 1. The problem of determining an inverse filter
function, g(t), which will transform a given wavelet,
f(t), into a negative unit impulse, --6(t).

The purpose of this paper is to present methods

for computing approximate inverse filter functions
for arbitrary, non-minimum-phase seismic wavelets, and to discuss some of the properties of these
inverses which may affect their application to
actual seismic records.
STATEMENT

OF

THE

co
S

It should be mentioned that electronic circuit

theoreticians have been concerned with the inverse convolution filtering problem for some time
from the point of view of synthesizing electronically the impulsive response of a black box
when one knows the input and output wave forms
(e.g., Ba Hli (19.54), and Kautz (1954)). However,
they rarely deal with delta function outputs,
being more concerned with situations in which
f(t) and h(t) are compatible than with incompatible ones. For compatible cases, simple
methods are available for determining g(t). Hence,
their principal problem is to obtain rational fraction approximations to the system function,
i.e. the Laplace transform of g(f), which lead to
optimum realizable networks.

MATHEMATICAL

f(7)g(t - TW,
--m

(1)

where /z(t), the output function, is equal to the

negative delta function, -6(t), only when the
problem has an exact solution in terms of a finite,
bounded g(t). As will be seen later, given a wave
form f(t), there is in general no finite, bounded
g(t) ,which will produce the exact negative delta
function for It(t). In these casesf(t) and -6(t) may
be called incompatible. The chief concern of
this study is to investigate the effectiveness of
titer functions, g(t), which produce the best approximations to -6(t) in some sense.

BACKGROUND

In actual cases,f(t) and g(t) must be taken to

be zero everywhere except on some finite time
interval. Hence, relation (1) may be written as

PROBLEM

The problem to be treated here is indicated in

Figure 1. Given some arbitrary seismic wave
form, f(t), which is assumed to be the basic reflection wavelet composing a seismogram, find, by
digital means, an inverse filter function, g(t),
which will transform f(t) into a unit impulse, or
the best approximation thereto in some sense. In
Figure 1, and in what follows, the negative unit
impulse, or delta function, is used so that the
trough of the input waveform will correspond to
a trough of the output function.
It is assumed that we are dealing with linear
systems, so that the filter process is defined mathematically by the familiar convolution integral:

h(t) =

Filteti

h(t) =

t
S

_f(T)& -

TW.

(1)

There are several possible approaches to the

problem of obtaining g(t) when f(t) and h(t) are
known. One method is to take the Laplace transform, or the more general LaPlace-Stieltjes
transform, of both sides which yields the wellknown result (e.g., Gardner and Barnes (1942),
P. 22g),
H(s)

F(s) G(s),

(2)

where B(S), F(s), and G(s) are the Laplace transforms of h(t),f(t), and g(t), respectively. Since our
interest is in discrete representations, the Laplace
transforms may be replaced by the Dirichlet
series representations:

G(s) = 5 Xye--u(A~)s, and

v=i

H(s) =

(3)

B,e-YcAt),

=I

where A,, X,, and B, represent the areas under

the curvesf(t), g(t), and h(t), respectively, for the
vth equal interval At, and where it is assumed that

I?. B. Rice

rl,=O for v>m, X,=0 for v>N, and B,=O for

v >)z. Letting a,, x,, and b, represent midpoint
amplitude values of f(t), g(t), and h(t), respectively, and taking At= 1, the above relations reduce to the approximate expressions:
WL

F(s) =

UCS,

v=l

G(s) =

x,e-vs,

and

(4)

v=l

H(s) =

FIG. 2. The exact inverse of a 50 cps Ricker wavelet

obtained by polynomial division.

b,ecYs.

v=l

Since these are polynomials in ~8, it is evident

that the unknown amplitudes, xy, can he obtained
by synthetic division of H(s) by F(s).
Another method is to represent the time functions in terms of the socalled generating functions of Laplace (e.g., Jordan (1947) p 21). The
generating function, F(u), of the function, f(t),
can he written as

F(u) =

avu,

(5)

=I

where a, has the same meaning as before; and

similarly for G(U) and H(u). It has been shown
by Piety (1951) that, under the proper conditions,
the generating function of the convolution integral (1) can he approximated accurately by
H(u)

= F(u) G(u).

(6)

Thus, the unknown amplitudes, xy, can again be

obtained through polynomial division of H(u)
by F(u).
The accuracy of any of these approximations
will depend upon the size of the interval used in
sampling the original functions. It is known that,
if the waveforms have a cut-off frequency of fC,
then 1/2f, is an adequate interpolation interval.
In the absence of a realistic cut-off frequency,
an arbitrary cut-off may he made at that point at
which the amplitude spectrum is down, say 40 db,
or l/100 of the peak value.
In all the studies described in this paper, a sampling interval of 2 ms has been used, with a corresponding cut-off frequency of 250 cps.
Having defined the inverse titer function in
terms of a polynomial division process, the next
step is to find out what happens when this division

is attempted. For /z(l) equal to the negative unit

impulse, its polynomial approximation reduces to
a single term, --u. When this is divided by the
polynomial representation of the wavelet f(t),
usually the quotient or inverse coefficients oscillate and increase more and more rapidly until
they are exceeding all reasonable bounds. This is
illustrated in Figure 2 which shows the first portion of the inverse resulting for a symmetric 50
cps Ricker wavelet.
From the point of view of complex variable
theory, this is the case for which F(u), with u
interpreted as a complex variable, has at least one
root inside the unit circle 1UI = 1. Then C(U) cannot have a convergent power series expansion on
and within the unit circle and hence no hounded
inverse exists. In the special case in which F(u)
has no roots on the unit circle, but has roots both
interior and exterior to it, G(U) has a Laurent
series expansion

G(u) =

gsu,

s=-cc

which converges on the unit circle. Such an expansion is called two-sided in contrast to a
one-sided power series expansion. It is possible
in this instance, if the convergence is rapid
enough, to use a reasonable number of terms of
this two-sided expansion as the inverse wavelet,
but we shall not be concerned with this approach.
If F(u) has all its roots within the unit circle,
then the Laurent expansion reduces to the singular part

G(u) =

gsu,

Inverse

Convolution

which converges on the unit circle but which is

strictly nonrealizable because it has no finite
starting time. Again, if the convergence is rapid
enough, it is possible to use a finite number of
terms of this expansion as the inverse filter. If,

Gn Ul +

L&f-1X?

a,

rz+

polynomial multiplication and coefficients of like

terms on either side of the equality are equated,
the following series of linear simultaneous equations in the unknown inverse amplitudes, xi, is
obtained:

bm

zz

. +

a1

a2 LL +

a1

-rnL+1

a, xm+

xm-l

.xmtl

Filters

X,

=b

. .

a1

a,x,_,,+l
in addition to roots within the unit circle, F(u)
also has one or more roots on the unit circle, then
the above expansion for C(u) will not converge on
the unit circle, and hence it cannot in any way be
used as an inverse operator.
In any of the above cases, F(u) is non-minimum-phase (at least one root inside the unit
circle), and an attempted one-sided polynomial
division of H(u) by F(zt) will produce an unbounded inverse.
If, on the other hand, F(zL) has no roots on or
within the unit circle, it is called minimumphase. Then G(u) does have a convergent power
series expansion for / UI _<1, which can be used
for the inverse filter. This is the case treated by
Robinson (1957), as mentioned in the introduction.
In summary then, there is usually no one-sided
bounded inverse which will transform observed or
theoretical seismic wavelets into the unit impulse.
This problem may be examined from another
point of-view which may be more lucid and which
will form the basis for later remarks about the
solution. Again, if convolution is represented as
1 Filters, whether electronic or digital, are usually
termed realizable only when they permit one to work
in real time. However, if the filtering is done with
respectto nominal time (e.g. the time scaleon a recordedseismogram),then nonrealizable filters can be
used.Suchnonrealizable filters are in fact filters with
large time-delays.Usually, electronicfilters are usedfor
real time applicationsand digital computersfor nominal
time applications,although there are numerousexceptions.

x,-m+1

(7)

m+l

b,_,+l

b,,

...=

For h(t) equal to the negative unit impulse, bl= - 1

and b, = 0 for v > 1. Hence, the polynomial division
process is equivalent to solving the first equation
for n-r, substituting this in the second equation
with bp=O, and solving for .rz, etc. Since this is a
set of infinitely many equations in infinitely many
unknowns, the solution will never terminate unless the values of .ti obtained in the solution of the
first n--m+1
equations exactly satisfy the last
m- 1 equations. This is the condition for cornpatibility mentioned earlier.
LEAST

SQUARES

COMPUTATION

OF

INVERSE

FILTERS

Since, in general, there is no exact solution to

the problem, methods for obtaining approximate
solutions are called for. There are several possibilities. One may relax requirements on the wavelet
f(t), on the unit impulse, or on both. Then one can
ask for x,s which will give the best approximation
to these modified functions in the Tchebycheff
sense (minimize the maximum deviation), in the
least squares sense (minimizing the sum of the
squares of the deviations), or in some other sense.
A number of approaches have been tried. It appears that the most useful solution is obtained in
terms of the best least squares approximation to
the unit impulse. That is to say, assuming all the
x,s in equation 7 are zero for v > N, we ask for the
unique set of IS which will minimize the sum
of the squares of the deviations of the calculated b,s from the desired ones, bl= - 1, and
b,=O for v>l.

R. B. Rice

The derivation of the least squares solution is

most conveniently given in terms of matrix algebra. Let A represent the nXN matrix of coefficients, X the Nth order solution column vector,
B the nth order column vector of right-hand elements, and E the nth order column vector whose
elements are the deviations of the calculated
b,s from the desired ones. Then,

AX-B==,

(8)

and the sum of the squares of the deviations is

EE

= (AX

- B)(AX

= (XA

- B)

- B)(AX

= XAA
X

- B)

- XAB

(9)

- BAX

+ BB,

where the primes denote transposes.

To obtain the normal equations, take the partial derivatives of (9) with respect to each of the
elements of X and set the result equal to zero. We
then obtain the normal equations,

XAA
lJk

+ UAA
X
-

BAUk

UkAB

= 0 for all k,

(10)

where Uk is the Nth order unit column vector

with unity in the kth position. Rearrange (10) so
that

(XAA

BA)u~
= Uk(-AAX

+ AB).

(10)

Now, AA is an Nth order square matrix. Hence

and (XAA
-BA)
are Nth order row
vectors. On the other hand, (--AAX+AB)
is
an Nth order column vector. Thus, for any k, the
left-hand side of (10) is the element in the kth
position of the row vector (XAA - BA) and the
right-hand side is the element of the kth position
Since the
of the column vector (-AAX+AB).
equality is valid for all k, we must have

XAA

(XAA

BA)

= -

AAX

squares error reduces to

EE

= BB

(11)

It is easily verified from these relations that

X satisfying AX=B
is both a necessary and
sufficient condition for EE=O.
As indicated
earlier, this can only happen in special situations
for finite X, X, and B, which, in matrix language,
are those cases for which the rank of the augmented matrix AB is equal to the rank of A. However, when B, by adding Os, A, and X are allowed
to become infinite, A approaches a square matrix,
and there is an exact, though useless, X which
satisfies AX=B. This is the same solution obtained by the successive substitution or polynomial division processes mentioned earlier.
From these heuristic considerations and more
detailed analyses of the form of EE for low-order
systems, the following theorem is conjectured to
be true, although a general proof is not yet at
hand:
Theorem:The least squares error EE decreases
monotonically as the number of nonzero terms in
the inverse filter function, X, is allowed to increase.
If true, this theorem indicates that a wavelet
may be reduced to as accurate an approximation
to the unit impulse as one desires by an appropriate choice of the length of the inverse filter function. This is an important consideration for applications and will be illustrated later.
Before considering some specific inverse filters
computed by the least squares method, it is of
interest to look at the form of the normal equations (11) in more detail. The matrix of coefficients
AA has the symmetric form,

AtA =

,:

+ AB

010

(LYMa,,-,,-1

or

BAX.

uo

where

AAX

= AB

(11)

which gives

m--k
o!k = c aiai+k,

k = 0, 1, . . . , 12-

X = (ilA)-AB

(12)

X = BA(AA)-I.

(13)

and

with o&= 0 for k > m- 1. Now the (Ykare the amplitudes of the autocorrelation of the original wavelet, with
CYo =

Substituting

m,

i=l

these quantities in (9), the least

2
s-1

Ui2

Inverse

Convolution

being the maximum center value, 011the next

value on either side of the center, etc.
The right-hand member of (11) is

aA,

2=1

AB

a&i+1

(16)

i=l

For the case when the negative unit impulse is

placed at the mthpoint (b,= -1, b,=Ofor vfm),
this vector reduces to
I

-a,
-a,-1 .

I
i,

(16)

I - a2m--m
I
the elements of which are the negative amplitudes
of the original wavelet in reverse order down to
the aZ,+,th one.
The above observations show that the normal
equations are easily formed from the amplitudes
of the original wavelet and its autocorrelation.
Hence, with a polynomial multiplication routine

to calculate the autocorrelation, least squares inverse filters can be computed using a standard
program for solving systems of linear equations.
A special case of interest is the one for which
the original wavelet is symmetric; m, n, an8
N( =n-m+
1) are odd; and the negative unit
impulse is placed at the $(n+l)st
point. Then,
for n>2m-1,
the right-hand vector (16) will be
symmetric around the center value -a;(,+i),
with zeros at the top and bottom, and the inverse
filter function will be symmetric. If the inverse
filter is taken to be the same length as the original
b,=-1),
there are
wavelet (N=m, n=2m-1,
no zeros at the upper right- and lower left-hand
corners of AA (15). Also the right-hand members
(16) consist precisely of the negative amplitudes
of the original wavelet with no additional zeros.
The case of symmetric wavelets and symmetric
inverses is the one dealt with most frequently in
the illustrations to follow. For this case, the m
normal equations (11) can be reduced to $(m+ 1)
independent equations, thereby greatly reducing
the computation time and the amount of computer storage required.
ILLUSTRATIVE

Figure
resulting
tive unit
wavelets

EXAMPLES

3 shows the least squares inverses and

approximations to the symmetric negaimpulse obtained for symmetric Ricker
peaked at 75 and 37.5 cps, respectively

LEAST SQUARES
INVERSE

RICKER
WAVELET

Filters

APPROXIMATE
UNIT IMPULSE

-+lk.OI

75

cps

set

37.5 cps

FE. 3. Least squaresinversesand approximateunit impulsesfor 75 and 37.5 cps Ricker wavelets.

R. B. Rice

10

FREQUENCY
I%.

cps

4. Amplitude spectra of 75 and 37.5 cps inverses

of Figure 3.
The tails of the Ricker wavelets have been cut
off at a level of 0.002 percent of the maximum
amplitude. In each case, the number of points in
the inverse is the same as the number defining the
Ricker wavelet.
The resulting approximation to the negative
unit impulse for the 75 cps case is narrower and
has less ripple on either side of the center trough
than the one for the 37.5 cps case. However, it
should be noted that in each instance the center
trough of the Ricker wavelet has been reduced to

RICKER
WAVELET

about 50 percent of its original breadth. This

rule-of-thumb holds for any frequency when the
inverse and the wavelet are of the same length.
LVote that the two inverses are not similar in
shape as one might expect. The reason is that the
same interpolation interval (2ms) has been used
in both cases, so that the frequency characteristics of the wavelets and inverses have different
relationships to the cut-off frequency (250 cps).
Figure 4 shows the amplitude spectra for the
7.5 and 37.5 cps inverse filters. The spectrum of
the 7.5 cps inverse rises smoothly to a peak at
250 cps, whereas the 37.5 cps inverse spectrum
has a local maximum at 140 cps and the major
peak at about 200 cps. Sate the small amount of
low-frequency content in both cases which, as will
be seen later, can be troublesome. The phase
spectra (not shown) are linear with the slope of
course depending upon the choice of zero time
The corresponding inverses for 50 and 25 cps
symmetric Ricker wavelets are exhibited in Figure
5. Again, the wavelets are reduced by the inverses
to about 50 percent of their original breadths.
Figure 6 shows the amplitude spectra for the
50 and 2.5cps inverses. The spectrum of the 2.5cps
inverse rises smoothly to a peak frequency of
about 100 cps, then falls off erratically. On the
other hand, the 50 cps spectrum peaks locally at
170 cps and has its major peak at about 215 cps.
The theorem conjectured above is illustrated
in Figure 7 which shows the inverses and approximate unit impulses for the 75 cps Ricker wavelet

LEAST SQUARES
INVERSE

APPROXIMATE
UNIT IMPULSE

-+lk50 cps

.OI

set

25 cps

lr
FIG. 5. Least squaresinversesand approximate unit impulsesfor 50 and 25 cps Ricker wavelets.

Inverse

Convolution

an
:
I

50 cps &
INVERSE

,
I

)I=
0

50

II

150

200

250

FREQUENCY, cps
FIG. 6. Amplitude spectraof 50 and 25 cps inverses

of Figure 5.

75

RICKER
WAVELET
cps

INVERSE

Filters

11

when the number of points in the inverse is increased from 17 to 25, then to 41. The improvement in the shape of the unit impulse approximation is quite striking although the breadth, which
is limited by the cut-off frequency, remains essentially constant. The spectra for these inverses
are presented in Figure 8. Sate that, as the inverse increases in length, the spectrum exhibits
an increasingly steeper slope starting at higher
and higher frequencies.
These results indicate that the least squares inverse filters can be made as nearly perfect as one
desires, except for the limitations imposed on the
size of systems of normal equations that can be
solved on todays digital computers. Experience
to date indicates that double-precision arithmetic
(18 or 20 decimal digits) is required for about
20th order or larger systems. Round-off error is
more troublesome than in most cases because
there are few or no zeros present in the coefficient
matrix.

APPROXIMATE
UNIT
IMPULSE

FIG. 7. Approximateunit impulsesproducedby 75 cpsinversesof increasinglengths.

R. 8. Rice

12
I.Or

SPECTRA OF 75cps
INVERSES

.9c

/I
II

1,
;

17pt
25pt
41 pt

.7

?
7 6

:I
II
II

2
a .5

:
.

:;
!I

.._f,

200

150

100

50

FREQUENCY
FIG. 8.

II
1;

2;o

cps

Amplitude spectraof 75 cpsinversesof Figure 7

Next, it is of interest to see how effective these

inverse filters are in transforming synthetic seis-

mograms back to the reflection coefficient functions from which they were derived. The results
will be indicative of possibilities under ideal condictions; i.e., assuming that the basic composition
wavelet is known, is invariant with respect to
time and that there is no interference present.
Trace (c) of Figure 9 represents a reflection coefficient function obtained from an actual continuous velocity log on a Nebraska well, assuming
constant density. Trace (a) is the synthetic seismogram obtained by convolving the 75 cps symmetric Ricker wavelet of Figure 3 with Trace (c),
and Trace (b) is the result of applying the 75 cps
inverse of Figure 3 to Trace (a). The detailed
agreement between Traces (b) and (c) is excellent.
If one were able to do this well on an actual siesmogram, certainly there would be much less difficulty in making detailed, accurate stratigraphic
and lithologic interpretations from seismic records
However, in practice there are many complicating
factors which will be discussed below.

.Ol SEC.

(a) -Trace (c) x 75 cps

WAVELET

RICKER

(b) - Trace (a) x INVERSE OF

75 cps RICKER WAVELET

(c)-REFLECTION
FUNCTION

COEFFICIEN

(d)-Trace
(e) x INVERSE OF
37.5 cps RICKER WAVELET

(e)-

Trace (c) x 37.5 cps.

RICKER WAVELET
FIG.

9. Resultsof applying 7.5and 37.5 cps inversesof Figure 3 to synthetic seismograms

computedfrom a CVL on a Nebraska well.

Inverse

Convolution

Trace (e) of Figure 9 is the synthetic seismogram obtained from the same reflection coefficient
function (c) using the 37.5 cps symmetric Ricker
wavelet of Figure 3 , and Trace (d) is the result
of filtering this trace with the 37.5 cps inverse.
In this case, some of the detail has been lost, but
the agreement with Trace (c) is still fairly good.
In Figure 10, similar results, based on the same
reflection coefficient (Trace (c)), are shown for the
cases of the 50 and 25 cps Ricker wavelets and
their inverses of Figure 5. The 50 cps inverse produces quite good agreement (Trace (b)) with the
original reflection coefficient function, but the 25
cps inverse does not restore much of the detail.
Better results can be obtained in any case by using
a longer inverse.
In the application of the inverse filtering technique to actual seismograms, there are a number
of factors which may significantly affect the results. These include variations in the frequency
and character of the composition wavelet, and
the presence of interference. Some of these effects
have been investigated synthetically to obtain
preliminary estimates of their significance and to
evaluate partially the possibilities of overcoming
the problems which they generate.
For the purpose of illustrations, an arbitrary
distinction will be drawn between variations in
frequency which preserve wavelet form and
changes in wavelet shape which leave the peak
frequency unaltered. This distinction may be difficult to find in practice where variable earth fdtering corresponding to different reflection times,
differential effects due to weathering changes, and
variations in shooting conditions will usually affect both peak frequency and wavelet shape.
However, the assumption of linearity permits
these additive effects to be studied individually.
I?ffect of Variations in Peak Frequency

Figure 11 shows the approximate unit impulses

resulting from the application of the 50 cps inverse of Figure 5 to symmetric Ricker wavelets
having peak frequencies of 44, 37.5, 25, 56.25, and
75 cps, respectively, as compared with the 50 cps
case at the top of the figure. The results on the
left for decreasing frequencies indicate a broadening effect. In fact, the approximate unit impulse
for the 2.5 cps case is about 30 percent wider than
the 2.5 cps Ricker wavelet itself. The reason is
that the inverse amplifies the low frequencies in
the wavelet relative to the intermediate frequen-

Filters

13

ties (Figure 6). For example, the 10 cps component for the 50 cps inverse is five times the 50 cps
component. Hence, as the peak frequency of the
Ricker wavelet is decreased and the amount of
high-frequency content above 100 cps becomes
insignificant, the low-frequency portion of the inverse spectrum becomes dominant.
On the other hand, if the peak frequency of the
wavelet is greater than that on which the inverse
is based, as in the two cases on the right side of
Figure 11, the additional high frequencies are
amplified too much.
The over-all results indicate that the effect of
variations in frequency of the order of + 10 percent is not serious. If the inverse is based on a peak
frequency which is too high, the resolution will
suffer proportionately. If the peak frequency is
too low, the amount of ripple will increase.
E$ect of Variations

in Wavelet Shape

Next consider variations in wavelet shape corresponding to changes in the form of the amplitude and/or phase spectra of the composition
wavelet which leave the peak frequency unaltered
Obviously, there is no end to the number of different kinds of variations that could be considered
However, space permits the illustration of two
types.
Figure 12 shows the approximate unit impulses
obtained by applying the 17-point, 75 cps inverse
of Figure 3 to symmetric 75 cps Ricker wavelets
with 17, 13, and 11 nonzero values, respectively.
It will be noted that this increase in the sharpness of cut-off of the tails of the wavelet has no
adverse effect whatever. This is a desirable property of the least squares computation technique
which would not hold for some other inverse filter
calculation methods.
In Figure 13, the traces on the right are the
result of convolving the slightly asymmetric
wavelets on the left with the inverses (Figures
3 and 5) for the corresponding symmetric Ricker
wavelets. The asymmetric wavelets have been
obtained by adding a saw-tooth function to the
symmetric Ricker wavelets with the amplitude of
positive and negative peaks of the saw-tooth
function being about 4 percent of the maximum
trough amplitude of the Ricker wavelet. Note
that the effect of the asymmetry is very slight in
the 75 cps case, but that it increases with decreasing frequency, becoming completely overriding in the 25 cps case. This is explained by the

R. B. Rice

14

.Ol SEC.
-ww(a) -Trace
(c)
WAVELET

x 50 cps

RICKER

(b)-Trace
(a) x INVERSE
OF
50 cps RICKER
WAVELET

(c)-REFLECTION
FUNCTION

coEFFiciENT

id)-Trace
(e) x INVERSE
OF
25 cps RICKER WAVELET

(e)-Trace
(c) x 25
WAVELET

cps

RICKER

FIG. 10. Results of applying 50 and 25 cps inverses of Figure 5 to synthetic seismograms
computed from a CVL on a Nebraska well.

x 44 cps R W 4

x37.5 cps RW-

f-

x56.!5cpsRdb

V
n

FIG. 11. Convolutions of 50 cps inverse of Figure 5 with Ricker wavelets of different peak frequencies.

Inverse

75 cps RICKER

Convolution

Filters

15

APPROXIMATE

INVERSE

WAVELET

.Oi

17-Point

SEC.

UNIT

IMPULSE

I--

--T--

I3-Point

I:

I I-Point
v
I
1;
FIG. 12. Effect of approximateunit impulse for 75 cps caseof cutting off tails of Ricker wavelet
fact that the saw-tooth function added in each
case contains a larger proportion of high-frequency
components than the Ricker wavelets. These components are not significant in the extreme highfrequency range where the peak of the 7.5 cps inverse spectrum occurs, but are increasingly differentially amplified by the lower frequency inverses.
Most types of variations in wavelet shape would
not add such high-frequency components and
hence would not be so troublesome. If the varied
forms of the wavelet are known, the inverse
filter can be designed to circumvent the difficulties
as much as possible, although the amount of resolution effected may have to be comprised. The
biggest problem, however, is that of determining
the form of the composition wavelet. The standard technique based on the power spectrum of the
autocorrelation of the assumed stationary time

series (e.g., Robinson (1957)) gives no information

about the phase spectrum of the wavelet, which,
of course, strongly influences the shape. Hence,
reliance must be placed on theoretical or empirical
knowledge other than that contained in the seismogram.
Eject

of Random Noise

Finally, a few synthetic studies have been

carried out to investigate the effect of random interference on the inverse filtering process. The
digital computer was used to generate random
noise spikes with an assigned density and maximum amplitude in a prescribed interval. The upper left-hand Trace I of Figure 14 shows such a set
of random noise spikes superimposed on the latter
portion of the 50 cps synthetic seismogram
(Trace (a)) of Figure 10. The maximum amplitude

Ft. B. Rice

16

MODIFIED
RICKER
WAVELETS

75

cps

50

cps

CONVOLUTIONS
OF WAVELETS
ON LEFT WITH
INVERSES OF SYMMETRIC
RICKER
WAVELETS
OF SAME FREQUENCY

FIG. 13. Convolutionsof inversesof Figures 3 and 5 with asymmetricRicker wavelets.

of these spikes is about 50 percent of the maximum trace amplitude. When this noise function is
convolved with 25, 50, and 7.5 cps symmetric
Ricker wavelets, respectively, and added to the
original trace, the three lower traces on the left
are obtained. The traces on the right are the result of applying the 50 cps inverse filter of Figure
5 to the left-hand traces.
In comparing the second trace on the right
with the upper right-hand trace, it is observed
that the details have been fairly well restored inthe presence of the 25 cps noise, but that there is
a low-frequency component remaining. For the
case when the interference is made the same frequency as the signal (third set of traces), the inverse filter cannot distinguish between the signal
and the noise. Hence, the interference affects the

results in direct proportion to its density and

amplitude. In the last set of traces, it is evident
that the 75 cps noise has a disastrous effect on the
filtering process. The amplitudes on the righthand trace have been reduced by a factor of ten
to keep them within reasonable bounds, and there
is no resemblance to the top trace.
These examples indicate that random interference may not be too troublesome if it is of substantially lower frequency than the reflections,
although the very low frequencies will be amplified
by the inverse filter to some extent as mentioned
earlier in the discussion of Figure 11. The requirement is that the interference must not have significant frequency content beyond the point at
which the spectrum of the inverse filter starts to
rise rapidly. If the cut-off frequency can be made

Inverse

Convolution

SYNTHETIC
SEISMOGRAMS

TRACE

Filters

17

LEFT-HAND TRACES
X50 cps INVERSE FILTER

TRACE I
+25 cps NOISE

TRACE I
4-50 cps NOISE

TRACE I
3-75 cps NOISE

FIG. 14. Effect of random noiseof different frequencieson resultsof applying 50 cpsinverse of
Figure 5 to 50 cps synthetic seismogram.
high enough and the inverse filter long enough,
this requirement can usually be fulfilled. If this is
not accomplished, the results, as in the lower
right-hand trace, will be self-explanatory.
It should be noted that significant reading errors introduced in digitizing seismograms will
have the same effect as high-frequency interference. Hence, it is necessary to develop some
procedure for digitizing traces with sufficient accuracy. Commercial oscillographic readers are
usually employed.
SUMMARY

AND

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, it has been demonstrated that it

is possible to compute inverse filter functions by
digital techniques which, under ideal conditions,
will increase the resolution of reflection effects on

seismograms well beyond the limits that are practical with instrumental filters. It has been shown
that the effectiveness of these filters is more or less
sensitive to variations in the peak frequency and
shape of the wavelet composing the seismogram,
and to interference. This sensitivity can be overcome to some extent by designing the filter so that
it will not amplify unwanted frequencies. In many
instances, the amount of resolution effected will
have to be compromised with the sensitivity problem, which is aggravated by the usual lack of
knowledge about the form of the composition
wavelet. Nevertheless, the method appears to
hold enough promise as a new seismic interpretation tool in the search for stratigraphic traps to
warrant further study of its application to field
records.

R. B. Rice

18
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author
Mr.

is greatlv

R. L. Massey,

the work
thank

indebted

to his assistant,

for his help in most phases of

on this paper.

Dr. E. A. Robinson

He would

also like

for his helpful

to

reading

of the manuscript.

REFERENCES

Ba Hli, F., 1954, .4 general method for time domain network synthesis: Transactions of the IRE Professional Group on Circuit Theory, v. CT-l, n. 3, p.
21-28.

Gardner, XI. F., and Barnes, J. L., 1942, Transients in

linear systems, v. 1: New York, John Wiley and Sons,
Inc.
Jordan, Charles, 1947, Calculus of finite differences,
2nd edition: New York, Chelsea Publishing Co.
Kautz, W. H., 1954, Transient synthesis in the time
domain: Transactions of the IRE Professional Group
on Circuit Theory, v. CT-l, n. 3, p. 29-38.
Piety, R. G., 1951, A linear operational calculus of empirical functions: Phillips Petroleum Co. Research
Division Report 10612.51R.
Ricker, Norman, 1953, Wavelet contraction, wavelet
expansion, and the control of seismic resolution: Geophysics, v. 18, p. 7699792.
Robinson, E. A., 1957, Predictive decomposition of
seismic traces: Geophysics, v. 22, p. 767-778.