Publications

Seismic exploration is limited by a data management problem, namely the time it takes to digitize and record full 20 bit word data. Sign bit recording, wherein only + 1 or - 1 is recorded depending on the direction the active element of the geophone is moving at a given sample time, offers a way to reduce the problem. Theoretical treatment indicates that coherent signals can be recovered from sign bit records with requisite dynamic range that is a function of redundancy through repeated shots, sweep correlations or stacking. The method requires that the coherent signal to random noise ratio be less than unity. The coherent signals that originate in the source act as constant statistical bias on the random noise where they reoccur in the traces produced in repeated shots, correlations or composites.