GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 56, NO.

7 (JULY

1991); P. 1058-1060, 1 FIG.

Short Note Instantaneous frequency and amplitude at the envelope peak of a constant-phase wavelet

A. E. Barnes*
INTRODUCTION

Taking the derivative of this with respect to time and dividing by z(t) gives

Robertson and Nogami (1984) have shown that the instantaneous frequency at the peak of a zero-phase Ricker wavelet is exactly equal to that wavelet s average Fourier spectral frequency weighted by its amplitude spectrum. Bodine (1986) gave an example which shows this is also true for constant-phase bandpass wavelets. Here I prove that this holds for any constant-phase wavelet. I then develop an equation expressing this quantity as a function of propagation time through an attenuating medium. A corresponding equation is derived for the amplitude of the envelope peak. Taken together, these may aid in the analysis of seismic data as suggested by Robertson and Nogami (1984), Bodine (1986), and Robertson and Fisher (1988).
INSTANTANEOUS FREQUENCY AT ENVELOPE PEAK

(3)

The term on the left may be expressed as z(t)

~=_ d dt In z(t),

z(t)

= i

In [ai

ew

(_i%(tI)l,

Let z(t) represent an analytic wavelet with constant phase, and let its Fourier transform be Z(f). Because z(t) is analytic, Z(f) is zero for negative frequencies. Both z(t) and Z(j) may be expressed as the product of an amplitude function with a phase function:
z(t) = ai

= G [In a,(t) + jl3,(t)].

Defining the instantaneous decay rate Oi(t) as
d a;(t) =;

(4)

exp (jOi(t

and (1)

In q(t),

(3

Z(f)

= AU) exn (j+,),

and the instantaneous frequency fi(t) as J;(t) = ; f 0,(t) (6)

where a,(t) is the instantaneous amplitude (trace envelope), n,(t) is the instantaneous phase, A(f) is the amplitude spectrum, and c$~is the phase spectrum, which here is an arbitrary constant. To avoid linear phase terms, without loss of generality, I take the center of the wavelet to be at t = 0. By the inverse Fourier transform,

(e.g., Taner et al., 1979), equation (4) can be rewritten as z(t) ~ = a;(t) + j2Tfi(t). z(t) At time t = 0 the envelope is (7)

Manuscript receivedby the Editor August 10, 1990; revised manuscript received December 20. 1990.
*Institute for the Study of,the Continents (INSTOC) and Department of Geological Sciences, Cornell University, presently Genie Mineral, Ecole Polytechnique, C.P. 6079, Succursale A. Montreal. Quebec H3C 3A7. 0 1991 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved. 1058 Ithaca, New York 14853;

Frequency and Amplitude

at Envelope Peak

1059

ai

(a)
(8)

PEAR FREQUENCY DECAY

AU ) dh

this is a global maximum, the envelope peak, so the decay rate is zero: ~~(0) = 0. Putting this together with equations (7) and (3) yields the desired result:

fi(0) =

O
JO

(9)

In words, the instantaneous frequency of a constant-phase wavelet taken at its envelope peak is equal to its average Fourier spectral frequency weighted by its amplitude spectrum.
EFFECT OF ATTENUATION

BANDWlDTH 8-32 Hz

I
0

4 TIMEB(s)

12

16

@I

PEAK AMPLITUDE DECAY 1

Equation (9) can be rewritten as a function of wavelet traveltime t; here t is the arrival time of the envelope peak of the wavelet and is not the same as the t of the preceding section, which expressesrecord time within a wavelet relative to the envelope peak. Let A(t, J ) be the amplitude spectrum of the wavelet after traveltime r and let&(t) be the instantaneous frequency at its envelope peak. Now equation (9) may be expressed as

f/J(t) =

o; I( =

fA(r, f ) 4 (10)

BANDWIDTH

sPBErucAL.wAvEFBowr 8-32 Hz

A(r.f) df
0

4
TIMEB (s)

12

16

Equation (IO) can be used to calculate the envelope-peak instantaneous frequency of a constant-phase wavelet that has propagated for a time t through a homogeneousattenuating medium with quality factor Q (e.g., Sheriff, 1984, p. 194). A constant-phase wavelet, being noncausal, is not physically realizable, so I assume that the source wavelet has been converted to constant phase by an appropriate phase-rotation operator. Dispersion accompanies the attenuation of a propagating wavelet, which causes the phase spectrum of the wavelet to be a function of time as well as frequency. Therefore, the phase-rotation operator should be a function of both time and frequency. However, this time dependence is probably negligible in reflection seismology (Toksoz and Johnston, 1981, p. 352) and will be ignored here. Correlated but undeconvolved vibroseis data should have nearly zero phase if the phase contributions of the geophones and recording system are small, and therefore such data could be suitable for this analysis. A(t, f) is an instantaneous amplitude spectrum and is given by the familiar expression for Q lossescombined with geometrical spreading lossesfor a spherical wavefront:
exp

(cl

PEAK AMPLITUDE DECAY

PLANEWAVEF'BONT BANDWIDTH 8-32 Hz

I
I

4 TIMEB(s)

12

16

(-nftiQ)
t 1 (11)

A(t,f )

= A(kf)

I. Theoretical decay in frequency and /.-.amplitude ^ at peak of isolated constant-phase wavelets. (a) Peak frequency decay due to attenuation. (b) Peak amplitude decay due to attenuation and geometrical spreading. (c) Peak amplitude decay due to attenuation alone.

1060

Barnes For the example of an initially ideal bandpass source wavelet, equations (13) and (15) express decay in envelope-peak frequencies and amplitudes on seismic data as a function of traveltime. They can serve as an aid in frequency analysis of isolated wavelets on undeconvolved and ungained seismic data along the lines advocated by Bodine (1986) and Robertson and Fisher (1988). However, it is difficult to establish whether or not a given recorded wavelet is truly isolated, that is, free of interference from other wavelets. Noise cannot be included in this analysis because it is random whereas the envelope-peak frequency and amplitude arc strictly deterministic quantities. The restriction that the wavelets be constant-phase may pose another practical difficulty. The shortcomings of analysis of envelope-peak frequencies and amplitudes can be avoided by analysis of average frequencies and amplitudes (Barnes, 1990), though averaging comes at the expense of resolution.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS a function of traveltime.

where A(0, f) is the amplitude spectrum of the wavelet at time t = 0. Consider the useful example of an ideal bandpass wavelet of bandwidth fu to f,, ; A(0. f) is given by

A(O,f) = :,

ft <f<fi
f <f; orf >fh, (12)

Substituting equations (1 1) and (12) into equation (IO) and performing the integrations yields

This equation is plotted in Figure la for a bandwidth of 8 to 32 hertz and for a range of values of Q. The corresponding equation for the peak instantaneous amplitude A,(t) is

Ap(t) =

= Act, f ) 4: I 0

(14)

Integrating this with the expression for A(t, f ) given above produces

This work was supported by National Science Foundation grants EAR-84- 18 I57 and EAR-86-09992. IN STOC contribution 147.
REFERENCES

4(f) =

[exp

(-TfttlQ)

- exp (-Tfhf/Q)].

(15) Barnes. A. E., 1990. Analysis of temporal variations in average frequency and amDlitude of COCORP deep seismic reflection data: 60th Ann. Iniernat. Mtg.. Sot. Expl. deophys., Expanded
Abstracts, 1553-1556. Bodine, J. H., 1986, Waveform analysis with seismic attributes: Oil and Gas J., 84, no. 23, 59-63. Claerbout, J. F., 1985. lmaging the earth s interior: Blackwell Scientific Publications. Robertson, J. D., and Fisher, D. A., 1988, Complex seismic trace attributes: The Leading Edge. 7, no. 6, 22-26. Robertson, J. D., and Nogami, H. H.. 1984, Complex seismic trace analysis of thin beds: Geophysics. 49, 344-352. Saha, J. G.. 1987, Relationship between Fourier and instantaneous frequency: 57th Ann. Internat. Mtg., Sot. Expl. Geophys., Expanded Abstracts, 591-594. Sheriff , R. E.. 1984. Encyclopedic dictionary of exploration geophysics: Sot. Expl. Geophys. Taner, M. T., Koehler, F.. and Sheriff. R. E., 1979, Complex seismic trace analysis Geophysics, 44, 1041-1063. Toksiiz, M. N., and-Johnston, 6. H., 1981, Seismic wave attenuation: Sot. Expl. Geophys.

Equation (15) is plotted in Figure lb for the same bandwidth and Q values as in Figure la. Multiplying it by the factor t gives the peak amplitude decay for a plane wave (Figure lc). Further substitution of the valuesf, = 0 andfh = x into this resultant equation essentially reduces it to the formula given by Claerbout (1985, p. 234).
DISCUSSION

For a wavelet with constant phase, the instantaneous frequency taken at its envelope peak is exactly equal to the average Fourier spectral frequency weighted by the amplitude spectrum. Saha (1987) has shown that this is approximately true of any wavelet. For a wavelet propagating through an attenuating medium, this frequency decreases as