INVERSION OF POST-STACK SEISMIC DATA USING SIMULATED ANNEALING

Model-based inversion of seismic reflection data is a global optimization problem when prior information is sparse. We investigate the use of an efficient, global, stochastic optimization method, that of simulated annealing, for determining the two-way traveltimes and the reflection coefficients. We exploit the advantage of an ensemble approach to the inversion of full-scale target zones on 2D seismic sections. In our ensemble approach, several copies of the model-algorithm system are run in parallel. In this way, estimation of true ensemble statistics for the process is made possible, and improved annealing schedules can be produced. It is shown that the method can produce reliable results efficiently in the 2D case, even when prior information is sparse.