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A Review of Variational Mode Decomposition in Seismic Data Analysis

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Abstract

Signal processing techniques play an important role in seismic data analysis. Variational mode decomposition (VMD), as a powerful signal processing method, has been extensively applied in seismic signal processing. A large number of papers on the application of VMD in seismic data analysis have appeared in various journals, conference proceedings, and technical communications. The paper aims to investigate and summarize the recent advancements of VMD and its application in seismic data analysis and give a comprehensive reference for scholars that may be interested in this topic so that researchers can select a more in-depth research direction. Firstly, the VMD principle is briefly introduced, and the advantage and limitations of this approach are illustrated in detail. Secondly, recent applications of the VMD in seismic data analysis are summarized in terms of specific scenarios, such as seismic time–frequency analysis (TFA), seismic denoising, and other applications. Finally, the key problems of VMD in seismic data analysis are discussed, and the potential research directions are listed. It is expected that the review would be constructive to the basic understanding of the VMD concept for beginners and insightful exploration of VMD’s applications in seismic data analysis for advanced researchers.

Article Highlights

  • Seismic data analysis plays an important role in extracting valuable information from seismic records

  • This paper surveys the VMD and its applications in the field of seismic data analysis in a comprehensive way

  • Promising research prospects of VMD in seismic data analysis are proposed

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This is a review paper for which no new data were generated. Data supporting the figures are available by the cited references.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R &D Program of China under Grant 2018YFB2000800 and joint project of BRC-BC under Grant XK2020-04. The authors are grateful to the Editor in Chief Prof. Michael J. Rycroft for his interest in this work and comments. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, North Third Ring East Road 15th, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China

    Wei Liu, Yang Liu & Shuangxi Li

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Health Monitoring Control and Fault Self-Recovery for High-End Machinery, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, North Third Ring East Road 15th, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China

    Wei Liu, Yang Liu & Shuangxi Li

  3. Bureau of Economic Geology, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, University Station, Box X, Austin, TX, 78713-8924, USA

    Yangkang Chen

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Liu, W., Liu, Y., Li, S. et al. A Review of Variational Mode Decomposition in Seismic Data Analysis. Surv Geophys 44, 323–355 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-022-09742-z

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