Time-frequency analysis of seismic data using a three parameters S transform

The S transform (ST) is one of the most commonly used time-frequency (TF) analysis algorithms and is commonly used in assisting reservoir characterization and hydrocarbon detection. Unfortunately, the TF spectrum obtained by the ST has a low temporal resolution at low frequencies, which lowers its ability in thin beds and channels detection. In this letter, we propose a three parameters ST (TPST) to optimize the TF resolution flexibly. To demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the TPST, we first apply it to a synthetic data and a synthetic seismic trace and then to a filed data. Synthetic data examples show that this TPST achieves an optimized TF resolution, compared with the standard ST and modified ST with two parameters. Field data experiments illustrate that the TPST is superior to the ST in highlighting the channel edges. The lateral continuity of the frequency slice produced by the TPST is more continuous than that of the ST.