Event enhancement of reflections from subsurface layered media

The problem of obtaining amplitude and delay parameters associated with the response of subsurface layered sedimentation to impulse-type acoustic excitations is considered. We use a linear lossless model which characterizes the subsurface in terms of layerwise homogeneous segments. The parameters of the model are the time delays associated with the wave propagation in the various layers and amplitude parameters which are functions of the reflection coefficients at the interfaces. With knowledge of the travel time in a sediment of rock layer, its thickness can be estimated if the medium velocity is known. This paper extends theory developed by the authors. In particular, a procedure to enhance the detection of reflection events is presented. The procedure utilizes a balance property shown by the derivative of the input waveform signal to obtain an improved display of reflection-event portions of the received signals. Computational results are given in the paper to illustrate the effectivess of the procedure.