A combinatorial algorithm for the optimization of refraction seismics data inversion

Abstract The problem of data inversion in refraction seismics can be split in two parts: data first must be preprocessed in order to determine the travel-time curve; this essentially is a geometrical problem, complicated, however, by its pattern recognition aspects. Once the geometrical problem is solved, the second part, the inversion proper, is straightforward, as the soil layering model can be calculated according to well-known algorithms. The more difficult part of the problem is the former, which implies a type of pattern recognition; because of this type of difficulty, the geometrical part of the problem usually is committed to the skill of a human operator. This paper describes an al…