Applications of clustering in exploration seismology

Abstract Applying clustering techniques to seismic data is still at a nascent stage. This work represents an attempt in this direction. First, we give an overview of the cluster analysis and pattern recognition methods. A stacked seismic section is used to compute the features (amplitude, phase, frequency etc.) on a sample-by-sample basis. After factor analysis, for reducing the feature set to an orthogonal one, hierarchical clustering is performed on a small amount of data. The grouping information obtained from it is then passed onto a second phase in which a non-hierarchical clustering is done. The results were verified by model data.