Linear filters for solving the direct problem of potential fields

One of the major advances of computer science in recent years is the introduction of parallel processors. The efficiency of such devices depends strongly on the symmetry of the algorithms implemented; probably the most efficient are fast Fourier transform‐type (FFT‐type) algorithms. It is possible to show that for these algorithms a SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) processor reduces the number of operations from ∼NlogN to ∼(N/P)logN (where N is the number of input data and P is the number of processors) provided that both N and P are integer powers of 2. It thus seems advantageous to reconsider the possible uses of the fast algorithms in geophysics, including those not successful on nonparallel computers (Bezvoda et al., 1986).