GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 72, NO. 6 共NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2007兲; P. W33–W43, 14 FIGS.
10.1190/1.2785048
Tutorial
A tutorial on complex seismic trace analysis
Arthur E. Barnes1
ABSTRACT
Complex seismic trace analysis treats a seismic trace as the
product of two independent and separable functions: instan-
taneous amplitude and cosine of the instantaneous phase. At
any given time, instantaneous amplitude is the maximum val-
ue the seismic trace can attain under a constant phase rota-
tion, and instantaneous phase is the phase angle required to
rotate the trace to the maximum. Defining these two attributes
in this way permits complex seismic trace analysis to be
founded without reference to the complex trace. All other
complex seismic trace attributes derive from amplitude and
phase through differentiation, averaging, combination, or
transformation. The chief derived attributes are frequency,
relative amplitude change, wavelength, dip, and azimuth. At
any point on a seismic trace, the instantaneous attributes de-
scribe a sinusoid that locally matches the trace. Most instan-
taneous attributes are improved through filtering or weighted
averaging. The phase wavenumber vector provides a conve-
nient basis for quantifying 3D seismic properties such as re-
flection parallelism.
INTRODUCTION
Complex seismic trace analysis is the most popular method for
computing poststack seismic attributes. First introduced in 1976
with a handful of trace attributes, it has grown over the years and to-
day encompasses a large and varied set of trace and volume at-
tributes.
The invention of complex seismic trace analysis, and of seismic
attribute analysis in general, was spurred by the watershed discovery
of bright spots in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bright-spot explo-
ration demanded new ways of thinking about seismic data. It was
soon recognized that the apparent brightness of a seismic reflection
on a true-amplitude display depends on several factors besides geol-
Manuscript received by the Editor 16 March 2007; revised manuscript received 16 July 2007; published online 26 October 2007.
1
Paradigm, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: artb@paradigmgeo.com.
© 2007 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved.
W33
ogy. In particular, differences in reflection polarity and phase ob-
scure the significance of bright spots. As a partial remedy, seismic
data were plotted twice, first with normal polarity and then with re-
verse polarity 共Sheriff and Geldart, 1987兲. This approach did not
consider phase and was awkward because it spread amplitude infor-
mation over two displays.
Anstey sought a better approach. He combined the amplitude in-
formation of normal and reverse polarity displays into a single dis-
play by means of an amplitude attribute that measured reflection
magnitude independently of phase. By rectifying and smoothing the
seismic trace, his amplitude attribute paralleled the trace envelope;
he named it reflection strength. In addition, he created attributes for
frequency and polarity, and he invented a novel display that overlaid
seismic data in variable area on top of an attribute plotted in color
with variable density 共Anstey, 2005兲. Though published in obscure
internal reports, Anstey’s pioneering work was influential and laid
the foundation of modern seismic attribute analysis 共Taner, 2001;
Chopra and Marfurt, 2005兲.
Taner and Koehler continued the research on seismic attributes
that Anstey had begun. Inspired by Bracewell’s 共1965兲 description
of the analytic signal, they discovered that the complex trace pro-
vides a superior measure of the trace envelope and, as a bonus, offers
attributes for instantaneous phase and frequency. This new method
of attribute computation they named complex seismic trace analysis,
and they introduced it to exploration geophysics in two seminal pub-
lications 共Taner and Sheriff, 1977; Taner et al., 1979兲. The timing
was propitious. Showcasing the first practical color displays of seis-
mic data, complex seismic trace analysis debuted alongside seismic
stratigraphy in the midst of the global oil boom of the late 1970s.
This potent mix of color, science, and money proved irresistible;
complex seismic trace analysis was an immediate sensation.
Complex seismic trace analysis was also an immediate enigma.
Complex traces and instantaneous frequencies discomfited many
who were nonetheless comfortable with complex spectra and spec-
tral frequencies. This is because the meaning underlying the Fourier
transform was clear, but the meaning underlying complex seismic
W34 Barnes

trace analysis was lost in the esoteric mathematics of the complex
trace.
Over time, complex seismic trace analysis advanced slowly but
significantly. Ties to Fourier analysis were recognized, which gave
meaning to some attributes as Fourier spectral averages 共Bodine,
1984; Robertson and Nogami, 1984; Saha, 1987; Robertson and
Fisher, 1988兲. Extensions to three dimensions enabled the computa-
tion of reflection dip, azimuth, and other 3D attributes, thereby
greatly increasing the method’s scope and utility 共Scheuer and Old-
enburg, 1988; Oliveros and Radovich, 1997兲. However, little has
been offered to tie the new elements together or to dispel the old
enigmas 共Barnes, 1998; Taner, 2001兲. Complex seismic trace analy-
sis is ripe for review.
This tutorial offers a fresh and current look at complex seismic
trace analysis. The key ideas are as follows. The complex seismic
trace can be founded on an intuitive concept of the trace envelope
with entirely real mathematics. The complex trace is a powerful and
convenient tool to derive attribute formulas, but it is not essential.
Complex seismic trace analysis views the seismic trace as a continu-
ous succession of sinusoids that have constant frequency and expo-
nentially changing amplitude. Most complex seismic trace attributes
a)
200
Amplitude
are prone to noise and spikes, which are remedied through filtering
and weighted averaging. Some averaged attributes have meaning as
time-variant measures of Fourier spectral properties. One-dimen-
sional complex seismic trace analysis extends readily to three di-
mensions to produce attributes that quantify 3D seismic properties.
Above all, complex seismic trace attributes are natural descriptors of
seismic data.
THEORY
Revisit the problem that Anstey investigated in the early 1970s,
finding a measure of brightness, or reflection strength, that is inde-
pendent of polarity and phase. Anstey had the right idea: the trace en-
velope is a good measure of reflection strength. The trace envelope
lacks a consistent definition, but it can be described as a slowly vary-
ing function that connects the waveform peaks. To be independent of
polarity, the envelope, reversed in sign, must connect the waveform
troughs.
This is enough to suggest the envelope but not enough to define it.
Because it should also be independent of phase, require that it remain
unchanged but still connect the peaks even as the seismic trace is ro-
tated in phase by a constant angle. This effectively defines the enve-
lope of a seismic trace at a given time to be the maximum value that
the trace can attain through a constant phase rotation 共Figure 1兲. For
this definition to hold, the seismic trace cannot have a DC compo-
nent because a DC component cannot be rotated in phase. Putting

0 this definition of the trace envelope a共t兲 into mathematical form

yields

–200 a共t兲 ⳱ 冑x2共t兲 Ⳮ y 2共t兲, 共1兲

0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time (ms)
where x共t兲 is the seismic trace and y共t兲 is the seismic trace rotated
b)
200 ⳮ90°, which is called the quadrature trace or Hilbert transformed
trace 共Appendices A and B兲.
An expression for the phase rotation angle ␪ 共t兲 falls out as a by-
Amplitude

0 product of the mathematics:

–200
400 500
Time (ms)
600
␪ 共t兲 ⳱ arctan 冋 册
y共t兲
x共t兲
. 共2兲

The phase rotation angle is just the angle required to rotate the trace
Figure 1. At a given time, the envelope is the maximum value that a
seismic trace can attain through a constant phase rotation and, there- to the maximum. At first glance, it appears unimportant. This im-
fore, bounds all phase rotations. 共a兲 A 1000-ms-long seismic trace pression is misleading; the phase angle and envelope together form
rotated in phase by 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, and 315° the foundation of a surprisingly versatile method for quantifying
共light lines兲. The envelope is shown above the traces and is reversed seismic properties as attributes. This method is complex seismic
in sign below 共heavy lines兲. 共b兲 The center 200 ms of part 共a兲 en-
larged. trace analysis.
Call the trace envelope instantaneous amplitude and call the rota-
Quadrature tion angle instantaneous phase. Instantaneous amplitude and phase
trace are the fundamental complex seismic trace attributes from which all
others derive. They are related to the seismic and quadrature traces
through a Cartesian-to-polar coordinate conversion 共Figure 2兲.
y(t)
Turning this around, the seismic and quadrature traces are expressed
in terms of the envelope and phase by
)
a(t
x共t兲 ⳱ a共t兲cos ␪ 共t兲 共3兲
θ
Seismic and
x(t) trace
y共t兲 ⳱ a共t兲sin ␪ 共t兲. 共4兲

Figure 2. The instantaneous amplitude a共t兲 and instantaneous phase Thus, a seismic trace can be represented as the product of two inde-
␪ 共t兲 derive from the seismic trace x共t兲 and the quadrature trace y共t兲 pendent and separable functions, instantaneous amplitude and co-
through a polar coordinate conversion. sine of the instantaneous phase. This is the essence of complex seis-
 Complex seismic trace analysis W35

mic trace analysis — separating the amplitude information from the
phase information in seismic data.
The meaning of the instantaneous amplitude is clear. By defini-
tion, it is the trace envelope; by design, it measures the reflection
strength. In contrast, the meaning of instantaneous phase must be ex-
plored. As all amplitude information of the seismic trace is in the in-
stantaneous amplitude, the cosine of the instantaneous phase has no
amplitude information and so represents the seismic trace with all
amplitude contrasts removed — it is the perfect automatic gain con-
trol 共AGC兲. The instantaneous phase contains exactly the same in-
formation as the cosine of the phase and likewise acts as a kind of
perfect gain. Its values refer to apparent position along a cosinusoid
such that peaks on the seismic trace have 0° phase, troughs have
180° phase, downward zero crossings have 90° phase, and upward
zero crossings have ⳮ90° phase.
Nearly all discussions of complex seismic trace analysis begin
with equation 3 and with the premise that it is insightful to separate
the amplitude and phase information of a seismic trace in the time
domain. The inspiration for this premise comes from the Fourier
analysis representation of a complex spectrum in terms of amplitude
and phase spectra. Equation 3 is insufficient to define the amplitude
and phase functions because it relates one known, x共t兲, to two un-
knowns, a共t兲 and ␪ 共t兲. This problem is met by inventing a trace y共t兲
with the property defined by equation 4, again inspired by Fourier
the convolution of the spectra of its instantaneous amplitude and co-
sine of the phase. Instantaneous amplitude, being all positive, has a
large DC spectral component. Because the spectrum of the trace X共f兲
can have no DC component, the high-frequency end of spectrum
A共f兲 must be less than the low-frequency end of spectrum C共f兲 to en-
sure that their convolution has no DC component 共Figure 3兲; this is a
manifestation of Bedrosian’s theorem 共Vakman, 1998, p. 13兲. The
bandwidth of A共f兲 results from amplitude changes, and the band-
width of C共f兲 results from frequency changes. Thus, both amplitude
changes and frequency changes contribute to the total bandwidth of
the seismic trace 共Cohen, 1995, p. 17兲.
Equation 3 implies that a seismic trace can be viewed as a continu-
ous succession of sinusoidal segments. To see this, approximate in-
stantaneous amplitude and instantaneous phase with the first two
terms of their Taylor’s series. These approximations are
a共t兲 ⬇ a共to兲 Ⳮ a⬘共to兲共t ⳮ to兲 共6兲
and
␪ 共t兲 ⬇ ␪ 共to兲 Ⳮ ␪ ⬘共to兲共t ⳮ to兲, 共7兲
where the prime denotes time differentiation and to is the time
around which these approximations hold. Noting that exp共x兲 ⬃ 1
Ⳮ x for small x, we can rewrite the approximation for instantaneous
amplitude as

冋 册
analysis. Equations 1 and 2 for instantaneous amplitude and phase
then follow from equations 3 and 4. But this is still insufficient to a⬘共to兲
compute these quantities because y共t兲 remains undefined. Here Fou- a共t兲 ⬇ a共to兲 1 Ⳮ 共t ⳮ to兲
a共to兲

冋 册
rier analysis offers no further guidance. The trace y共t兲 could have
any number of definitions. Taking it to be the Hilbert transform of a⬘共to兲
x共t兲 has been found to work best. Intuition and compelling argu- ⬇ a共to兲exp 共t ⳮ to兲 . 共8兲
a共to兲
ments support this choice 共see Cohen, 1995; Vakman, 1998兲, but
they fall short of proving it to be best. It is only familiarity that makes To improve clarity, define relative amplitude change b共t兲 as the time
it obvious. rate of change of the instantaneous amplitude normalized by 2␲
There are thus two paths to complex seismic trace analysis, and times the instantaneous amplitude,
though they necessarily lead to the same equations, they offer dis-
1 da共t兲 1 d ln a共t兲
tinctly different perspectives. b共t兲 ⳱ ⳱ , 共9兲
The first path is more empirical and follows Anstey’s direction. It 2␲ a共t兲 dt 2␲ dt
defines the trace envelope in terms of properties that make it useful
which, though not obvious, has units of hertz. Further, define instan-
as a measure of reflection strength. This leads to equations for ampli-
taneous frequency f共t兲 as the time rate of change of the instantaneous
tude and phase functions and subsequently to a representation of the
phase divided by 2␲ ,
seismic trace as a product of these functions. In the process, a ⳮ90°
phase-rotated version of the seismic trace appears as a step in the 1 d␪ 共t兲
process, but it has no deeper meaning. f共t兲 ⳱ , 共10兲
2␲ dt
The second path is more mathematical and follows the steps of
Taner and his colleagues. It defines the seismic trace to be the prod- which also has units of hertz. With these definitions, insert the ap-
uct of unspecified amplitude and phase functions. A quadrature trace proximations for amplitude and phase into equation 3 to obtain
with mathematically appropriate properties is invented to enable
these functions to be derived as attributes. Inspection of the ampli- x共t兲 ⬇ a共to兲exp关2␲ b共to兲共t ⳮ to兲兴cos关2␲ f共to兲共t ⳮ to兲
tude attribute shows it to be suitable as a measure of reflection Ⳮ ␪ 共to兲兴. 共11兲
strength. The deeper meaning of the quadrature trace is left to specu-
lation. A(t) C(f) X(f)
Whichever path one takes to arrive at complex seismic trace anal-
* =
ysis, equation 3 emerges as a cornerstone of the method, and it is im- –f +f –f +f –f +f
0 0 0
portant to recognize its implications.
Transforming equation 3 to the frequency domain yields Figure 3. The spectrum X共f兲 of a seismic trace is the convolution of
the spectrum of the instantaneous amplitude A共f兲 with the spectrum
X共f兲 ⳱ A共f兲 * C共f兲, 共5兲 of the cosine of instantaneous phase C共f兲. The bandwidth of the trace
exceeds the bandwidths of its amplitude and phase attributes. The in-
where X共f兲 is the Fourier spectrum of the seismic trace, A共f兲 is the stantaneous amplitude has lower frequency content and usually less
spectrum of the instantaneous amplitude, and C共f兲 is the spectrum of bandwidth than the cosine of the phase and so tends to exhibit less
the cosine of the instantaneous phase. The spectrum of the trace is detail.
W36 Barnes

In a small region about any time to, a seismic trace can be approxi- Instantaneous frequency is not computed through equation 10 in
mated by a sinusoid of frequency f共to兲, phase angle ␪ 共to兲, and ampli- practice because instantaneous phase wraps around 180° and cannot
tude a共to兲 that changes exponentially with exponent 2␲ b共to兲. Thus be continuously differentiated. This difficulty is sidestepped with
the instantaneous amplitude, phase, frequency, and relative ampli- the equation
tude change of a seismic trace at a given time describe a sinusoid that
matches the trace locally. 1 x共t兲y ⬘共t兲 ⳮ x⬘共t兲y共t兲
f共t兲 ⳱ , 共12兲
2␲ x2共t兲 Ⳮ y 2共t兲
a)
250 which is derived by substituting the definition of ␪ 共t兲 given by equa-
Amplitude

tion 2 into equation 10 and differentiating. Alternatively, instanta-

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
neous frequency is approximated through an efficient difference for-
mula 共Scheuer and Oldenburg, 1988; Appendix C兲.
–250
Time (ms) Amplitude changes increase bandwidth. This suggests that the ab-
solute value of relative amplitude change is a measure of instanta-
b) neous bandwidth 共Cohen, 1995, p. 178兲. This suggestion is support-
180
ed by the time-frequency bandwidth formula, discussed below.
Phase (°)

Figure 4 compares instantaneous amplitude, phase, cosine of the

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 phase, frequency, relative amplitude change, and instantaneous
–180 bandwidth computed from a seismic trace; Figures 5 and 6 show cor-
Time (ms) responding examples for a seismic line. Instantaneous amplitude
and instantaneous phase are not independent because discontinuities
c) in instantaneous phase correspond with minima in instantaneous
2
amplitude. These give rise to spikes in instantaneous frequency and
Amplitude

1
0 coincident discontinuities in relative amplitude change that occur
–1 0 200 400 600 800 1000 between reflection peaks where wavelets interfere. Spikes in instan-
–2 taneous frequency can be negative legitimately. Their sign and mag-
Time (ms) nitude are a function of the reflection spacing and the seismic source
wavelet. Though generally considered a problem to be removed
d) through filtering, as discussed below, spikes have modest utility in
100
Frequency (Hz)

interpretation 共Hardage et al., 1998兲.

50
Instantaneous phase and cosine of the phase both permit reflection
0 continuity to be seen better. Instantaneous phase shows finer detail,
0 200 400 600 800 1000
–100 but cosine of the phase has a more familiar look that may be easier to
Time (ms) interpret. Relative amplitude change is positive above reflection
peaks and negative beneath them. It reveals details in the amplitude
e)
50 information that are not apparent in the instantaneous amplitude. In
Frequency (Hz)

25 particular, it emphasizes amplitude minima and thereby distinguish-

0 es boundaries between reflection wavelets. Instantaneous frequency
–25 0 200 400 600 800 1000 is an inverse measure of reflection spacing. It tends to look noisier
–50 than relative amplitude change because phase changes more rapidly
Time (ms)
than does amplitude.
f)
50
Frequency (Hz)

The complex seismic trace

25
Complex seismic trace analysis can be developed with complete-
0 ly real mathematics, but many derivations are facilitated by complex
0 200 400 600
Time (ms)
800 1000 mathematics and the complex seismic trace 共see Appendices A
and B兲.
Figure 4. A seismic trace and its derived attributes. 共a兲 Seismic trace A complex seismic trace z共t兲 is formed by taking the seismic trace
共light line兲 with instantaneous amplitude or trace envelope 共heavy x共t兲 to be its real part and taking the corresponding quadrature trace
line兲, 共b兲 instantaneous phase, 共c兲 cosine of the instantaneous phase y共t兲 to be its imaginary part. Thus
共heavy line兲 shown with the seismic trace scaled for comparison
共light line兲, 共d兲 instantaneous frequency, 共e兲 relative amplitude
change, and 共f兲 instantaneous bandwidth, or absolute value of rela- z共t兲 ⳱ x共t兲 Ⳮ iy共t兲 ⳱ a共t兲exp关i␪ 共t兲兴, 共13兲
tive amplitude change. The seismic trace is the product of the enve-
lope with the cosine of the phase. Spikes in frequency coincide with where i ⳱ 冑 ⳮ1. In terms of the complex trace and its complex con-
spikes in relative amplitude change; both coincide with envelope
minima and are relatively unimportant. Instantaneous frequency and jugate z*共t兲, instantaneous amplitude is expressed as
relative amplitude change are computed with the approximations
given in Appendix C. The seismic trace is the same as in Figure 1. a共t兲 ⳱ 兩z共t兲兩 ⳱ 冑z共t兲z*共t兲, 共14兲
 Complex seismic trace analysis W37

instantaneous phase is expressed as scaled by the envelope 共Taner et al., 1979兲. It is unstable in the pres-
ence of thin beds, unlike response phase. Sweetness is the response
␪ 共t兲 ⳱ arg z共t兲 ⳱ Im关ln z共t兲兴, 共15兲 amplitude divided by the square root of the response frequency,
relative amplitude change is expressed as where response amplitude is the peak envelope value 共Oliveros and

b共t兲 ⳱
1
2␲
Re 冋 册
z⬘共t兲
z共t兲
, 共16兲 a)
0.0
0 2 4 6 x (km)
b)
Amplitude 0.0
0 2 4 6 x (km)
Amplitude
and instantaneous frequency is expressed as –100 20

冋 册
–80
1 z⬘共t兲 –60 40

Time (s)

Time (s)
f共t兲 ⳱ Im . 共17兲 –40

2␲
–20
z共t兲 0
60
20
80
Average attributes 40
60 100
80
Most instantaneous attributes involve differen- 100
1.5 1.5 120
tiation and look noisy. This is because differentia-
tion boosts high frequencies, which tend to be less c) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
d) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
coherent, and suppresses low frequencies, which 0.0 Amplitude 0.0 Deg
–1.00
tend to be more coherent. Further, instantaneous –0.80
–150

amplitude and phase are prone to inflections or –0.60 –100

Time (s)

Time (s)
–0.40
discontinuities, and differentiating these causes –0.20 –50

anomalous and confusing spikes. Filtering reme- 0.00 0

0.20
dies both problems to improve interpretability. 0.40 50
0.60
Three approaches are common: median filtering, 0.80
100

selection at envelope peaks, and averaging 1.5 1.00 1.5 150

weighted by the instantaneous power, or enve-

lope squared. Though median filtering is the sim- Figure 5. 共a兲 A seismic line and its derived 共b兲 instantaneous amplitude, 共c兲 cosine of the
phase, and 共d兲 instantaneous phase. Instantaneous amplitude measures the reflection
plest approach, it is effective at removing spikes
strength. Cosine of the phase acts as a perfect AGC and reveals details in the data. Instan-
and reducing apparent noise. Selection at enve- taneous phase presents the information in the cosine of the phase a little differently and
lope peaks and weighted averaging both remove requires a circular color bar. It also acts as a kind of perfect gain.
spikes by taking advantage of the fact that spikes
occur at envelope minima. They have the further
advantage of producing attributes with meaning a) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
b) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
as time-variant spectral averages. 0.0 Hz 0.0 Hz
Bodine 共1984兲 introduces two response at- –50 10
–40 15
tributes, response phase and response frequency, –30
20
Time (s)

which derive from instantaneous phase and in- –20

Time (s)

–10 25
stantaneous frequency through selection at enve- 0 30
lope peaks. Within an interval bounded by two 10
35
20
successive envelope troughs, the response phase 30
40
is the value of the instantaneous phase measured 40 45
1.5 50 1.5 50
at the envelope peak in the interval, and the re-
sponse frequency is the value of the correspond- Figure 6. 共a兲 Relative amplitude change and 共b兲 instantaneous frequency with the original
ing instantaneous frequency 共Figure 7兲. Ideally, seismic data overlain in variable-area format for the seismic line of Figure 5a. Both at-
tributes reveal details but tend to look noisy. Red is low frequency, blue is high frequency.
they record properties of the propagating seismic
source wavelet.
Assuming constant phase wavelets and isolated reflections free of 50

noise, response phase equals the phase of the seismic wavelet in the 40
Frequency (Hz)

data, accounting for reflection polarity, and response frequency 30

equals the average spectral frequency weighted by the spectral am-
20
plitude of the wavelet. These relations appear to give response at-
tributes inherent and helpful meaning, but they almost never hold 10 Interval

because seismic reflections are rarely isolated and noise is always 0

present 共White, 1991兲. Thus response phase and response frequency 400 450 500 550 600
Time (ms)
do not exhibit the consistency of a propagating seismic wavelet, and
they cannot reliably indicate the phase of the source wavelet or the Figure 7. Illustration of the response attribute process that shows in-
degree of seismic attenuation. stantaneous frequency 共gray line兲, response frequency 共blocky black
line兲, and trace envelope 共dashed line兲. The envelope minima define
Two other response attributes should be mentioned because they interval boundaries. Within each interval, the response frequency is
are widely encountered: apparent polarity and sweetness. Apparent held constant and equal to the instantaneous frequency at the time of
polarity is the sign of the seismic data at the envelope peak, usually the envelope peak 共note arrows兲.
W38 Barnes

a) Radovich, 1997兲. It is an empirical measure designed to highlight

180
sweet spots, though often it differs little from the envelope.
Phase (°)

A more important set of average attributes uses averaging weight-

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 ed by the instantaneous power within a window. There is little practi-
–180
cal difference between weighting by amplitude and weighting by
Time (ms) power, though weighting by power offers the attributes meaning as
spectral averages. The averaging window is tapered to prevent
b) Gibbs’effects; its length sets the attribute resolution.
40 Weighted average instantaneous frequency f a共t兲 is defined as
Frequency (Hz)

30
⬁
20

10
0 200 400 600 800 1000
冕 f共␶ 兲a2共␶ 兲w共t ⳮ ␶ 兲d␶
Time (ms) ⳮ⬁
f a共t兲 ⳱ 具f共t兲典tw ⳱ ⬁ , 共18兲
c)
40 冕 a2共␶ 兲w共t ⳮ ␶ 兲d␶
Frequency (Hz)

30 ⳮ⬁
20
where w共t兲 is the averaging window and the subscript tw on the
10 brackets indicates time-domain averaging in a window. Like most
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time (ms) frequency attributes, weighted average frequency is an inverse mea-
sure of reflection spacing. By the first moment formula, it equals an
Figure 8. 共a兲 Instantaneous phase 共light line兲 compared with re- average Fourier spectral frequency 共Berkhout, 1984; Cohen, 1995,
sponse phase 共heavy line兲. 共b兲 Instantaneous frequency 共light line兲
compared with response frequency 共heavy line兲. 共c兲 Instantaneous p. 15兲. This justifies its use to detect spectral changes in seismic data.
frequency 共light line兲 compared with weighted average frequency Spectral changes caused by signal attenuation are sometimes mani-
共heavy line兲 computed in a 52-ms Hamming window 共13 samples兲. fested as low-frequency shadows, anomalous zones in seismic data
The response attribute process produces blocky traces, but weighted characterized by reduced high-frequency content. Low-frequency
averaging produces smooth traces; both remove anomalous spikes. shadows might indicate a low-Q body, such as a gas sand, that
strongly attenuates the seismic signal. However, true low-frequency
shadows are difficult to detect because the large
and rapidly varying effects of reflection interfer-
a) b)
0 2 4 6 x (km) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
ence mask the small, gradual effects of signal at-
0.0 Hz 0.0 Hz tenuation. Frequency anomalies must be inter-
10 10
preted cautiously.
15 15
A windowed bandwidth attribute f b共t兲 is de-
20 20
Time (s)
Time (s)

25 25 fined as the square root of the weighted average of

30 30 the sums of the variance of the instantaneous fre-
35 35 quency plus the relative amplitude change
40 40 squared:
45 45

f b共t兲 ⳱ 冑具共f共t兲 ⳮ 具f共t兲典tw兲2 Ⳮ b2共t兲典tw .

1.5 50 1.5 50
c) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
d) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
0.0 Hz 0.0 Hz 共19兲
10 2
15 4 This is a time-variant measure of the Fourier
6
20 8 spectral bandwidth of the data 共Berkhout, 1984,
Time (s)

Time (s)

25 10 p. 29; Cohen, 1995, p. 16兲 and quantifies the vari-

30 12
14 ability of the reflection spacing. In the limit as the
35
16 window length goes to zero, it reduces to the ab-
40 18
45 20 solute value of the relative amplitude change,
1.5 50 1.5 22 thus justifying its interpretation as a measure of
instantaneous bandwidth. In principle, band-
Figure 9. A comparison of average frequency and bandwidth attributes for the seismic width can be applied much like average frequen-
line of Figure 5a. 共a兲 Instantaneous frequency filtered with a 3D median filter of three
lines, three traces, and three samples, 共b兲 response frequency, 共c兲 weighted average fre- cy in the search for low-frequency shadows.
quency computed in a 44-ms window 共11 samples兲, and 共d兲 bandwidth computed in a 44 Figure 8 compares response phase, response
-ms window. All three frequency examples are more interpretable than instantaneous fre- frequency, and average frequency for the seismic
quency. Weighted average frequency is smoother and easier to comprehend than re- trace of Figure 4a. Response phase and response
sponse frequency. The 3D median-filtered frequency resembles weighted average fre- frequency are blocky but simpler to interpret than
quency but provides a slightly better image. Bandwidth is largely independent of the fre-
quency attributes because it incorporates amplitude changes as well as frequency varia- their instantaneous phase counterparts. However,
tions. Red is low frequency and low bandwidth; blue is high frequency and high band- they vary too much to be the properties of a seis-
width. mic source wavelet. Figure 9 compares 3D medi-
 Complex seismic trace analysis W39

an-filtered instantaneous frequency, response frequency, weighted Like equation 10 for instantaneous frequency, equation 22 is un-
average frequency, and bandwidth derived from the seismic line of suitable for wavenumber computation because instantaneous phase
Figure 5a. The three average frequency attributes are all more inter- is not continuously differentiable because of phase wrapping. In-
pretable than instantaneous frequency. Bandwidth is independent of stead, wavenumber kx is computed through
average frequency and differs strikingly from its instantaneous
counterpart, relative amplitude change 共compare with Figure 6a兲. ⳵q ⳵r
ⳮq
r
The median-filtered instantaneous frequency arguably provides the 1 ⳵x ⳵x
best image even though it uses the simplest process. This demon- kx ⳱ 2 , 共23兲
strates the advantage of 3D attribute computations over 1D compu- 2␲ r Ⳮ q
2

tations. where r is the seismic volume and q is the corresponding quadrature

volume. Alternatively, kx is approximated through an efficient differ-
Three-dimensional attributes ence formula. Similar formulas yield ky and kz.
The wavenumber components kx, ky, and kz transform to the more
The attributes introduced up to this point quantify variations in interpretable attributes instantaneous wavelength, dip, and azimuth.
time along a seismic trace and are inherently one dimensional. Com- Instantaneous wavelength ␭ is the inverse of the wavenumber mag-
plex seismic trace analysis extends readily from one to three dimen- nitude and has units of meters or feet. It is given by
sions to quantify lateral variations in seismic data as well as vertical
variations. This enables 3D seismic properties such as reflection dip 1
␭⳱ . 共24兲
and parallelism to be quantified as attributes.
To simplify the mathematics of 3D complex seismic trace analy-
冑 k2x Ⳮ k2y Ⳮ kz2
sis, drop the dependent variables and assume the seismic data to be in
Instantaneous wavelength is an estimate of the distance in a 3D sinu-
depth. Time data is handled either by converting it to depth, or by
soidal waveform from a point on a surface of constant phase to the
modifying the attribute equations. The key step in extending com-
next surface with the same constant phase, measured perpendicular-
plex seismic trace analysis from one to three dimensions is to replace
ly to the surfaces 共Figure 10兲. For moderate dips, instantaneous
time differentiation with the 3D gradient ⵜ, defined as
wavelength resembles the inverse of the instantaneous frequency.
⳵ ⳵ ⳵ Instantaneous dip ␥ is the angle between the reflection surface
ⵜ⳱ x̂ Ⳮ ŷ Ⳮ ẑ, 共20兲 and the horizontal. It is given by
⳵x ⳵y ⳵z
where the circumflex denotes a unit vector. Though the standard Hil-
bert transform is a 1D operator, it remains suitable for 3D seismic
data.
␥ ⳱ arctan 冋冑 册k2x Ⳮ k2y
兩kz兩
. 共25兲

The basis of 3D complex seismic trace analysis is the instanta- Instantaneous azimuth ␾ is the angle from geographic north of the
neous phase wavenumber vector and the instantaneous amplitude or downdip direction of the reflection. It is given by

冋册
group wavenumber vector, defined as the gradients of the instanta-
neous phase and the logarithm of the instantaneous amplitude. They kx
␾ ⳱ arctan Ⳮ ␲ Ⳮ ␾o, 共26兲
are the 3D counterparts to instantaneous frequency and relative am- ky
plitude change. At any point in a seismic volume, the phase vector is
perpendicular to the local surface of constant phase and points in the where the added ␲ refers the azimuth to the downdip direction and
direction of increasing phase. The corresponding amplitude vector is ␺ o refers the azimuth to geographic north.
perpendicular to the local surface of constant amplitude and points in
the direction of increasing amplitude. These two vectors provide x
competing estimates of wavelength, dip, and azimuth. Because seis-
mic reflections are better described as surfaces of constant phase
than as surfaces of constant amplitude, wavelength, dip, and azimuth
are computed from the phase vector rather than from the amplitude
vector. λx
The instantaneous phase wavenumber vector k is defined by γ
λ
1 λz
k⳱ ⵜ ␪ ⳱ kxx̂ Ⳮ kyŷ Ⳮ kzẑ, 共21兲
2␲
where kx, ky, and kz are the instantaneous phase wavenumber compo-
nents in the x-, y-, and z-directions. At any point in the seismic vol-
ume, k is perpendicular to the local surface of constant phase. Wave-
number kx is defined by
z
1 ⳵␪
kx ⳱ . 共22兲 Figure 10. Illustration of 2D phase wavelength ␥ and dip ␭ and their
2␲ ⳵ x relations to the wavelength components ␭x and ␭z, which are the in-
verse of the wavenumber components kx and kz. Wavelength ␭ is
Wavenumbers ky and kz are defined similarly. measured perpendicular to surfaces of constant phase.
 W40 Barnes

N Weighted average wavelength, dip, and azimuth are computed

through vector averaging 共see Figure 11兲. As a result, these attributes
+179° are determined through the same formulas as their instantaneous
180° 0° counterparts, with weighted average wavenumbers replacing instan-
W E taneous wavenumbers. The weighted average phase wavenumber
–179°
vector 具k典w, determined in a 3D averaging window w, is defined as

具k典w ⳱ 具kx典wx̂ Ⳮ 具ky典wŷ Ⳮ 具kz典wẑ, 共27兲

S
Figure 11. Two azimuths, Ⳮ179° and ⳮ179°, which point nearly in where 具kx典w, 具ky典w, and 具kz典w are the weighted average phase wave-
the same direction, illustrate the need for vector averaging instead of number components along the x-, y-, and z-coordinate axes. The av-
scalar averaging. Their vector average is 180°, which reasonably lies erage wavenumber in the x-direction is given by
midway between them, whereas their scalar average is 0°, which un-
reasonably points in the opposite direction.
x
具kx典w ⳱
冕 kxa2wdv
共28兲
冕
,
2
a wdv

z where dv is an elemental volume and the integration is over all

space. The average wavenumbers in the y- and z-directions are de-
fined similarly.
The phase vector provides a flexible basis on which to build more
involved attributes. Consider reflection parallelism, a stratigraphic
attribute that measures the degree to which a set of sequential reflec-
tions are parallel to one another. Parallel reflections are character-
ized by uniform dip and azimuth; nonparallel reflections are charac-
terized by varying dip and azimuth. This suggests that a measure
Figure 12. A window of moderately parallel seismic reflections in a of reflection parallelism quantify the variability of the reflection
vertical view. The small arrows are unit vectors perpendicular to re- orientations within a 3D analysis window, perhaps as the average
flection segments. The large arrow is a unit vector that represents the difference in reflection orientation from the average orientation
average reflection orientation. Reflection parallelism measures the
spread of the individual reflection orientations about the average ori- 共Figure 12兲.
entation. To this end, let ĉ be the average reflection orienta-
tion within a window, defined as
a) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
b) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
0.0 m 0.0 Degrees 具k典w
20 0 ĉ ⳱ . 共29兲
兩具k典w兩
30
2
40 Estimate parallelism as the average dot product of
Time (s)

Time (s)

50 4
ĉ with the reflection orientations in the window,
60
where the reflection orientation at a point is the
70
6 unit vector k̂ ⳱ k/兩k兩. To improve discrimina-
tion, convert the average dot product to an angle
80 8
to obtain the empirical measure of parallelism P,
90
1.5 100
1.5 10
P ⳱ arccos共具k̂ · ĉ典w兲. 共30兲
c) 0 2 4 6 x (km) d) 0 2 4 6 x (km)
0.0 Degrees 0.0 Degrees Small values denote parallel reflections; larger
0 values denote nonparallel reflections.
–150 Figure 13 compares reflection wavelength,
5
–100
10
dip, azimuth, and parallelism for the seismic line
of Figure 5a. These four attributes all present dif-
Time (s)

Time (s)

–50 15
ferent aspects of the information in the phase vec-
0 20
tor. Wavelength derives from the vector magni-
50 25
tude, whereas the other three derive from the re-
30
100 flection orientations. Many other seismic strati-
35
150 graphic properties, such as reflection divergence
1.5 1.5 40
or reflection chaos, can be derived from the infor-
Figure 13. Comparison of 共a兲 reflection wavelength, 共b兲 dip, 共c兲 azimuth, and 共d兲 parallel- mation in the phase vectors.
ism for the seismic line of Figure 5a. Wavelength, dip, and azimuth are computed in a The 3D counterpart to 1D relative amplitude
window of three lines by three traces by five samples; parallelism is computed in a win-
dow of five lines by five traces by seven samples. In 共d兲, blue corresponds to parallel re- change is the instantaneous amplitude or group
flections, red to nonparallel reflections. wavenumber vector g, given by
 Complex seismic trace analysis
1 ways averaged. Reflection pattern attributes such as parallelism are
g⳱ ⵜ ln a ⳱ gxx̂ Ⳮ gyŷ Ⳮ gzẑ, 共31兲
2␲
where gx, gy, and gz are the instantaneous amplitude wavenumber
components in the x-, y-, and z-directions. These wavenumber com-
ponents are effective at highlighting amplitude discontinuities 共Ol-
iveros and Radovich, 1997兲. Unlike the phase vector, which tends to
point downward everywhere, the amplitude vector points downward
above reflection peaks but points upward beneath them 共Figure 14兲.
This complicates the computation of amplitude azimuth. The diffi-
culty is circumvented by modifying the amplitude vector to produce
a downward-pointing amplitude vector gd, defined as
gd ⳱ sign共gz兲g. 共32兲
Instantaneous amplitude wavelength, dip, and azimuth are com-
puted from the downward-pointing amplitude vector with equations
similar to those given for their phase counterparts, but they are less
effective and are not commonly used.
DISCUSSION
Complex seismic trace analysis separates the amplitude informa-
tion from the phase information of seismic data; this is its essence.
This separation produces two fundamental attributes, instantaneous
amplitude and instantaneous phase, from which all other complex
trace attributes derive. At any given time, instantaneous amplitude,
or trace envelope, is the maximum value the seismic trace can attain
under a constant phase rotation, and instantaneous phase is the phase
angle required to rotate the trace to the maximum. Defining these at-
tributes by these properties allows complex seismic trace analysis to
be founded on an empirical basis with completely real mathematics.
This avoids the conceptual subtleties of the quadrature and complex
traces. By this approach, the quadrature trace is just the seismic trace
rotated in phase ⳮ90°. It appears as a step in the computation with
no general physical meaning. The complex trace remains a powerful
and convenient mathematical tool that facilitates the derivation of
many attributes, but the seismic interpreter can cheerfully ignore it.
However one approaches complex seismic trace analysis, the
meaning of the attributes is not obvious at first and must be explored.
Complex seismic trace analysis treats the seismic trace as a continu-
ous succession of short sinusoidal segments whose properties are re-
corded by the trace’s instantaneous amplitude, phase, frequency, and
relative amplitude change. These attributes naturally describe the
behavior of the trace. Instantaneous amplitude is a measure of reflec-
tion strength and is the most popular seismic attribute. It quantifies
seismic amplitudes independently of polarity or apparent phase, and
is primarily used to distinguish bright events. The cosine of the in-
stantaneous phase acts like a perfect AGC in that it removes all am-
plitude information. In some sense, it is more a data processing utili-
ty than a seismic attribute and is applied to reveal detail and reflec-
tion continuity. Instantaneous phase likewise acts like a perfect
AGC. Instantaneous frequency is a measure of the apparent spacing
between reflections, and relative amplitude change identifies points
between interfering reflection wavelets.
Most instantaneous attributes are prone to spikes and appear
noisy. They are improved through filtering or weighted averaging in
a running window. The two main 1D average attributes are average
frequency, which measures apparent reflection spacing, and band-
width, which measures the variability of the reflection spacing. The
basic 3D attributes — wavelength, dip, and azimuth — are almost al-
W41
computed naturally as averages. Dip, azimuth, and reflection pattern
attributes will grow in importance because they record stratigraphic
and structural properties, unlike 1D attributes, which tend to record
geophysical properties.
Whereas complex seismic trace analysis produces local measures
of amplitude, phase, and frequency, Fourier analysis produces glo-
bal measures. In spite of this contrast, the two methods are closely
related and, in some average sense, provide the same information.
As a result, several attributes acquire useful meaning as local mea-
sures of Fourier spectral quantities. Thus, weighted average instan-
taneous frequency has meaning as a time-variant measure of the av-
erage spectral frequency, and bandwidth has meaning as a spectral
bandwidth. This justifies their application in the search for anoma-
lous signal attenuation.
All complex seismic trace attributes can be approximated by other
attributes: instantaneous amplitude is approximated by rms ampli-
tude, weighted average frequency and bandwidth can be duplicated
through Fourier analysis, and reflection dip is estimated through
semblance scanning methods. Complex seismic trace attributes are
accurate and relatively easy to implement, but competing attribute
methods are often faster.
Seismic reflections are better characterized by phase than by
amplitude. For this reason, most complex seismic trace attributes
record phase changes and incorporate amplitude information only in
weighted averaging. Nonetheless, amplitude gradients, apparent
dip, and curvature show promise for highlighting channels and dis-
continuities 共see Oliveros and Radovich, 1997; Marfurt and Kirlin,
2000兲. It is likely that amplitude information is overlooked that
could form the basis of future complex trace attributes. For example,
a coherence attribute might quantify the difference in the directions
of the phase and amplitude vectors. This is suggested by the fact that
amplitudes and phases align for coherent data but misalign for inco-
herent data.
Complex seismic trace analysis has been an established tool of ex-
ploration geophysics for 30 years; it is mature. Complex seismic
trace attributes remain staples of seismic interpretation, but research
interest has shifted to other, seemingly more fertile areas of time-fre-
x
gx
g
gz
gz
g
gx
z
Figure 14. Illustration in two dimensions of the instantaneous ampli-
tude vector g with components gx and gz for a dipping reflection. The
solid filled line is the instantaneous amplitude or trace envelope for
the reflection waveform shown as a dashed line. The amplitude vec-
tor points in the direction of increasing amplitude, which is down-
ward above a reflection peak but upward beneath it.
W42 Barnes

quency analysis. It is difficult to predict how complex seismic trace APPENDIX B

analysis might evolve further. Has its full potential been realized? Or
are its best surprises yet to come? HILBERT TRANSFORM

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Hilbert transform or quadrature filter is an ideal phase rotator

I thank Sven Treitel for the kind invitation to contribute this paper.
I thank Tracy Stark, Bruce Hart, and Matthias Imhof for thoughtful
and detailed reviews. I thank Landmark for permission to write the
early version of the paper, and I thank Paradigm for permission to
publish the final version.
APPENDIX A
DERIVATION OF TRACE ENVELOPE
Define the trace envelope as a function that, at any given time, is
the maximum value that a seismic trace can attain through a constant
phase rotation. This definition leads to a mathematical expression
for the envelope as well as to a formula for the phase rotation angle.
Ideal phase rotation changes the phase spectrum by a constant an-
gle without altering the amplitude spectrum. A phase rotator that
subtracts an angle ␪ can be expressed as a time-domain convolution-
al operator p共t, ␪ 兲 given by
that subtracts 90° of phase from a seismic trace. Convolving the Hil-
bert transform operator h共t兲 with a cosine wave that has arbitrary am-
plitude a, arbitrary but nonzero constant frequency f, and constant
phase ␪ produces a sine wave of the same amplitude, frequency, and
phase. Hence
h共t兲 * a cos共2␲ ft Ⳮ ␪ 兲 ⳱ a sin共2␲ ft Ⳮ ␪ 兲. 共B-1兲
With the constraint of linearity, equation B-1 uniquely defines the
Hilbert transform 共Vakman, 1998, p. 10兲. Some authors define the
Hilbert transform such that it adds 90° phase, which reverses the sign
of the quadrature trace 共e.g., Claerbout, 1985, p. 20兲.
The Hilbert transform operator h共t兲 has the form
1
h共t兲 ⳱ 共B-2兲
␲t
and Fourier transform H共f兲, given by

冦
p共t, ␪ 兲 ⳱ ␦ 共t兲cos ␪ Ⳮ h共t兲sin ␪ , 共A-1兲 ⳮi f⬎0
where ␦ 共t兲 is the delta function and h共t兲 is the quadrature filter or H共f兲 ⳱ ⳮ i sgn共f兲 ⳱ Ⳮ i f ⬍ 0. 共B-3兲
Hilbert transform operator 共Appendix B兲. Applying the quadrature 0 f⳱0
filter to a seismic trace x共t兲 produces a quadrature trace y共t兲. Apply-
ing the phase subtractor p共t, ␪ 兲 to a seismic trace x共t兲 produces a ro- The discrete Hilbert transform operator h共n兲, where n is the sample
tated trace x̃共t兲 given by index, is

x̃共t兲 ⳱ p共t, ␪ 兲 * x共t兲 ⳱ x共t兲cos ␪ Ⳮ y共t兲sin ␪ . 共A-2兲

冦
2
n odd
The change of the rotated trace with respect to the rotation angle ␪ is h共n兲 ⳱ n␲ . 共B-4兲
⳵ x̃共t兲 0 n even or 0
⳱ ⳮx共t兲sin ␪ Ⳮ y共t兲cos ␪ . 共A-3兲
⳵␪ This operator drops off slowly with sample n and so requires long
Let ␪ 共t兲 be the rotation angle that at time t maximizes the value of lengths in application, though half the samples are zero and can be
the rotated trace. By definition, the envelope a共t兲 equals this maxi- ignored.
mum value. Hence, from equation A-2, Hilbert transformation is a key step in complex seismic trace
analysis. It is often accomplished in the frequency domain as fol-
a共t兲 ⳱ x共t兲cos ␪ 共t兲 Ⳮ y共t兲sin ␪ 共t兲. 共A-4兲 lows. The Hilbert transform of a seismic trace x共t兲 is the quadrature
trace y共t兲 ⳱ h共t兲 * x共t兲; these have Fourier transforms X共f兲 and Y共f兲
When the rotated trace equals the envelope, its change with respect
⳱ H共f兲X共f兲. The seismic and quadrature traces are combined to
to rotation angle ␪ is zero and ␪ ⳱ ␪ 共t兲. Hence, from equation A-3,
form a complex trace z共t兲 ⳱ x共t兲 Ⳮ iy共t兲, which has Fourier trans-
⳵ a共t兲 form Z共f兲 ⳱ X共f兲 Ⳮ iY共f兲. Substituting H共f兲X共f兲 for Y共f兲 and, by
⳱ 0 ⳱ ⳮ x共t兲sin ␪ 共t兲 Ⳮ y共t兲cos ␪ 共t兲 共A-5兲 equation B-3, substituting ⳮ i sgn共f兲 for H共f兲, it can be shown that
⳵ ␪ 共t兲
or Z共f兲 is one-sided according to
x共t兲sin ␪ 共t兲 ⳱ y共t兲cos ␪ 共t兲. 共A-6兲
An expression for the trace envelope follows by squaring equations
A-4 and A-5 and adding them to obtain
Z共f兲 ⳱ 再 2X共f兲
0
f⬎0
fⱕ0
. 共B-5兲

a共t兲 ⳱ 冑x2共t兲 Ⳮ y 2共t兲. 共A-7兲 Equation B-5 implicitly performs Hilbert transformation and is used
to produce a complex seismic trace directly from a real seismic trace.
An expression for the phase rotation angle is obtained from equation This illustrates the mathematical convenience afforded by the com-
A-6 as plex trace.

冋 册
An ideal phase rotator that subtracts an angle ␪ can be expressed
y共t兲 in terms of the Hilbert transform. The spectrum of an ideal phase
␪ 共t兲 ⳱ arctan . 共A-8兲
x共t兲 subtractor P共f, ␪ 兲 is defined by
 Complex seismic trace analysis W43

冦
exp共ⳮ i␪ 兲 ⳱ cos ␪ ⳮ i sin ␪
P共f, ␪ 兲 ⳱ exp共Ⳮ i␪ 兲 ⳱ cos ␪ Ⳮ i sin ␪
f⬎0
f⬍0 . 共B-6兲
f共t兲 ⬇
1
2␲ T
arctan 冋
x共t兲y共t Ⳮ T兲 ⳮ x共t Ⳮ T兲y共t兲
x共t兲x共t Ⳮ T兲 Ⳮ y共t兲y共t Ⳮ T兲
. 册 共C-5兲

cos ␪ f⳱0
Formulas C-2 and C-5 both introduce a half sample shift upward in
Recalling the frequency-domain representation of the Hilbert trans- time, but this is compensated by a running two-sample average.
form 共equation B-3兲, equation B-6 can be written as Equation C-5 is Scheuer and Oldenburg’s 共1988兲 formula. It is
more accurate at high frequencies than Claerbout’s 共1985兲 formula
P共f, ␪ 兲 ⳱ cos ␪ Ⳮ H共f兲sin ␪ . 共B-7兲 共Barnes, 1992兲. Its values do not exceed Nyquist frequency, so in
Inverse Fourier transforming yields the time-domain operator p共t, ␪ 兲 practice it is easier to work with than with the exact formula 共equa-
for the ideal phase subtractor: tion 12兲, whose values are unbounded.

p共t, ␪ 兲 ⳱ ␦ 共t兲cos ␪ Ⳮ h共t兲sin ␪ . 共B-8兲

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