Method and apparatus for seismographic exploration

Claim 1

IN SEISMOLOGY WHEREIN SEISMIC WAVES ARE DETECTED AT SPACED POINTS, SAID WAVES HAVING MOVEOUTS AND RESULTING FROM A SEISMIC WAVE PRODUCING DISTURBANCE, AND IN WHICH SAID DETECTION IS CARRIED OUT TO PRODUCE OUTPUTS, THE STEPS THAT INCLUDE ESTABLISHING FOR A PARTICULAR LOCALITY A PREFERRED RANGE OF MOVEOUTS THAT INCLUDES THE BULK OF SAID WAVE MOVEOUTS, SAID ESTABLISHING STEP INCLUDING MEASURING SESIMIC WAVE MOVEOUTS CHARACTERISTIC OF SAID LOCALITY, COMBINING SAID OUTPUTS TO PRODUCE AN OUT RESPONSE, AND ADJUSTING SAID OUTPUTS TO VALUES SUBSTANTIALLY DETERMINED BY THE MATHEMATICAL CONDITION THAT THE OUTPUT RESPONSE IS A LEAST SQUARES BEST FIT TO UNIT RESPONSE OVER A FIRST RANGE OF RECIPROCAL WAVE LENGTHS CORRESPONDING TO SAID PREFERRED RANGE OF MOVEOUTS AND TO ZERO RESPONSE OVER A SECOND RANGE OF RECIPROCAL WAVE LENGTHS CORRESPONDING TO MOVEOUTS OUTSIDE OF SAID PREFERRED RANGE, THEREBY TO ACCOMPLISH FILTERING OF THE DETECTED SEISMIC WAVE TO ACCEPT SEISMIC WAVES HAVING MOVEOUTS WITHIN SAID PREFERRED RANGE AND TO SUPPRESS SEISMIC WAVES HAVING MOVEOUTS OUTSIDE SAID PREFERRED RANGE.