Geophysics call for papers: Advances in seismic inversion and imaging

SEG invites papers on the topic of "Advances in seismic inversion and imaging" for publication in an upcoming special section or issue of Geophysics.

Advanced seismic imaging/inversion methodologies are rapidly evolving within various research directions and industry branches. The corresponding approaches are often designed and applied to image the earth's interior on a certain scale, ranging from the near-surface via exploration to regional and global investigations. Our principal aim is to review the theories of these techniques as well as their applications on various scales and within different geological settings. Therefore we hope to not only foster a knowledge-transfer and cross-fertilization between the different communities but also to encourage the development of new scale-independent imaging/inversion techniques for an improved imaging/inversion and characterization of the subsurface.

For this topic, Geophysics invites papers describing the theory, application, and benefits of advanced imaging/inversion schemes. Appropriate topics include e.g. migration techniques, velocity-model-independent approaches, traveltime and full-waveform tomography using body and surface waves, and other relevant and related approaches. The application scale may range from the shallow subsurface and engineering seismology (< 50 m) over deep hydrocarbon-related studies (< 10 km) to global seismological soundings of the earth's crust, mantle and core. In particular we welcome techniques that exploit the evolution of new seismic acquisition strategies (3D, multicomponent, wide-aperture, low-frequency sources, etc.) and the increase in computational speed.  Finally, we also encourage papers that highlight case studies and thereby emphasize the practical aspects and illustrate the potential pitfalls, problems, and limitations of certain techniques.

Interested authors should submit their manuscripts for review no later than 31 December 2008. In addition, the special issue/section editors would like to receive a provisional title and list of authors as soon as possible. Authors should submit via the normal online submission system for Geophysics and indicate that it is a contribution for the imaging/inversion special section or issue. The submitted papers will be subject to the regular peer review process and the contributing authors are also expected to participate in the review process as reviewers.

Given the tight timeline for publication of this issue, Geophysics is going to strictly enforce author submission guidelines, covered in Instructions to Authors" published in the January-February 2008 issue and on the SEG Web site. Please note that normal Geophysics page and color charges apply.

For specific questions, please contact the special issue/section editors Stefan Buske, Isabelle Lecomte, Stéphane Operto, and Valenti Sallares.