Automatic phase detection in seismic data using the discrete wavelet transform

Seismic data consist of traces, which contain information about a seismic event, but in some period of time the traces may be just noise. A trace which c ontains seismic information, is called a seismic signal. Seismic signals consist of several typically short energy bursts, called phases, exhibiting several patterns in terms of dominant frequency, amplitude and polarisation. Amongst others, a significant phase is the S-phase. We present a fast algorithm to detect the S-phase in a three-component seismic signal. This new approach is a combination of traditional S-phase detection methods from seismology and the discrete wavele t transform. Stability and correctness of the algorithm will be proved and results will be presented to demonstrate the algorithm.