Advancements in signal processing may allow for improved imaging and analysis of complex geologic targets found in seismic reflection data. A recent contribution to signal processing is the empirical mode decomposition ͑EMD͒ which combines with the Hilbert transform as the HilbertHuang transform ͑HHT͒. The EMD empirically reduces a time series to several subsignals, each of which is input to the same time-frequency environment via the Hilbert transform. The HHT allows for signals describing stochastic or astochastic processes to be analyzed using instantaneous attributes in the time-frequency domain. The HHT is applied herein to seismic reflection data to: ͑1͒ assess the ability of the EMD and HHT to quantify meaningful geologic information in the time and time-frequency domains, and ͑2͒ use instantaneous attributes to develop superior filters for improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The objective of this work is to determine whether the HHT allows for empirically-derived characteristics to be used in filter design and application, resulting in better filter performance and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Two data sets are used to show successful application of the EMD and HHT to seismic reflection data processing. Nonlinear cable strum is removed from one data set while the other is used to show how the HHT compares to and outperforms Fourier-based processing under certain conditions.

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In September 2004, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) convened a Hedberg Research Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada titled "Natural Gas Hydrates: Energy Resource Potential and Associated Geologic Hazards." As a continuation of the Hedberg Research Conference in Vancouver, the conveners of the conference and the editors of this Memoir have worked with more than 150 authors and coauthors to prepare this Memoir on gas hydrates. This publication follows the goals of the Hedberg conference; however, the contents of this Memoir were expanded to include all aspects of gas hydrates in nature. This Memoir contains 39 individual contributions, ranging from long topical summaries to shorter focused research papers. This Memoir has been published in two parts, with digital versions of all the complete research papers included on the enclosed CD. The hardcopy portion of the Memoir includes abstracts and several key figures for each of the contributions along with a complete copy of a gas hydrate technical review. The digital portion of this Memoir has been organized into a series of topical sections consisting of review articles, marine gas hydrate papers, and gas hydrate laboratory and modeling studies. Because of the rapidly emerging worldwide interest in gas hydrates, this comprehensive treatise on the geology of gas hydrates will be valuable to both the gas hydrate research community and exploration/development geologists working in arctic and deep marine environments.

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