Evolution of professional language reveals advances in geophysics: researchers enthusiastically describe new methods of surveying, data processing techniques, and objects of their study. Geophysicists publish their cutting-edge research in the proceedings of international conferences to share their achievements with the world. Tracking changes in the professional language allows one to identify trends and current state of science. Here, we explain our text analysis of the last 30 annual conferences organized by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). These conferences are among the largest geophysical gatherings worldwide. We split the 21,864 SEG articles into 52 million words and phrases, and analyze changes in their usage frequency over time. For example, we find that in 2019, the phrase “neural network” was used more often than “field data.” The word “shale” became less commonly used, but the term “unconventional” grew in frequency. An analysis of conference materials and metadata allows one to identify trends in a specific field of knowledge and predict its development in the near future.

We summarize our metadata analysis of the last 38 well-attended annual conferences, organized by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. In 2018, Schlumberger and Saudi Aramco had the highest number of publications among service and production companies. In 2019, BGP and PetroChina took the lead. Throughout history, US academics have had the highest number of publications, but in 2019 Chinese academia came close to taking the lead. Analysis of the publication activity of oil-producing and oilfield service companies provides insights into the state of geophysical research. The number of publications from industrial companies in the energy sector reflects their financial standing and aspirations for the near future. Publications from academia in different countries tell us about state and private funding of research in each country, and indirectly reflect the geopolitical situation in the world. The changing number of publications over time reflects the dynamics of the transformation of research in geophysics, and allows us to understand better what is happening and make forecasts.