FULL WAVEFORM INVERSION QUALITY CONTROL METHOD

There is provided a method for checking the validity of a geophysical representation of a portion of the volume of the Earth generated from a seismic measurement. The method comprises obtaining a measured phase data set derived from a measured seismic data set obtained from said seismic measurement of said portion of the volume of the Earth, the measured seismic data set comprising measured time-domain values of at least one physical parameter measured at a plurality of discrete data points as a function of source and receiver location, and the measured phase data set comprising the phase component of the measured values taken at one or more selected frequencies and for said at least one physical parameter. Next, a modelled phase data set is obtained generated from a subsurface starting model, the modelled phase data set comprising the phase component of modelled values taken at the same plurality of discrete data points, at said one or more selected frequencies and for said at least one physical parameter. For at least one source or receiver position of the measured phase data set, a measured phase distribution data set is generated comprising the phase distribution for a single source or receiver location as a function of spatial location. Then, for said at least one source or receiver position of the modelled phase data set, a modelled phase distribution data set is generated comprising the phase distribution for a single source or receiver location as a function of spatial location. Once these sets have been generated, the correlation between the spatial location of one or more phase distribution features within the measured phase distribution data set and the spatial location of one or more corresponding phase distribution features within the modelled phase data set can be analysed and a determination, based on said correlation, of the validity of said subsurface starting model for performing full waveform inversion on said measured seismic data set can be made. La présente invention porte sur un procédé de contrôle de la validité d'une représentation géophysique d'une partie du volume de la terre générée à partir d'une mesure sismique. Le procédé comprend l'obtention d'un ensemble de données de phase mesurées déduit d'un ensemble de données sismiques mesurées obtenues à partir de ladite mesure sismique de ladite partie du volume de la terre, l'ensemble de données sismiques mesurées comprenant des valeurs de domaine temporel mesurées d'au moins un par