A first arrival detection method for low SNR microseismic signal

Most of the microseismic signals have low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to the strong background noise, which makes it difficult to locate the first arrival time. Both accuracy and stability of conventional methods are poor in this situation. To overcome this problem, here we proposed a new method based on the adaptive Morlet wavelet and principal component analysis process in wavelet coefficients matrix. The three components of microseismic signal make it possible to extract the features in wavelet coefficients domain. Then the reconstructed signal from weighted features presents an obvious first arrival. Tests on synthetic signals and real data provide a solid evidence for its feasibility in low SNR microseismic signal.