Seismic Anatomy
Peaks and Troughs
A seismic wave is often represented in diagrams as a straight line (as on the previous page). This shows it as a ray, and illustrates the path it follows. The wave itself though is a series of peaks and troughs, a wiggle trace.
Looking closely at the wiggle trace shows it is composed of peaks and troughs with a zero crossing between the two. Seismic interpreters differentiate between a zero crossing from a peak to a trough (positive to negative) and from a trough to a peak (negative to positive).
