A look at dynamic time warping in seismology

Abstract:

Dynamic time warping (DTW) is a method used to compare two time series. The idea is to search for a warping function that minimizes the misfit between the two time series. In seismology we can use DTW to measure arrival time differences in seismic traces or spatial differences in seismic images. Here we give an overview of the method and applications in seismology. We focus on a coda wave interferometry example and a waveform inversion example. We will cover the advantages of dynamic time warping; for example, DTW has been shown to outperform windowed-cross correlation when the signal-to-noise ratio is low. Finally, we will highlight new directions in which this method may find more application in seismology.