1. n. [Geophysics]

The ratio of desirable to undesirable (or total) energy. The signal-to-noise ratio can be expressed mathematically as S/N or S/(S+N), although S/N is more commonly used. The signal-to-noise ratio is difficult to quantify accurately because it is difficult to completely separate signal from noise. It also depends on how noise is defined.

See related terms: filter,  inversion,  noise,  signal,  stack,  stacking velocity