Foundation Models for Geophysics: Review and Perspective

Abstract: Recently, large models, or foundation models, have exhibited remarkable performance, profoundly impacting research paradigms in diverse domains. Foundation models, trained on extensive and diverse datasets, provide exceptional generalization abilities, allowing for their straightforward application across various use cases and domains. Exploration geophysics is the study of the Earth's subsurface to find natural resources and help with environmental and engineering projects. It uses methods like analyzing seismic, magnetic, and electromagnetic data, which presents unique challenges and opportunities for the development of geophysical foundation models (GeoFMs). This perspective explores the potential applications and future research directions of GeoFMs in exploration geophysics. We also review the development of foundation models, including LLMs, large vision models, and large multimodal models, as well as their advancement in the field of geophysics. Furthermore, we discuss the hierarchy of GeoFMs for exploration geophysics and the critical techniques employed, providing a foundational research workflow for their development. Lastly, we summarize the challenges faced in developing GeoFMs, along with future trends and their potential impact on the field. In conclusion, this perspective provides a comprehensive overview of the development, hierarchy, applications, development workflow, and challenges of foundation models, highlighting their transformative potential in advancing exploration geophysics.