Seismic Attribute: Root Mean Square

Can somebody explain to me the principles and use of the Root Mean Square as a seismic attribute?
I need to image certain sedimentary bodies like channels... will this be the way to go?

Vikesh,

The Root Mean Square (RMS), or quadratic mean, is a popular statistical measure of the magnitude of variation over a dataset. The RMS proves particularly useful when values run through the positive and negative domain like in sinusoids or seismic traces. The RMS attribute thus emphasizes the variations in acoustic impedance over a selected sample interval. Generally the higher the acoustic impedance variation of stacked lithologies (with bed thicknesses above the seismic resolution) the higher the RMS values will be. For example, a high RMS in a channel results from either a high acoustic impedance contrast of channel fill with the surrounding lithology or acoustic impedance contrasts within the infill. The Root Mean Square attribute calculations are incorporated in Petrel but generally uses the attached Formula:

RMS.jpg

RMS Formula

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thank you again! you're a good help!