A study of several cooling schedules for the simulated annealing optimization algorithm, as applied to a residual statics problem in seismic data processing, is undertaken and discussed. A variety of schedules which depend on user-controlled parameters and an adaptive annealing schedule which depends on the system itself are considered. The algorithm, with each schedule implemented in turn, is tested on a residual statics estimation where the optimization function is a coherence function between adjustcent common depth point (CDP) gathers. Results of this study suggest the usfulness of a hybrid cooling schedule to reduce the number of cycles. Constrained adaptive annealing schedule offers a viable alternative. ¿American Geophysical Union 1993