Inversion Procedure (inversion + procedure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Whole ecosystem metabolic pulses following precipitation events

FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
G. D. Jenerette
Summary 1Ecosystem respiration varies substantially at short temporal intervals and identifying the role of coupled temperature- and precipitation-induced changes has been an ongoing challenge. To address this challenge we applied a metabolic ecological theory to identify pulses in ecosystem respiration following rain events. Using this metabolic framework, precipitation-induced pulses were described as a reduction in metabolic activation energy after individual precipitation events. 2We used this approach to estimate the responses of 237 individual events recorded over 2 years at four eddy-covariance sites in southern AZ, USA. The sites varied in both community type (woody and grass dominated) and landscape position (riparian and upland). We used a nonlinear inversion procedure to identify both the parameters for the pre-event temperature sensitivity and the predicted response of the temperature sensitivity to precipitation. By examining multiple events we evaluated the consistency of pulses between sites and discriminated between hypotheses regarding landscape position, event distributions, and pre-event ecosystem metabolism rates. 3Over the 5-day post-event period across all sites the mean precipitation effect was attributed to 6·1 g CO2 m,2 of carbon release, which represented a 21% increase in respiration over the pre-event steady state trajectory of carbon loss. Differences in vegetation community were associated with differences in the integrated magnitude of pulse responses, while differences in topographic position were associated with the initial peak pulse rate. In conjunction with the differences between sites, the individual total pulse response was positively related to the drying time interval and metabolic rates prior to the event. The quantitative theory presented provides an approach for understanding ecosystem pulse dynamics and helps characterized the dependence of ecosystem metabolism on both temperature and precipitation. [source]


Full waveform inversion of seismic waves reflected in a stratified porous medium

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010
Louis De Barros
SUMMARY In reservoir geophysics applications, seismic imaging techniques are expected to provide as much information as possible on fluid-filled reservoir rocks. Since seismograms are, to some degree, sensitive to the mechanical parameters and fluid properties of porous media, inversion methods can be devised to directly estimate these quantities from the waveforms obtained in seismic reflection experiments. An inversion algorithm that uses a generalized least-squares, quasi-Newton approach is described to determine the porosity, permeability, interstitial fluid properties and mechanical parameters of porous media. The proposed algorithm proceeds by iteratively minimizing a misfit function between observed data and synthetic wavefields computed with the Biot theory. Simple models consisting of plane-layered, fluid-saturated and poro-elastic media are considered to demonstrate the concept and evaluate the performance of such a full waveform inversion scheme. Numerical experiments show that, when applied to synthetic data, the inversion procedure can accurately reconstruct the vertical distribution of a single model parameter, if all other parameters are perfectly known. However, the coupling between some of the model parameters does not permit the reconstruction of several model parameters at the same time. To get around this problem, we consider composite parameters defined from the original model properties and from a priori information, such as the fluid saturation rate or the lithology, to reduce the number of unknowns. Another possibility is to apply this inversion algorithm to time-lapse surveys carried out for fluid substitution problems, such as CO2 injection, since in this case only a few parameters may vary as a function of time. We define a two-step differential inversion approach which allows us to reconstruct the fluid saturation rate in reservoir layers, even though the medium properties are poorly known. [source]


Shear wave velocity model of the Santiago de Chile basin derived from ambient noise measurements: a comparison of proxies for seismic site conditions and amplification

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2010
Marco Pilz
SUMMARY We determined a high-resolution 3-D S -wave velocity model for a 26 km × 12 km area in the northern part of the basin of Santiago de Chile. To reach this goal, we used microtremor recordings at 125 sites for deriving the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratios that we inverted to retrieve local S -wave velocity profiles. In the inversion procedure, we used additional geological and geophysical constraints and values of the thickness of the sedimentary cover already determined by gravimetric measurements, which were found to vary substantially over short distances in the investigated area. The resulting model was derived by interpolation with a kriging technique between the single S -wave velocity profiles and shows locally good agreement with the few existing velocity profile data, but allows the entire area, as well as deeper parts of the basin, to be represented in greater detail. The wealth of available data allowed us to check if any correlation between the S -wave velocity in the uppermost 30 m (v30S) and the slope of topography, a new technique recently proposed by Wald and Allen, exists on a local scale. We observed that while one lithology might provide a greater scatter in the velocity values for the investigated area, almost no correlation between topographic gradient and calculated v30S exists, whereas a better link is found between v30S and the local geology. Finally, we compared the v30S distribution with the MSK intensities for the 1985 Valparaiso event, pointing out that high intensities are found where the expected v30S values are low and over a thick sedimentary cover. Although this evidence cannot be generalized for all possible earthquakes, it indicates the influence of site effects modifying the ground motion when earthquakes occur well outside of the Santiago basin. [source]


Sequential integrated inversion of refraction and wide-angle reflection traveltimes and gravity data for two-dimensional velocity structures

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2000
Rosaria Tondi
A new algorithm is presented for the integrated 2-D inversion of seismic traveltime and gravity data. The algorithm adopts the ,maximum likelihood' regularization scheme. We construct a ,probability density function' which includes three kinds of information: information derived from gravity measurements; information derived from the seismic traveltime inversion procedure applied to the model; and information on the physical correlation among the density and the velocity parameters. We assume a linear relation between density and velocity, which can be node-dependent; that is, we can choose different relationships for different parts of the velocity,density grid. In addition, our procedure allows us to consider a covariance matrix related to the error propagation in linking density to velocity. We use seismic data to estimate starting velocity values and the position of boundary nodes. Subsequently, the sequential integrated inversion (SII) optimizes the layer velocities and densities for our models. The procedure is applicable, as an additional step, to any type of seismic tomographic inversion. We illustrate the method by comparing the velocity models recovered from a standard seismic traveltime inversion with those retrieved using our algorithm. The inversion of synthetic data calculated for a 2-D isotropic, laterally inhomogeneous model shows the stability and accuracy of this procedure, demonstrates the improvements to the recovery of true velocity anomalies, and proves that this technique can efficiently overcome some of the limitations of both gravity and seismic traveltime inversions, when they are used independently. An interpretation of field data from the 1994 Vesuvius test experiment is also presented. At depths down to 4.5 km, the model retrieved after a SII shows a more detailed structure than the model obtained from an interpretation of seismic traveltime only, and yields additional information for a further study of the area. [source]


Accounting for velocity anisotropy in seismic traveltime tomography: a case study from the investigation of the foundations of a Byzantine monumental building

GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 1 2006
L. Polymenakos
ABSTRACT We estimate velocity anisotropy factors from seismic traveltime tomographic data and apply a correction for anisotropy in the inversion procedure to test possible improvements on the traveltime fit and the quality of the resulting tomographic images. We applied the anisotropy correction on a traveltime data set obtained from the investigation of the foundation structure of a monumental building: a Byzantine church from the 11th century AD, in Athens, Greece. Vertical transverse isotropy is represented by one axis of symmetry and one anisotropy magnitude for the entire tomographic inversion grid. We choose the vertical direction for the symmetry axis by analysing the available data set and taking into account information on the character of the foundations of the church from the literature and past excavations. The anisotropy magnitude is determined by testing a series of values of anisotropy and examining their effect on the tomographic inversion results. The best traveltime fit and image quality are obtained with an anisotropy value (Vmax/Vmin) of 1.6, restricted to the high velocity structures in the subsurface. We believe that this anisotropy value, which is significantly higher than the usual values reported for near-surface geological material, is related to the fabric of the church foundations, due to the shape of the individual stone blocks and the layout of the stonework. Inversion results obtained with the correction for anisotropy indicate that both the traveltime fit and the image quality are improved, providing an enhanced reconstruction of the velocity field, especially for the high-velocity features. Based on this enhanced and more reliable reconstruction of velocity distribution, an improved image of the subsurface material character was made possible. In particular, the pattern and state of the church foundations and possible weak ground material areas were revealed more clearly. This improved subsurface knowledge may assist in a better design of restoration measures for monumental buildings such as Byzantine churches. [source]


Multicarrier analysis of magnetotransport data at low and high electric fields

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 6 2009
O. V. S. N. Murthy
Abstract We present some results on multicarrier analysis of magnetotransport data. Both synthetic as well as data from narrow gap Hg0.8Cd0.2Te samples are used to demonstrate applicability of various algorithms vs. nonlinear least square fitting, Quantitative Mobility Spectrum Analysis (QMSA) and Maximum Entropy Mobility Spectrum Analysis (MEMSA). Comments are made from our experience on these algorithms, and, on the inversion procedure from experimental R/,-B to S-, specifically with least square fitting as an example. Amongst the conclusions drawn are: (i) Experimentally measured resistivity (Rxx, Rxy) should also be used instead of just the inverted conductivity (,xx, ,xy) to fit data to semiclassical expressions for better fits especially at higher B. (ii) High magnetic field is necessary to extract low mobility carrier parameters. (iii) Provided the error in data is not large, better estimates to carrier parameters of remaining carrier species can be obtained at any stage by subtracting highest mobility carrier contribution to , from the experimental data and fitting with the remaining carriers. (iv)Even in presence of high electric field, an approximate multicarrier expression can be used to guess the carrier mobilities and their variations before solving the full Boltzmann equation. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Three-dimensional inversion of automatic resistivity profiling data

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 4 2009
Nikos G. Papadopoulos
Abstract Geophysical investigations through mobile multi-electrode systems, such as the automatic resistivity profiling (ARP) method, can increase the size of the surveyed areas without jeopardizing the spatial resolution of the survey. The representation of the apparent resistivity data in maps corresponding to the different measuring dipoles is sufficient in most routine applications for outlining the buried archaeological structures. In specific cases where a more quantitative interpretation of the apparent resistivity data is demanded, a three-dimensional resistivity inversion can provide the necessary tool for this purpose. This work investigates the possibilities and limitations of the three-dimensional resistivity inversion in processing the ARP data. A three-dimensional finite element smoothness-constrained inversion algorithm was used. The active constraint balancing (ACB) method was also applied in order to enhance the stability and the resolving power of the inversion procedure. Resistivity models that are commonly encountered in archaeological exploration were used to generate synthetic apparent resistivity data using a three-dimensional finite element forward modelling program. Inversion of the synthetic data showed that the maximum investigation depth of the ARP method is comparable to the length of the larger receiving dipole and cannot exceed the 2,2.5,m for the particular ARP device tested in this work. Archaeological structures buried within this depth range can be effectively mapped, while the resolution of the subsurface structures is related to the data acquisition parameters. The inversion algorithm was also used to reconstruct the three-dimensional resistivity distribution from the ARP data set collected from the Andilly archaeological site in France. The results effectively showed that the three-dimensional inversion can act as a complementary tool in acquiring a more quantitative interpretation model of the buried archaeological features. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Extragalactic archeology in integrated light: A test case with NGC 4030

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2008
P. Ocvirk
Abstract We reconstruct the age-velocity distribution of the central region of the Sbc galaxy NGC4030, by applying STECKMAP to very high qualityWHT/ISIS data. We find that the main component is a relatively young (,2 Gyr) bulge with a ,100 km/s velocity dispersion. The best fit solution also shows a superimposed young, kinematically cold (,v , 30 km/s) component. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the detection of this component is robust given the observational setup and quality of the data, and that it is not likely to be an artifact of the inversion procedure. We propose that this component is actually a young stellar disk, seen superimposed on the bulge. This demonstrates the feasibility of separating superimposed stellar components and measuring their age and kinematics in integrated light, thereby confirming the results of Ocvirk et al. (2006b), but this time with real data. This is an important success for our tool in a series of tests and towards new results in extragalactic archeology. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]