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The use of asymmetric time constraints in 4-D ERT inversion

Loke, M. H. ; Wilkinson, P. B. ; Chambers, J. E. ; Uhlemann, S. ; Dijkstra, T. and Dahlin, T. LU (2022) In Journal of Applied Geophysics 197.
Abstract

Time-lapse resistivity surveys are commonly used to monitor temporal changes in the subsurface. In certain cases, it is known from other information that the resistivity will only decrease or increase with time. The 4-D resistivity smoothness-constrained inversion method reduces artifacts due to noise by including a temporal roughness filter constraint that ensures the temporal changes vary in a smooth manner. A least-squares optimization method is used to find a solution by attempting to locate the minimum of an objective function that consists of the data misfit and model (spatial and temporal) roughness. In some cases, the 4-D time-lapse inverse models show an increase in the resistivity with time in parts of the subsurface where it... (More)

Time-lapse resistivity surveys are commonly used to monitor temporal changes in the subsurface. In certain cases, it is known from other information that the resistivity will only decrease or increase with time. The 4-D resistivity smoothness-constrained inversion method reduces artifacts due to noise by including a temporal roughness filter constraint that ensures the temporal changes vary in a smooth manner. A least-squares optimization method is used to find a solution by attempting to locate the minimum of an objective function that consists of the data misfit and model (spatial and temporal) roughness. In some cases, the 4-D time-lapse inverse models show an increase in the resistivity with time in parts of the subsurface where it is only expected to decrease (or vice versa). We compare two methods, the barrier function and transformation methods, that attempt to minimize or eliminate these artifacts. We incorporate the barrier function constraint into the 4-D inverse method by using a modified difference matrix as a temporal roughness filter. The barrier function constraint includes an additional term that increases the objective function value greatly if the model values cross the allowed thresholds. This greatly minimizes the artifacts but does not completely eliminate them. It has the advantage that there are minimal changes in the objective function in regions of model space that are not close to the imposed thresholds. The method of transformations changes the model parameter such that the additional positivity or negativity constraints are implicitly included in the transformed model parameter. It has the advantage that it can completely eliminate the artifacts. However, it modifies the entire objective function which could be a disadvantage in some cases. We also explore a combination of the two methods, using the barrier function method to generate an initial model that minimizes the artifacts followed by the transformation method. This hybrid technique completely removes the residual artifacts left by the barrier method, and produces an inverse model which is closer to the true model for a synthetic data set. We also describe a post-inversion modification of the L-curve method to determine the optimum model that takes into account the non-linear nature of the inverse problem and the forward modelling method. The technique gave an estimate of the noise level for a field data set and produced a model which is consistent with independent hydrological measurements at the test site.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
4-D, Asymmetric, Constraints, Inversion, Resistivity, Time
in
Journal of Applied Geophysics
volume
197
article number
104536
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123028318
ISSN
0926-9851
DOI
10.1016/j.jappgeo.2022.104536
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7c5d28de-1fb6-4e7f-bf43-d31d9d3def4d
date added to LUP
2022-02-18 12:01:14
date last changed
2022-04-21 01:36:29
@article{7c5d28de-1fb6-4e7f-bf43-d31d9d3def4d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Time-lapse resistivity surveys are commonly used to monitor temporal changes in the subsurface. In certain cases, it is known from other information that the resistivity will only decrease or increase with time. The 4-D resistivity smoothness-constrained inversion method reduces artifacts due to noise by including a temporal roughness filter constraint that ensures the temporal changes vary in a smooth manner. A least-squares optimization method is used to find a solution by attempting to locate the minimum of an objective function that consists of the data misfit and model (spatial and temporal) roughness. In some cases, the 4-D time-lapse inverse models show an increase in the resistivity with time in parts of the subsurface where it is only expected to decrease (or vice versa). We compare two methods, the barrier function and transformation methods, that attempt to minimize or eliminate these artifacts. We incorporate the barrier function constraint into the 4-D inverse method by using a modified difference matrix as a temporal roughness filter. The barrier function constraint includes an additional term that increases the objective function value greatly if the model values cross the allowed thresholds. This greatly minimizes the artifacts but does not completely eliminate them. It has the advantage that there are minimal changes in the objective function in regions of model space that are not close to the imposed thresholds. The method of transformations changes the model parameter such that the additional positivity or negativity constraints are implicitly included in the transformed model parameter. It has the advantage that it can completely eliminate the artifacts. However, it modifies the entire objective function which could be a disadvantage in some cases. We also explore a combination of the two methods, using the barrier function method to generate an initial model that minimizes the artifacts followed by the transformation method. This hybrid technique completely removes the residual artifacts left by the barrier method, and produces an inverse model which is closer to the true model for a synthetic data set. We also describe a post-inversion modification of the L-curve method to determine the optimum model that takes into account the non-linear nature of the inverse problem and the forward modelling method. The technique gave an estimate of the noise level for a field data set and produced a model which is consistent with independent hydrological measurements at the test site.</p>}},
  author       = {{Loke, M. H. and Wilkinson, P. B. and Chambers, J. E. and Uhlemann, S. and Dijkstra, T. and Dahlin, T.}},
  issn         = {{0926-9851}},
  keywords     = {{4-D; Asymmetric; Constraints; Inversion; Resistivity; Time}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Applied Geophysics}},
  title        = {{The use of asymmetric time constraints in 4-D ERT inversion}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2022.104536}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jappgeo.2022.104536}},
  volume       = {{197}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}