A Secondary Field Based hp-Finite Element Method for the Simulation of Magnetotelluric Measurements

In some geophysical problems, it is sometimes possible to divide the subsurface resistivity distribution as a one dimensional (1D) contribution plus some two dimensional (2D) inhomogeneities. Assuming this scenario, we split the electromagnetic fields into their primary and secondary components, the former corresponding to the 1D contribution, and the latter to the 2D inhomogeneities. While the primary field is solved via an analytical solution, for the secondary field we employ a multi-goal oriented self-adaptive hp-Finite Element Method (FEM). To truncate the computational domain, we design a Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) that automatically adapts to high-contrast materials that appear in the subsurface and in the air–ground interface. Numerical results illustrate the robustness of the proposed PML and the gains of the secondary field approach, where we obtain results with comparable accuracy than with a full field based formulation but with a much lower computational cost

Quantities of interest for surface based resistivity geophysical measurements

The objective of traditional goal-oriented strategies is to construct an optimal mesh that minimizes the problem size needed to achieve a user prescribed tolerance error for a given quantity of interest (QoI). Typical geophysical resistivity measurement acquisition systems can easily record electromagnetic (EM) fields. However, depending upon the application, EM fields are sometimes loosely related to the quantity that is to be inverted (conductivity or resistivity), and therefore they become inadequate for inversion. In the present work, we study the impact of the selection of the QoI in our inverse problem. We focus on two different acquisition systems: marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM), and magnetotellurics (MT). For both applications, numerical results illustrate the benefits of employing adequate QoI. Specifically, the use as QoI of the impedance matrix on MT measurements provides significant computational savings, since one can replace the existing absorbing boundary conditions (BCs) by a homogeneous Dirichlet BC to truncate the computational domain, something that is not possible when considering EM fields as QoI

A summary of my twenty years of research according to Google Scholars

I am David Pardo, a researcher from Spain working mainly on numerical analysis applied to geophysics. I am 40 years old, and over a decade ago, I realized that my performance as a researcher was mainly evaluated based on a number called \h-index". This single number contains simultaneously information about the number of publications and received citations. However, dif- ferent h-indices associated to my name appeared in di erent webpages. A quick search allowed me to nd the most convenient (largest) h-index in my case. It corresponded to Google Scholars. In this work, I naively analyze a few curious facts I found about my Google Scholars and, at the same time, this manuscript serves as an experiment to see if it may serve to increase my Google Scholars h-index

Dimensionally adaptive hp-finite element simulation and inversion of 2D magnetotelluric measurements

Magnetotelluric (MT) problems often contain different subdomains where the conductivity of the media depends upon one, two, or three spatial variables. Traditionally, when a MT problem incorporates a three-dimensional (3D) subdomain, the numerical method employed for simulation and inversion was 3D over then entire domain. In here, we propose to take advantage of the possibly lower dimensionality of certain subdomains during the inversion process. By doing so, we obtain significant computational savings (up to 75% in some scenarios) and increased accuracy on the results. We numerically illustrate this method by employing two dimensional (2D) computations based on a multi-goal oriented . hp-adaptive Finite Element Method (FEM) that exhibits superior convergence properties. Additionally, we provide a formulation for implementing an efficient adjoint based method for the computation of the derivatives of the impedance, and we show the importance of the (a) proper selection of the inversion variable, and (b) the advantages of using both the Transverse Electric (TE) and Transverse Magnetic (TM) measurements for the proper inversion of MT data

A summary of my twenty years of research according to Google Scholars

I am David Pardo, a researcher from Spain working mainly on numerical analysis applied to geophysics. I am 40 years old, and over a decade ago, I realized that my performance as a researcher was mainly evaluated based on a number called \h-index". This single number contains simultaneously information about the number of publications and received citations. However, dif- ferent h-indices associated to my name appeared in di erent webpages. A quick search allowed me to nd the most convenient (largest) h-index in my case. It corresponded to Google Scholars. In this work, I naively analyze a few curious facts I found about my Google Scholars and, at the same time, this manuscript serves as an experiment to see if it may serve to increase my Google Scholars h-index

Automatically Adapted Perfectly Matched Layers for Problems with High Contrast Materials Properties

AbstractFor the simulation of wave propagation problems, it is necessary to truncate the computational domain. Perfectly Matched Layers are often employed for that purpose, especially in high contrast layered materials where absorbing boundary conditions are difficult to design. In here, we define a Perfectly Matched Layer that automatically adjusts its parameters without any user interaction. The user only has to indicate the desired decay in the surrounding layer. With this Perfectly Matched Layer, we show that even in the most complex scenarios where the material contrast properties are as high as sixteen orders of magnitude, we do not introduce numerical reflections when truncating the domain, thus, obtaining accurate solutions

hp-Adaptive simulation and inversion of magnetotelluric measurements

xlix, 121 p.The magnetotelluric (MT) method is a passive exploration technique that aims at estimating the resistivity distribution of the Earth’s subsurface, and therefore at providing an image of it. This process is divided into two different steps. The first one consists in recording the data. In a second step, recorded measurements are analyzed by employing numerical methods. This dissertation focuses in this second task. We provide a rigorous mathematical setting in the context of the Finite Element Method (FEM) that helps to understand the MT problem and its inversion process. In order to recover a map of the subsurface based on 2D MT measurements, we employ for the first time in MTs a multigoal oriented self adaptive hp-Finite Element Method (FEM). We accurately solve both the full formulation as well as a secondary field formulation where the primary field is given by the solution of a 1D layered media. To truncate the computational domain, we design a Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) that automatically adapts to high-contrast material properties that appear within the subsurface and on the air-ground interface. For the inversion process, we develop a first step of a Dimensionally Adaptive Method (DAM) by considering the dimension of the problem as a variable in the inversion. Additionally, this dissertation supplies a rigorous numerical analysis for the forward and inverse problems. Regarding the forward modelization, we perform a frequency sensitivity analysis, we study the effect of the source, the convergence of the hp-adaptivity, or the effect of the PML in the computation of the electromagnetic fields and impedance. As far as the inversion is concerned, we study the impact of the selected variable for the inversion process, the different information that each mode provides, and the gains of the DAM approachUniversité de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour. bca

A multi-objective memetic inverse solver reinforced by local optimization methods

We propose a new memetic strategy that can solve the multi-physics, complex inverse problems, formulated as the multi-objective optimization ones, in which objectives are misfits between the measured and simulated states of various governing processes. The multi-deme structure of the strategy allows for both, intensive, relatively cheap exploration with a moderate accuracy and more accurate search many regions of Pareto set in parallel. The special type of selection operator prefers the coherent alternative solutions, eliminating artifacts appearing in the particular processes. The additional accuracy increment is obtained by the parallel convex searches applied to the local scalarizations of the misfit vector. The strategy is dedicated for solving ill-conditioned problems, for which inverting the single physical process can lead to the ambiguous results. The skill of the selection in artifact elimination is shown on the benchmark problem, while the whole strategy was applied for identification of oil deposits, where the misfits are related to various frequencies of the magnetic and electric waves of the magnetotelluric measurement

A multi objective memetic inverse solver reinforced by local optimization methods

We propose a new memetic strategy that can solve the multi-physics, complex inverse problems, formulated as the multi-objective optimization ones, in which objectives are misfits between the measured and simulated states of various governing processes. The multi-deme structure of the strategy allows for both, intensive, relatively cheap exploration with a moderate accuracy and more accurate search many regions of Pareto set in parallel. The special type of selection operator prefers the coherent alternative solutions, eliminating artifacts appearing in the particular processes. The additional accuracy increment is obtained by the parallel convex searches applied to the local scalarizations of the misfit vector. The strategy is dedicated for solving ill-conditioned problems, for which inverting the single physical process can lead to the ambiguous results. The skill of the selection in artifact elimination is shown on the benchmark problem, while the whole strategy was applied for identification of oil deposits, where the misfits are related to various frequencies of the magnetic and electric waves of the magnetotelluric measurements. 2016 Elsevier B.V