Integrated Imaging of the Earth: Coupled Inversion of Multiple Geophysical Data Sets Across the Earth Sciences

To date, there is no book on integrated inversion methods, neither published nor in preparation. While the idea of combining different types of geophysical data has been around for more than 30 years, it has only become practically feasible within the last 10 years or so, mainly due to the availability of increased computational resources. In the last 5 years, integrated methods have reached a level of maturity that allows them to be applied to field data in a wide range of contexts. A body of literature is rapidly emerging that documents successes and challenges of integrated imaging methods: if formally organized as review and application chapters, these would be of much benefit to the wider community. A book on this topic is therefore timely and should meet the demand of many researchers who want to apply joint interpretation approaches.

Most importantly, joint inversion approaches are showing a steadfast gain in popularity in the exploration community because they can assist with locating new natural resource deposits such as coal, mineral, water, oil, natural gas, etc. in challenging environments. As a consequence many practitioners in the industry will likely be exposed to joint inversion methods and data analysis in the future and perhaps, strongly benefit from this book.

This book considers methods that utilize seismic, electromagnetic, gravity, electrical and magnetic data, and it covers applications that examine the very near-surface to the lower mantle of Earth. The key question addressed is how to combine the various geophysical methods and data in a meaningful and robust manner so as to achieve the most consistent Earth model. A variety of approaches have been developed towards this end that are detailed in the form of theoretical contributions and applications.