STOCHASTIC INVERSION OF GEOPHYSICAL DATA FOR ESTIMATING EARTH MODEL PARAMETERS

摘要

A computer implemented stochastic inversion methodfor estimating model parameters of an earth model. In an embodiment,the method utilizes a sampling-based stochastic technique to determinethe probability density functions (PDF) of the model parameters thatdefine a boundary-based multi-dimensional model of the subsurface. Insome embodiments a sampling technique known as Markov ChainMonte Carlo (MCMC) is utilized. MCMC techniques fall into the classof "importance sampling" techniques, in which the posterior probabili-tydistribution is sampled in proportion to the model's ability to fit ormatch the specified acquisition geometry. In another embodiment, theinversion includes the joint inversion of multiple geophysical data sets.Embodiments of the invention also relate to a computer system config-uredto perform a method for estimating model parameters for accurateinterpretation of the earth's subsurface.