Chapter 7 - Seismic Inversion

Abstract

In the previous six chapters, we have briefly discussed wave propagation and the boundary value problems of wave equations, which aim to describe natural rules by following ordinary thinking, and these are called forward problems. The methods for solving the forward problems mainly involve direct deductions. In this book, these methods mean correctly proposing the initial-boundary value problems related to wave equations and to given geophysical models and solving them to find wave field propagation process. On the other hand, inversion entails inverse deductions to solve inverse problems that will be discussed in this chapter. Inversion involved in this book pertains to the construction of earth models or defining the initial-boundary conditions related to wave equations by using seismic wave field data observed in limited time and space.