Large-scale three-dimensional inversion of EarthScope MT data using the integral equation method

Abstract

In this paper we apply 3D inversion to MT data collected in the Northwestern United States as a part of the EarthScope project. By the end of 2009 MT data had been collected from 262 stations located throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and most of Montana and Wyoming. We used data from 139 MT stations in this analysis. We developed fully parallelized rigorous 3D MT inversion software based on the integral equation method with variable background conductivity. We also implemented a receiver footprint approach which considerably reduced the computational resources needed to invert the large volumes of data covering vast areas. The data set used in the inversion was obtained through the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). The inversion domain was divided into 2.7 M cells. The inverted electrical conductivity distribution agrees reasonably well with geological features of the region.