Three-dimensional magnetotelluric axial anisotropic forward modeling and inversion

Abstract

Magnetotelluric (MT) data has been widely used to image underground electrical structural. However, when the significant axial resistivity anisotropy presents, how this influences three-dimensional MT data has not been resolved clearly yet. We here propose a scheme for three-dimensional modeling of MT data in presence of axial anisotropic resistivity, where the electromagnetic fields are decomposed into primary and secondary components. A 3D staggered-grid finite difference method is then used to resolve the resulting 3D governing equations. Numerical tests have completed to validate the correctness and accuracy of the present algorithm. A limited-memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno method is then utilized to realize the 3D MT axial anisotropic inversion. The testing results show that, compared to the results of isotropic resistivity inversion, taking account the axial anisotropy can much improve the inverted results.