SIO 230 Geophysical Inverse Theory 2009

Prolog

The key factor that makes inverse theory different from simple parameter estimation (a classical statistical problem) is that the number of observations we can make is finite, while the unknowns are functions (usually of position) which require infinitely variables for their full description. Thus finding a model solution involves a choice from an infinitely large collection of alternative solutions. The approach taken in the class is to apply mathematical optimization to select the simplest models which avoids the introduction of exciting features that are in fact unnecessary. To discover reliable properties of the Earth, independent on any particular model, we can calculate upper and lower bounds on functionals that represent those properties; that involves optimization again.



A list of potential topics can be found here. We probably will not have the time in one Quarter to cover them all.