Two‐dimensional controlled source electromagnetic inversion algorithm based on a space domain forward modeling approach

Abstract

We develop a two‐dimensional controlled‐source electromagnetic inversion algorithm employing a space domain forward modelling algorithm. The space domain forward modelling algorithm is devised by imposing boundary conditions on the plane perpendicular to the strike direction that passes through the source position. The boundary conditions for various source types are derived using the symmetric/antisymmetric character of the electric and magnetic fields. The benchmarking analysis reveals that roughly eight grids are sufficient for discretizing space in the strike directions for accurate forward response computations. For inverse modelling, the inexact Gauss–Newton optimization technique is utilized. Numerical inversion experiments of synthetic and real‐field data clearly demonstrate the versatility and robustness of the developed algorithm. The inversion experimentations also concur with the forward response benchmarking analysis and suggest that only a few grids (around eight) are adequate to discretize space in the strike direction. The developed algorithm is more than one order efficient compared to a wavenumber domain code.