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2006

CGISS

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

Issues During The Inversion Of Crosshole Radar Data: Can We Have Confidence In The Outcome?, William P. Clement Dec 2006

Issues During The Inversion Of Crosshole Radar Data: Can We Have Confidence In The Outcome?, William P. Clement

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

One method of assessing the confidence in modeled features is to compare the results from different inversion schemes. I use synthetic traveltimes calculated from a model of an unconfined aquifer to determine the reliability of crosshole tomography. I compare the inverted models from straight and curved ray approximations to wave propagation. I investigate the effects of added random noise, regularization, the starting model, and the reference model on the curved ray inversion method. I also investigate the effects of different grid sizes for the forward model and of limited ray coverage through the earth model. Understanding the effects of these …


Crosshole Radar Tomography In A Fluvial Aquifer Near Boise, Idaho, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash Sep 2006

Crosshole Radar Tomography In A Fluvial Aquifer Near Boise, Idaho, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

To determine the distribution of heterogeneities in the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer in Boise, ID, we compute tomograms for three adjacent well pairs. The fluvial deposits consist of unconsolidated cobbles and sands. We used a curved-ray, finite-difference approximation to the eikonal equation to generate the forward model. The inversion uses a linearized, iterative scheme to determine the slowness distribution from the first arrival traveltimes. The tomograms consist of a layered zone representing the saturated aquifer. The velocities in this saturated zone range between 0.06 to 0.10 m/ns. We use a variety of methods to assess the reliability of …


Reflectivity Modeling Of A Ground-Penetrating-Radar Profile Of A Saturated Fluvial Formation, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll May 2006

Reflectivity Modeling Of A Ground-Penetrating-Radar Profile Of A Saturated Fluvial Formation, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Major horizons in radar reflection profiles may correlate with contacts between stratigraphic units or with structural breaks such as fault surfaces. Minor reflections may be caused by clutter or, in some cases, may indicate material properties or structure within stratigraphic units. In this study, we examine the physical basis for major and minor reflections observed in a shallow, unconfined, fluvial aquifer near Boise, Idaho, U. S. A. We compare a 2D profile from a surface ground-penetrating-radar reflection transect with the 1D modeled reflection profiles at three wells adjacent to the surface-reflection profile. The 1D models are based on dielectric constant …


Traveltime Inversion Of Vertical Radar Profiles, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll May 2006

Traveltime Inversion Of Vertical Radar Profiles, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traveltimes of direct arrivals in vertical radar profiles (VRPs) are tomographically inverted to estimate the earth’s electromagnetic (EM) velocity between a surface transmitter and a downhole receiver. We determine the 1D interval velocity model that best fits the first-arrival traveltimes by using a weighted, damped, least-squares inversion scheme. We assess the accuracy of the velocity model using synthetic traveltimes from a known velocity-distribution model simulating an unconfined aquifer. The inverted velocity profile closely matched the velocity profile of the input model in the synthetic examples. Using vertical radar profile data from an unconfined aquifer near Boise, Idaho, we inverted traveltimes …


Image Interpretation Using Appraisal Analysis, Partha S. Routh, Carlyle R. Miller Apr 2006

Image Interpretation Using Appraisal Analysis, Partha S. Routh, Carlyle R. Miller

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In geophysical inversion, a significant effort is invested to obtain images of the Earth from finite data. The first step is to obtain an image i.e. solve the inverse problem. This step alone provides significant challenges that are not addressed inthis paper. The next step is to interpret the image in terms of specific questions. For example, what can we say about the average value of a physical property within a certain region of the model? What scale information can we resolve from the data? These questions are problem dependent and may require that inversion be carried out several times …