Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Variational Data Assimilation For Two Interface Problems, Xuejian Li

Doctoral Dissertations

“Variational data assimilation (VDA) is a process that uses optimization techniques to determine an initial condition of a dynamical system such that its evolution best fits the observed data. In this dissertation, we develop and analyze the variational data assimilation method with finite element discretization for two interface problems, including the Parabolic Interface equation and the Stokes-Darcy equation with the Beavers-Joseph interface condition. By using Tikhonov regularization and formulating the VDA into an optimization problem, we establish the existence, uniqueness and stability of the optimal solution for each concerned case. Based on weak formulations of the Parabolic Interface equation and …