New 3-D Combined Inversion Scheme Using Response Functions Free From Galvanic Distortion

Abstract

\n The combined inversion using distortion-free response functions is an effective approach to robustly estimate the 3-D electrical resistivity structure against the distortions caused by near-surface resistivity anomalies. However, previous combined inversion analyses have presented a significant dependency of the inversion results on initial and prior models. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the following two new types of 3-D combined inversion using distortion-free response functions: one uses the phase tensor and the vertical and inter-station horizontal magnetic transfer functions, while the other uses the Network-MT response functions, in addition to the former. Because long dipoles are used, the Network-MT response function is negligibly affected by galvanic distortion. To access the combined inversion approach, we developed a novel 3-D inversion scheme combining the response functions of the usual magnetotelluric measurements and the Network-MT response function. The synthetic inversion analysis demonstrated that both of the proposed combined inversions can recover the characteristic resistivity distributions of the target model without a significant dependence on the initial models, at least in the shallow part. These results demonstrate that the combined inversions using only distortion-free response functions have the potential to estimate subsurface resistivity more robustly than what was previously thought. Furthermore, we confirmed that the combined inversion using the Network-MT response function can make the resultant resistivity structure closer to the actual one and enhance the stability of the inversion. This result suggests that the combined use of the Network-MT response function is the preferred approach.