Inverse methods for geoscientists

• M.Sc. Applied Geosciences / M.Sc. Georesources Management
• Prof. Dr. Florian M. Wagner
  Dr. Marc Boxberg

Course content

Inverse methods aim to derive properties of a system from potentially noisy and sparse observations. It is widely applied from medical imaging (MRI, CT scan, etc.) to inferring the interior of the Earth from seismological observations. In this course, the fundamental theory and concepts will be introduced and put into practice using coding examples from curve fitting to more complex and realistic examples. While the theory is universal, the examples will focus on geoscientific and geophysical problems.

Learning goals

After successful completion of the course, the students will have a thorough understanding of inverse methods. They understand the benefits, limitations and common pitfalls of the associated algorithms and can put these into practice for modern (geo)scientific challenges.

Literature recommendations

• Menke, W. (2018): Geophysical data analysis: Discrete inverse theory (4th ed.). Academic Press.
• Aster, R. C., Borchers, B., & Thurber, C. H. (2018): Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems (3^rd ed.). Elsevier Science Publishing.