Seismic waveform inversion using the finite-difference contrast source inversion method (Q2336514)

Summary: This paper extends the finite-difference contrast source inversion method to reconstruct the mass density for two-dimensional elastic wave inversion in the framework of the full-waveform inversion. The contrast source inversion method is a nonlinear iterative method that alternatively reconstructs contrast sources and contrast function. One of the most outstanding advantages of this inversion method is the highly computational efficiency, since it does not need to simulate a full forward problem for each inversion iteration. Another attractive feature of the inversion method is that it is of strong capability in dealing with nonlinear inverse problems in an inhomogeneous background medium, because a finite-difference operator is used to represent the differential operator governing the two-dimensional elastic wave propagation. Additionally, the techniques of a multiplicative regularization and a sequential multifrequency inversion are employed to enhance the quality of reconstructions for this inversion method. Numerical reconstruction results show that the inversion method has an excellent performance for reconstructing the objects embedded inside a homogeneous or an inhomogeneous background medium.