Assessing the resolution-dependent utility of tomograms for geostatistics
Geophysical Research Letters
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Geophysical tomograms are used increasingly as auxiliary data for geostatistical modeling of aquifer and reservoir properties. The correlation between tomographic estimates and hydrogeologic properties is commonly based on laboratory measurements, co-located measurements at boreholes, or petrophysical models. The inferred correlation is assumed uniform throughout the interwell region; however, tomographic resolution varies spatially due to acquisition geometry, regularization, data error, and the physics underlying the geophysical measurements. Blurring and inversion artifacts are expected in regions traversed by few or only low-angle raypaths. In the context of radar traveltime tomography, we derive analytical models for (1) the variance of tomographic estimates, (2) the spatially variable correlation with a hydrologic parameter of interest, and (3) the spatial covariance of tomographic estimates. Synthetic examples demonstrate that tomograms of qualitative value may have limited utility for geostatistics; moreover, the imprint of regularization may preclude inference of meaningful spatial statistics from tomograms.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Assessing the resolution-dependent utility of tomograms for geostatistics |
| Series title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| DOI | 10.1029/2004GL019617 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Year Published | 2004 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | AGU |
| Contributing office(s) | Office of Ground Water, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program |
| Description | L07503, 4 p. |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |