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Title: Joint inversion of gravity and cosmic ray muon flux at a well-characterised site for shallow subsurface density prediction

Journal Article · · Geophysical Journal International
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggz127 · OSTI ID:1501805
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
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Estimating subsurface density is important for imaging various geologic structures such as volcanic edifices, reservoirs, and aquifers. Muon tomography has recently been used to complement traditional gravity measurements as a powerful method for probing shallow subsurface density structure beneath volcanoes. Gravity and muon data have markedly different spatial sensitivities and, as a result, the combination is useful for imaging structures on spatial scales that are larger than the area encompassed by crossing muon trajectories. Here we explore and test a joint inversion of gravity and muon data in a study area where there is an independently-characterised target anomaly: a regionally extensive, high-density layer beneath Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. We resolve the nearly flat-lying structure using a unique experimental set-up wherein surface and subsurface gravity and muon measurements are obtained above and below the target volume. Our results show that with minimal geologic (prior) constraints, the joint inversion correctly recovers salient features of the expected density structure. The results of our study illustrate the potential of combining surface and subsurface (e.g., borehole) gravity and muon measurements to invert for shallow geologic structures.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1501805
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--18-23891
Journal Information:
Geophysical Journal International, Journal Name: Geophysical Journal International Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 217; ISSN 0956-540X
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (1)

Bayesian joint muographic and gravimetric inversion applied to volcanoes journal July 2019

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79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
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gravity modeling
joint inversion