Comparison of Different Coupling Methods for Joint Inversion of
Geophysical data: A case study for the Namibian Continental Margin
Abstract
Integration of multiple geophysical methods in combined data analysis is
a key practice to reduce model uncertainties and enhance geological
interpretations. Electrical resistivity models resulting from inversion
of marine magnetotelluric (MT) data, often lack depth resolution of
lithological boundaries, and distinct information for shallow model
parts. This is due to the nature of the physics i.e. diffusive method,
model regularization during inversion, and survey setup i.e. large
station spacing and missing high frequency data. Thus, integrating data
or models to constrain layer thicknesses or structural boundaries is an
effective approach to derive better constrained, more detailed
resistivity models. We investigate the different impacts of three
cross-gradient coupled constraints on 3D MT inversion of data from the
Namibian passive continental margin. The three constraints are a)
coupling with a fixed structural density model; b) coupling with
satellite gravity data; c) coupling with a fixed gradient velocity
model. Here we show that coupling with a fixed model (a and c) improves
the resistivity model most. Shallow conductors imaging sediment cover
are confined to a thinner layer in the resulting resistivity models
compared to the MT-only model. Additionally these constraints help to
suppress vertical smearing of a conductive anomaly attributed to a
fracture zone, and clearly show that the seismically imaged Moho is not
accompanied by a change in electrical resistivity. All of these
observations aid interpretation of an Earth model indicating involvement
of a plume impact in continental break-up during the early Cretaceous.