Publications des scientifiques de l'IRD

Nocquet Jean-Mathieu. (2018). Stochastic static fault slip inversion from geodetic data with non-negativity and bound constraints. Geophysical Journal International, 214 (1), p. 366-385. ISSN 0956-540X.

Titre du document
Stochastic static fault slip inversion from geodetic data with non-negativity and bound constraints
Année de publication
2018
Type de document
Article référencé dans le Web of Science WOS:000448235200025
Auteurs
Nocquet Jean-Mathieu
Source
Geophysical Journal International, 2018, 214 (1), p. 366-385 ISSN 0956-540X
Despite surface displacements observed by geodesy are linear combinations of slip at faults in an elastic medium, determining the spatial distribution of fault slip remains a ill-posed inverse problem. A widely used approach to circumvent the illness of the inversion is to add regularization constraints in terms of smoothing and/or damping so that the linear system becomes invertible. However, the choice of regularization parameters is often arbitrary, and sometimes leads to significantly different results. Furthermore, the resolution analysis is usually empirical and cannot be made independently of the regularization. The stochastic approach of inverse problems provides a rigorous framework where the a priori information about the searched parameters is combined with the observations in order to derive posterior probabilities of the unkown parameters. Here, I investigate an approach where the prior probability density function (pdf) is a multivariate Gaussian function, with single truncation to impose positivity of slip or double truncation to impose positivity and upper bounds on slip for interseismic modelling. I show that the joint posterior pdf is similar to the linear untruncated Gaussian case and can be expressed as a truncated multivariate normal (TMVN) distribution. The TMVN form can then be used to obtain semi-analytical formulae for the single, 2-D or n-D marginal pdf. The semi-analytical formula involves the product of a Gaussian by an integral term that can be evaluated using recent developments in TMVN probabilities calculations. Posterior mean and covariance can also be efficiently derived. I show that the maximum posterior (MAP) can be obtained using a non-negative least-squares algorithm for the single truncated case or using the bounded-variable least-squares algorithm for the double truncated case. I show that the case of independent uniform priors can be approximated using TMVN. The numerical equivalence to Bayesian inversions using Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC) sampling is shown for a synthetic example and a real case for interseismic modelling in Central Peru. The TMVN method overcomes several limitations of the Bayesian approach using MCMC sampling. First, the need of computer power is largely reduced. Second, unlike Bayesian MCMC-based approach, marginal pdf, mean, variance or covariance are obtained independently one from each other. Third, the probability and cumulative density functions can be obtained with any density of points. Finally, determining the MAP is extremely fast.
Plan de classement
Sciences fondamentales / Techniques d'analyse et de recherche [020] ; Géophysique interne [066] ; Télédétection [126]
Description Géographique
PEROU
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010074389]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010074389
Contact