Inversion of the Gravity Gradiometry Data by ResUnet Network: An Application in Nordkapp Basin, Barents Sea

Abstract

The study and assessment of the subsurface density distribution are vital for mining and oil & gas exploration. This can be achieved by the three-dimensional (3D) inversion of the observed gravity and gravity gradiometry (GG) data. Due to the ill-posedness of the geophysical inverse problem, the nonuniqueness and instability of solutions represent the main difficulties in inversion. In recent years, convolutional neural networks, especially U-net technology, have found wide applications in image processing, recognition, and reconstruction. This paper proposes using this method for fast reconstruction of the subsurface density models based on the ResUnet technology. The developed new method was examined on two 3D synthetic gravity and gravity gradiometry datasets inversion. The results show that the ResUnet network can reconstruct the density anomaly with sharp boundaries and is robust to the noise, making the solution stable.