Section Covers Multiphysics and Joint Inversion

In this big data era, there is no shortage of data. Gigantic amounts of data are generated every day from social media, internet, finance, healthcare, sensors, cameras, satellites, etc. However, raw data do not necessarily translate to actionable knowledge.

Data analytics and domain expertise are required to develop such new knowledge and insights. In many cases, integrating multiple sources of data is also crucial to minimize uncertainty and maximize productivity. This is especially true for geoscientists who try to understand the subsurface systems based on insufficient and inaccurate data.

To advance the field of multiphysics integration and to showcase its added value, GEOPHYSICS, the flagship peer-reviewed journal published by Society of Exploration Geophysicists, will introduce a new section, “Multiphysics and Joint Inversion,” in 2021. Jiajia Sun, assistant professor of geophysics at University of Houston’s Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, is one of the three inaugural associate editors for the section. He will serve with Danielle Colombo of Saudi Aramco and Yaoguo Li of Colorado School of Mines.

“It has been long recognized among geoscientists that data integration is a critical step toward developing accurate knowledge of the subsurface systems and solving societally relevant problems, such as managing natural hazards and resources, production of low-carbon energy, etc.,” Sun said.

However, significant technological advances are yet to be made in order to fully integrate multiphysics data and to extract the most relevant and accurate information out of the data. Sun feels the field is at the best time to achieve the desired advances, “thanks to the confluence of ever-increasing data volumes and qualities, significantly better geophysical sensors and instruments, and rapidly evolving computational frameworks and infrastructures such as GPUs, machine learning and cloud computing.”

“We expect significant technological breakthroughs and successful applications of data integration to come in the next few years,” added Sun.

More information about this new section can be found in this article published recently in The Leading Edge and co-authored by Sun.