Inversion of potential field data using the structural index as weighting function rate decay

Nonparametric inverse methods provide a general framework for solving potential‐field problems. The use of weighted norms leads to a general regularization problem of Tikhonov form. We present an alternative procedure to estimate the source susceptibility distribution from potential field measurements exploiting inversion methods by means of a flexible depth‐weighting function in the Tikhonov formulation. Our approach improves the formulation proposed by Li and Oldenburg (1996, 1998) , differing significantly in the definition of the depth‐weighting function. In our formalism the depth weighting function is associated not to the field decay of a single block (which can be representative of just a part of the source) but to the field decay of the whole source, thus implying that the data inversion is independent on the cell shape. So, in our procedure, the depth‐weighting function is not given with a fixed exponent but with the structural index N of the source as the exponent. Differently than previous methods, our choice gives a substantial objectivity to the form of the depth‐weighting function and to the consequent solutions. The allowed values for the exponent of the depth‐weighting function depend on the range of N for sources: 0 ≤N≤ 3 (magnetic case). The analysis regarding the cases of simple sources such as dipoles, dipole lines, dykes or contacts, validate our hypothesis. The study of a complex synthetic case also proves that the depth‐weighting decay cannot be necessarily assumed as equal to 3. Moreover it should not be kept constant for multi‐source models but should instead depend on the structural indices of the different sources. In this way we are able to successfully invert the magnetic data of the Vulture area, Southern Italy. An original aspect of the proposed inversion scheme is that it brings an explicit link between two widely used types of interpretation methods, namely those assuming homogeneous fields, such as Euler deconvolution or depth from extreme points transformation and the inversion under the Tikhonov‐form including a depth‐weighting function. The availability of further constraints, from drillings or known geology, will definitely improve the quality of the solution.     

Estimating magnetic dike parameters using a non‐linear constrained inversion technique: an example from the Särna area,west central Sweden

In this paper, we describe a non‐linear constrained inversion technique for 2D interpretation of high resolution magnetic field data along flight lines using a simple dike model. We first estimate the strike direction of a quasi 2D structure based on the eigenvector corresponding to the minimum eigenvalue of the pseudogravity gradient tensor derived from gridded, low‐pass filtered magnetic field anomalies, assuming that the magnetization direction is known. Then the measured magnetic field can be transformed into the strike coordinate system and all magnetic dike parameters – horizontal position, depth to the top, dip angle, width and susceptibility contrast – can be estimated by non‐linear least squares inversion of the high resolution magnetic field data along the flight lines. We use the Levenberg‐Marquardt algorithm together with the trust‐region‐reflective method enabling users to define inequality constraints on model parameters such that the estimated parameters are always in a trust region. Assuming that the maximum of the calculated g_zz (vertical gradient of the pseudogravity field) is approximately located above the causative body, data points enclosed by a window, along the profile, centred at the maximum of g_zz are used in the inversion scheme for estimating the dike parameters. The size of the window is increased until it exceeds a predefined limit. Then the solution corresponding to the minimum data fit error is chosen as the most reliable one. Using synthetic data we study the effect of random noise and interfering sources on the estimated models and we apply our method to a new aeromagnetic data set from the Särna area, west central Sweden including constraints from laboratory measurements on rock samples from the area.     

Anisotropic azimuthal surface-wave inversion for a vertically fractured and transverse isotropy medium: Theory and examples from a controlled field experiment

Fractures in elastic media add compliance to a rock in the direction normal to the fracture strike. Therefore, elastic wave velocities in a fractured rock will vary as a function of the energy propagation direction relative to the orientation of the aligned fracture set. Anisotropic Thomson–Haskell matrix Rayleigh-wave equations for a vertically transverse isotropic media can be used to model surface-wave dispersion along the principal axes of a vertically fractured and transversely isotropic medium. Furthermore, a workflow combining first-break analysis and azimuthal anisotropic Rayleigh-wave inversion can be used to estimate P-wave and S-wave velocities, Thomsen's ε, and Thomsen's δ along the principal axes of the orthorhombic symmetry. In this work, linear slip theory is used to map our inversion results to the equivalent vertically fractured and transversely isotropic medium coefficients. We carried out this inversion on a synthetic example and a field example. The synthetic data example results show that joint estimation of S-wave velocities with Thomsen's parameters ε and δ along normal and parallel to the vertical fracture set is reliable and, when mapped to the corresponding vertically fractured and transversely isotropic medium, provides insight into the fracture compliances. When the inversion was carried out on the field data, results indicated that the fractured rock is more compliant in the azimuth normal to the visible fracture set orientation and that the in situ normal fracture compliance to tangential fracture compliance ratio is less than half, which implies some cementation may have occurred along the fractures. Such an observation has significant implications when modelling the transport properties of the rock and its strength. Both synthetic and field examples show the potential of azimuthal anisotropic Rayleigh-wave inversion as the method can be further expanded to a more general case where the vertical fracture set orientation is not known a priori.     

Seismic amplitude inversion for the transversely isotropic media with vertical axis of symmetry

Transverse isotropy with a vertical axis of symmetry is a common form of anisotropy in sedimentary basins, and it has a significant influence on the seismic amplitude variation with offset. Although exact solutions and approximations of the PP-wave reflection coefficient for the transversely isotropic media with vertical axis of symmetry have been explicitly studied, it is difficult to apply these equations to amplitude inversion, because more than three parameters need to be estimated, and such an inverse problem is highly ill-posed. In this paper, we propose a seismic amplitude inversion method for the transversely isotropic media with a vertical axis of symmetry based on a modified approximation of the reflection coefficient. This new approximation consists of only three model parameters: attribute A, the impedance (vertical phase velocity multiplied by bulk density); attribute B, shear modulus proportional to an anellipticity parameter (Thomsen's parameter ε−δ); and attribute C, the approximate horizontal P-wave phase velocity, which can be well estimated by using a Bayesian-framework-based inversion method. Using numerical tests we show that the derived approximation has similar accuracy to the existing linear approximation and much higher accuracy than isotropic approximations, especially at large angles of incidence and for strong anisotropy. The new inversion method is validated by using both synthetic data and field seismic data. We show that the inverted attributes are robust for shale-gas reservoir characterization: the shale formation can be discriminated from surrounding formations by using the crossplot of the attributes A and C, and then the gas-bearing shale can be identified through the combination of the attributes A and B. We then propose a rock-physics-based method and a stepwise-inversion-based method to estimate the P-wave anisotropy parameter (Thomsen's parameter ε). The latter is more suitable when subsurface media are strongly heterogeneous. The stepwise inversion produces a stable and accurate Thomsen's parameter ε, which is proved by using both synthetic and field data.     

基于最小反演拟合差的重磁场源深度计算方法

以等效源及位场物性反演为基础,本文提出一种新的求取重磁场源深度的方法.该方法将一层等效源以一定的间隔从浅部向深部移动,并将等效源作为初始模型进行反演,当反演拟合差最小时,停止反演,此时的等效源底深即为所求场源的中心深度.由于仅需要反演一层等效源,比传统的物性反演计算时间大大减少,并且不需要进行深度加权约束.理论模型数据处理结果表明该方法能够获得较准确的场源深度:以长宽比为7.5的薄板模型为例,深度计算误差约为1个点距(25 m);以长宽比为0.5~1.5的厚板模型为例,深度计算误差小于1个点距(25m).将该方法应用于实测航磁梯度数据,计算的磁源中心深度在200~250m之间,钻井资料显示该异常由埋藏深度在200~300m的闪长岩引起,计算结果与钻井资料较吻合.     

3D description and inversion of reflection moveout of PS‐waves in anisotropic media

Common‐midpoint moveout of converted waves is generally asymmetric with respect to zero offset and cannot be described by the traveltime series t²(x²) conventionally used for pure modes. Here, we present concise parametric expressions for both common‐midpoint (CMP) and common‐conversion‐point (CCP) gathers of PS‐waves for arbitrary anisotropic, horizontally layered media above a plane dipping reflector. This analytic representation can be used to model 3D (multi‐azimuth) CMP gathers without time‐consuming two‐point ray tracing and to compute attributes of PS moveout such as the slope of the traveltime surface at zero offset and the coordinates of the moveout minimum. In addition to providing an efficient tool for forward modelling, our formalism helps to carry out joint inversion of P and PS data for transverse isotropy with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI media). If the medium above the reflector is laterally homogeneous, P‐wave reflection moveout cannot constrain the depth scale of the model needed for depth migration. Extending our previous results for a single VTI layer, we show that the interval vertical velocities of the P‐ and S‐waves (V_P0 and V_S0) and the Thomsen parameters ε and δ can be found from surface data alone by combining P‐wave moveout with the traveltimes of the converted PS(PSV)‐wave. If the data are acquired only on the dip line (i.e. in 2D), stable parameter estimation requires including the moveout of P‐ and PS‐waves from both a horizontal and a dipping interface. At the first stage of the velocity‐analysis procedure, we build an initial anisotropic model by applying a layer‐stripping algorithm to CMP moveout of P‐ and PS‐waves. To overcome the distorting influence of conversion‐point dispersal on CMP gathers, the interval VTI parameters are refined by collecting the PS data into CCP gathers and repeating the inversion. For 3D surveys with a sufficiently wide range of source–receiver azimuths, it is possible to estimate all four relevant parameters (V_P0, V_S0, ε and δ) using reflections from a single mildly dipping interface. In this case, the P‐wave NMO ellipse determined by 3D (azimuthal) velocity analysis is combined with azimuthally dependent traveltimes of the PS‐wave. On the whole, the joint inversion of P and PS data yields a VTI model suitable for depth migration of P‐waves, as well as processing (e.g. transformation to zero offset) of converted waves.     

P‐wave stacking‐velocity tomography for VTI media

A major complication caused by anisotropy in velocity analysis and imaging is the uncertainty in estimating the vertical velocity and depth scale of the model from surface data. For laterally homogeneous VTI (transversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis) media above the target reflector, P‐wave moveout has to be combined with other information (e.g. borehole data or converted waves) to build velocity models for depth imaging. The presence of lateral heterogeneity in the overburden creates the dependence of P‐wave reflection data on all three relevant parameters (the vertical velocity V_P0 and the Thomsen coefficients ε and δ) and, therefore, may help to determine the depth scale of the velocity field. Here, we propose a tomographic algorithm designed to invert NMO ellipses (obtained from azimuthally varying stacking velocities) and zero‐offset traveltimes of P‐waves for the parameters of homogeneous VTI layers separated by either plane dipping or curved interfaces. For plane non‐intersecting layer boundaries, the interval parameters cannot be recovered from P‐wave moveout in a unique way. Nonetheless, if the reflectors have sufficiently different azimuths, a priori knowledge of any single interval parameter makes it possible to reconstruct the whole model in depth. For example, the parameter estimation becomes unique if the subsurface layer is known to be isotropic. In the case of 2D inversion on the dip line of co‐orientated reflectors, it is necessary to specify one parameter (e.g. the vertical velocity) per layer. Despite the higher complexity of models with curved interfaces, the increased angle coverage of reflected rays helps to resolve the trade‐offs between the medium parameters. Singular value decomposition (SVD) shows that in the presence of sufficient interface curvature all parameters needed for anisotropic depth processing can be obtained solely from conventional‐spread P‐wave moveout. By performing tests on noise‐contaminated data we demonstrate that the tomographic inversion procedure reconstructs both the interfaces and the VTI parameters with high accuracy. Both SVD analysis and moveout inversion are implemented using an efficient modelling technique based on the theory of NMO‐velocity surfaces generalized for wave propagation through curved interfaces.     

Determination of Q S, spreading factor and S-wave acceleration by inversion of seismic intensity data

In this paper, on the basis of intensity data from 85 earthquakes occurred in China, the method of resolving overdetermined equations by using the damped least squares method is applied to inversing for the mean value of 1 s. S wave quality factor, the spreading factor and the S-wave acceleration at the foci of earthquakes in 7 regions of China. The relation between S-wave acceleration at the foci of earthquakes and magnitude is discussed. As an example, 2-DQ _S distribution in Taiwan Province is obtained by inversion. It is found that there exists some corresponding relation between this distribution and Bouguer gravitational anomaly and seismicity. Preliminary analysis and discussion on results of the inversion, and estimation of error inQ _S are made. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,13, 202–211, 1991. The English version of this paper is improved by Professor Yushou Xie.     

Three‐dimensional potential field data inversion with L0 quasinorm sparse constraints

The quantitative explanation of the potential field data of three‐dimensional geological structures remains one of the most challenging issues in modern geophysical inversion. Obtaining a stable solution that can simultaneously resolve complicated geological structures is a critical inverse problem in the geophysics field. I have developed a new method for determining a three‐dimensional petrophysical property distribution, which produces a corresponding potential field anomaly. In contrast with the tradition inverse algorithm, my inversion method proposes a new model norm, which incorporates two important weighting functions. One is the L0 quasi norm (enforcing sparse constraints), and the other is depth‐weighting that counteracts the influence of source depth on the resulting potential field data of the solution. Sparseness constraints are imposed by using the L0 quasinorm on model parameters. To solve the representation problem, an L0 quasinorm minimisation model with different smooth approximations is proposed. Hence, the data space (N) method, which is much smaller than model space (M), combined with the gradient‐projected method, and the model space, combined with the modified Newton method for L0 quasinorm sparse constraints, leads to a computationally efficient method by using an N × N system versus an M × M one because N ? M. Tests on synthetic data and real datasets demonstrate the stability and validity of the L0 quasinorm spare norms inversion method. With the aim of obtaining the blocky results, the inversion method with the L0 quasinorm sparse constraints method performs better than the traditional L2 norm (standard Tikhonov regularisation). It can obtain the focus and sparse results easily. Then, the Bouguer anomaly survey data of the salt dome, offshore Louisiana, is considered as a real case study. The real inversion result shows that the inclusion the L0 quasinorm sparse constraints leads to a simpler and better resolved solution, and the density distribution is obtained in this area to reveal its geological structure. These results confirm the validity of the L0 quasinorm sparse constraints method and indicate its application for other potential field data inversions and the exploration of geological structures.     

基于混合优化算法的MT阻抗张量畸变分解方法

在前人研究基础上,对Groom-Bailey(GB)张量分解畸变因子和区域阻抗的求解方法进行了改进.首先,通过Swift旋转与GB分解的扭变和剪切矩阵的求逆变换,利用变换后区域阻抗主对角元素为0的条件获得关于扭变因子和剪切因子的超定方程组,采用模拟退火全局优化算法进行求解.其次,由得到的扭变因子和剪切因子,结合Swift旋转确定的走向角和区域阻抗元素的估计,作为非线性最小二乘局部优化算法的初始值,对GB分解定义式的超定方程组进行求解,得到各畸变参数和区域阻抗的解.通过模型试验验证了方法的正确,对方法的稳定性进行了比较与评价,并通过与已有结果的对比和实际资料的应用,表明了方法实际应用的效果.     

An enhanced method for source parameter imaging of magnetic data collected for mineral exploration

We have developed a method for imaging magnetic data collected for mineral exploration to yield the following structural information: depth, model type (structural index) and susceptibility. The active nature of mineral exploration data requires we derive the structural information from a robust quantity: we propose that the first‐ or second‐order analytic‐signal amplitude is suitably stable. The procedure is to normalize the analytic‐signal amplitude by the peak value and then use non‐linear inversion to estimate the depth and the structural index for each anomaly. In our field example, different results are obtained depending on whether we inverted for the first‐ or second‐order analytic‐signal amplitude. This is probably because the two‐dimensional contact, thin sheet or horizontal cylinder models we have assumed are not appropriate. In cases such as these, when our model assumptions are not correct, the results should not be interpreted quantitatively, but they might be useful for giving a qualitative indication of how the structure might vary. With a priori information, it is possible to assume a model type (i.e. set the structural index) and generate estimates of the depth and susceptibility. These data can then be gridded and imaged. If a contact is assumed, the susceptibility contrast is estimated; for the dike model, the susceptibility‐thickness is estimated; for the horizontal cylinder, the susceptibility‐area is estimated. To emphasize that the results are dependent on our assumed model, we advocate prefixing any derived quantity by the term ‘apparent’.     

Constraints in 3D gravity inversion

A three-dimensional (3D) inversion program is developed to interpret gravity data using a selection of constraints. This selection includes minimum distance, flatness, smoothness and compactness constraints, which can be combined using a Lagrangian formulation. A multigrid technique is also implemented to resolve separately large and short gravity wavelengths. The subsurface in the survey area is divided into rectangular prismatic blocks and the problem is solved by calculating the model parameters, i.e. the densities of each block. Weights are given to each block depending on depth, a priori information on density and the density range allowed for the region under investigation. The present computer code is tested on modelled data for a dipping dike and multiple bodies. Results combining different constraints and a weight depending on depth are shown for the dipping dike. The advantages and behaviour of each method are compared in the 3D reconstruction. Recovery of geometry (depth, size) and density distribution of the original model is dependent on the set of constraints used. From experimentation, the best combination of constraints for multiple bodies seems to be flatness and a minimum volume for the multiple bodies. The inversion method is tested on real gravity data from the Rouyn-Noranda (Quebec) mining camp. The 3D inversion model for the first 10 km is in agreement with the known major lithological contacts at the surface; it enables the determination of the geometry of plutons and intrusive rocks at depth.     

Inversion of 2D spectral induced polarization imaging data

Laboratory measurements of various materials suggest that more information can be obtained by measuring the in‐phase and out‐of‐phase potentials at a number of frequencies. One common model used to describe the variation of the electrical properties with frequency is the Cole‐Cole model. Apart from the DC resistivity (ρ) and chargeability (m) parameters used in conventional induced‐polarization (IP) surveys, the Cole‐Cole model has two additional parameters, i.e. the time (τ) and relaxation (c) constants. Much research has been conducted on the use of the additional Cole‐Cole parameters to distinguish between different IP sources. Here, we propose a modified inversion method to recover the Cole‐Cole parameters from a 2D spectral IP (SIP) survey. In this method, an approximate inversion method is initially used to construct a non‐homogeneous starting model for the resistivity and chargeability values. The 2D model consists of a number of rectangular cells with constant resistivity (ρ), chargeability (m), time (τ) and relaxation (c) constant values in each cell. A regularized least‐squares optimization method is then used to recover the time and relaxation constant parameters as well as to refine the chargeability values in the 2D model. We present results from tests carried out with the proposed method for a synthetic data set as well as from a laboratory tank experiment.     

Research Note: A unifying framework for the widely used stabilization of potential field inverse problems

We present a brief review of the widely used and well-known stabilizers in the inversion of potential field data. These include stabilizers that use L₂, L₁ and L₀ norms of the model parameters and the gradients of the model parameters. These stabilizers may all be realized in a common setting using two general forms with different weighting functions. Moreover, we show that this unifying framework encompasses the use of additional stabilizations which are not common for potential field inversion.     

Electric field data in inductive source electromagnetic surveys

Measurement of the electric field data due to an inductive loop source in a controlled source electromagnetic survey is not common, because electric field data, usually involving grounded electrodes, are expensive to acquire and difficult to interpret. With the recently developed capability of versatile three‐dimensional inversion, we revisit the idea of measuring electric field in a large ground loop survey for mineral exploration. The three‐dimensional modelling and inversion approach helps us quantitatively understand the detectability and recoverability of the proposed survey configuration. Our detectability study using forward modelling shows that the relative anomaly (percentage difference) in electric field does not decay with a lower induction number, but the conventional magnetic field data (dB/dt) does. Our recoverability study examines how much and what kind of information can be extracted from electric field data for the reconstruction of a three‐dimensional model. Synthetic inversions show the following observations. (i) Electric field data are good at locating lateral discontinuity, whereas dB/dt has better depth resolution. (ii) Electric field is less sensitive to the background conductivity and, thus, is prone to misinterpretation because of a bad initial model in inversion. We recommend warm‐starting the electric field inversion with an initial model from a separate dB/dt inversion. (iii) Electric field data may be severely contaminated by near‐surface heterogeneity, but an inversion can recover the deep target concealed by the geologic noise. (iv) Even one line of single‐component electric field data can greatly improve the horizontal resolution in a dB/dt inversion. Finally, we investigate a field dataset of both electric field and dB/dt measurements at a uranium deposit. The field example confirms that the electric field and magnetic field data contain independent information that is crucial in the accurate recovery of subsurface conductivity. Our synthetic and field examples demonstrate the benefit of acquiring electric field data along with magnetic field data in an inductive source survey.     

THE COLLOCATION APPROACH TO THE INVERSION OF GRAVITY DATA1

Gravity data inversion can provide valuable information on the structure of the underlying distribution of mass. The solution of the inversion of gravity data is an ill-posed problem, and many methods have been proposed for solving it using various systematic techniques. The method proposed here is a new approach based on the collocation principle, derived from the Wiener filtering and prediction theory. The natural multiplicity of the solution of the inverse gravimetric problem can be overcome only by assuming a substantially simplified model, in this case a two-layer model, i.e. with one separation surface and one density contrast only. The presence of gravity disturbance and/or outliers in the upper layer is also taken into account. The basic idea of the method is to propagate the covariance structure of the depth function of the separation surface to the covariance structure of the gravity field measured on a reference plane. This can be done since the gravity field produced by the layers is a functional (linearized) of the depth. Furthermore, in this approach, it is possible to obtain the variance of the estimation error which indicates the precision of the computed solution. The method has proved to be effective on simulated data, fulfilling the a priori hypotheses. In real cases which display the required statistical homogeneity, good preliminary solutions, useful for a further quantitative interpretation, have also been derived. A case study is discussed.     

Inversion of elongated magnetic anomalies using magnitude transforms

The calculable magnitudes of the anomalous magnetic field from simple 2D sources and their gradients and Laplacians appear as ratios that can be synthesized in functional forms, corresponding to the different source shapes. Field components and first‐order derivatives are involved in the inversion procedures presented. The structural index and source depth are estimated independently of each other. The applied functions allow magnetic profiles and magnetic maps to be shape‐ and depth‐converted with immediate imaging of the inversion results. The contours of these functions outline elongated loops around the 2.5D anomaly axis on magnetic maps. The width of the loops reflects the depth and structural index N of the source in the scale units of the inverted map. Model and field tests illustrate the effectiveness of this approach for fast automatic inversion of large sets of magnetic data for depth, shape, length and location of simple sources.     

Petrophysical inversion of AVA data

We investigate the interactions between the elastic parameters, V_P, V_S and density, estimated by non-linear inversion of AVA data, and the petrophysical parameters, depth (pressure), porosity, clay content and fluid saturation, of an actual gas-bearing reservoir. In particular, we study how the ambiguous solutions derived from the non-uniqueness of the seismic inversion affect the estimates of relevant rock properties. It results that the physically admissible values of the rock properties greatly reduce the range of possible seismic solutions and this range contains the actual values given by the well. By means of a statistical inversion, we analyse how approximate a priori knowledge of the petrophysical properties and of their relationships with the seismic parameters can be of help in reducing the ambiguity of the inversion solutions and eventually in estimating the petrophysical properties of the specific target reservoir. This statistical inversion allows the determination of the most likely values of the sought rock properties along with their uncertainty ranges. The results show that the porosity is the best-resolved rock property, with its most likely value closely approaching the actual value found by the well, even when we insert somewhat erroneous a priori information. The hydrocarbon saturation is the second best-resolved parameter, but its most likely value does not match the well data. The depth of the target interface is the least-resolved parameter and its most likely value is strongly dependent on a priori information. Although no general conclusions can be drawn from the results of this exercise, we envisage that the proposed AVA–petrophysical inversion and its possible extensions may be of use in reservoir characterization.     

Sea ice as an evaluation target for HEM modelling and inversion

We investigate helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) inversion schemes applied to synthetic and measured HEM sea ice profiling data. Direct HEM data-to-ice-thickness inversion is compared to three different formal, least squares layered earth inversion algorithms.By making several approximations, it is possible to directly invert a single channel measurement (i.e., the in-phase or quadrature component of a single frequency measurement) to obtain an estimate of sea ice thickness. Measurements from multiple input channels, however, can be used in a layered earth inversion to simultaneously recover several model parameters such as sea ice thickness, sea ice conductivity and sub-ice bathymetry. Synthetic data sets for a particular two-frequency HEM system showed that simple least squares inversion algorithms produce reliable estimates of sea ice thickness in cases where the ice is thicker than 3 m. These methods could also recover acceptable estimates of sea ice thickness when a thin, conductive, partially melted sea ice layer was present, and could determine shallow, sub-ice bathymetry in brackish water. As expected, 1D transformations and inversions of synthetic data for a three-dimensional pressure ridge keel structure contained artifacts, notably broadening of the apparent width of the keel.Prior to inverting a field data set acquired over rather thin (~ 0.5 m) Antarctic sea ice, we found it necessary to recalibrate the phase angle of the measurements using a phasor diagram-based method. Direct transformation of a single channel from the recalibrated data set produced more accurate estimates of sea-ice thickness than formal inversion of multi-channel data. We suggest that the least squares inversion methods are inferior in this situation because of the particular characteristics of the two-frequency HEM system used in this evaluation; the extreme differences in sensitivity of high and low frequency data components, the overall low sensitivity to sea ice conductivity (especially for thin ice), and the partially low signal-to noise ratios of the measurements. The data sets used in this study will be made available to the public to allow alternate inversion approaches to be applied and evaluated. It is suggested that inclusion of parameter bounds and other forms of regularization could help to improve the inversion results.