Bayesian geoacoustic inversion for the Inversion Techniques 2001 Workshop

This paper applies a Bayesian formulation to range-dependent geoacoustic inverse problems. Two inversion methods, a hybrid optimization algorithm and a Bayesian sampling algorithm, are applied to some of the 2001 Inversion Techniques Workshop benchmark data. The hybrid inversion combines the local (gradient-based) method of downhill simplex with the global search method of simulated annealing in an adaptive algorithm. The Bayesian inversion algorithm uses a Gibbs sampler to estimate properties of the posterior probability density, such as mean and maximum a posteriori parameter estimates, marginal probability distributions, highest-probability density intervals, and the model covariance matrix. The methods are applied to noise-free and noisy benchmark data from shallow ocean environments with range-dependent geophysical and geometric properties. An under-parameterized approach is applied to determine the optimal model parameterization consistent with the resolving power of the acoustic data. The Bayesian inversion method provides a complete solution including quantitative uncertainty estimates and correlations, while the hybrid inversion method provides parameter estimates in a fraction of the computation time.