Stochastic multi-fidelity joint hydrogeophysical inversion of consistent geological models

Abstract

In Quaternary deposits, the characterization of subsurface heterogeneity and its associated uncertainty is critical when dealing with groundwater resource management. The combination of different data types through joint inversion has proven to be an effective way to reduce final model uncertainty. Moreover, it allows the final model to be in agreement with a wider spectrum of data available on site. However, integrating them stochastically through an inversion is very time-consuming and resource expensive, due to the important number of physical simulations needed. The use of multi-fidelity models, by combining low-fidelity inexpensive and less accurate models with high-fidelity expensive and accurate models, allows one to reduce the time needed for inversion to converge. This multiscale logic can be applied for the generation of Quaternary models. Most Quaternary sedimentological models can be considered as geological units (large scale), populated with facies (medium scale), and finally completed by physical parameters (small scale). In this paper, both approaches are combined. A simple and fast time-domain EM 1D geophysical direct problem is used to first constrain a simplified stochastic geologically consistent model, where each stratigraphic unit is considered homogeneous in terms of facies and parameters. The ensemble smoother with multiple data assimilation (ES-MDA) algorithm allows generating an ensemble of plausible subsurface realizations. Fast identification of the large-scale structures is the main point of this step. Once plausible unit models are generated, high-fidelity transient groundwater flow models are incorporated. The low-fidelity models are populated stochastically with heterogeneous facies and their associated parameter distribution. ES-MDA is also used for this task by directly inferring the property values (hydraulic conductivity and resistivity) from the generated model. To preserve consistency, geophysical and hydrogeological data are inverted jointly. This workflow ensures that the models are geologically consistent and are therefore less subject to artifacts due to localized poor-quality data. It is able to robustly estimate the associated uncertainty with the final model. Finally, due to the simplification of both the direct problem and the geology during the low-fidelity part of the inversion, it greatly reduces the time required to converge to an ensemble of complex models while preserving consistency.