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Following the creation described in Part I of a deformable edge finite-element simulator for 3-D magnetotelluric (MT) responses using direct solvers, in Part II we develop an algorithm named HexMT for 3-D regularized inversion of MT data including topography. Direct solvers parallelized on large-RAM, symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) workstations are used also for the Gauss–Newton model update. By exploiting the data-space approach, the computational cost of the model update becomes much less in both time and computer memory than the cost of the forward simulation. In order to regularize using the second norm of the gradient, we factor the matrix related to the regularization termand apply its inverse to the Jacobian, which is done using the MKL PARDISO library. For dense matrix multiplication and factorization related to the model update, we use the PLASMA library which shows very good scalability across processor cores. A synthetic test inversion using a simple hill model shows that including topography can be important; in this case depression of the electric field by the hill can cause false conductors at depth or mask the presence of resistive structure. With a simple model of two buried bricks, a uniform spatial weighting for the norm of model smoothing recovered more accurate locations for the tomographic images compared to weightings which were a function of parameter Jacobians. We implement joint inversion for static distortion matrices tested using the Dublin secret model 2, for which we are able to reduce nRMS to ~1.1 while avoiding oscillatory convergence. Finally we test the code on field data by inverting full impedance and tipper MT responses collected around Mount St Helens in the Cascade volcanic chain. Among several prominent structures, the north–south trending, eruption-controlling shear zone is clearly imaged in the inversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed an algorithm, which we call HexMT, for 3-D simulation and inversion of magnetotelluric (MT) responses using deformable hexahedral finite elements that permit incorporation of topography. Direct solvers parallelized on symmetric multiprocessor (SMP), single-chassis workstations with large RAM are used throughout, including the forward solution, parameter Jacobians and model parameter update. In Part I, the forward simulator and Jacobian calculations are presented. We use first-order edge elements to represent the secondary electric field (E), yielding accuracy O(h) for E and its curl (magnetic field). For very low frequencies or small material admittivities, the E-field requires divergence correction. With the help of Hodge decomposition, the correction may be applied in one step after the forward solution is calculated. This allows accurate E-field solutions in dielectric air. The system matrix factorization and source vector solutions are computed using the MKL PARDISO library, which shows good scalability through 24 processor cores. The factorized matrix is used to calculate the forward response as well as the Jacobians of electromagnetic (EM) field and MT responses using the reciprocity theorem. Comparison with other codes demonstrates accuracy of our forward calculations. We consider a popular conductive/resistive double brick structure, several synthetic topographic models and the natural topography of Mount Erebus in Antarctica. In particular, the ability of finite elements to represent smooth topographic slopes permits accurate simulation of refraction of EM waves normal to the slopes at high frequencies. Run-time tests of the parallelized algorithm indicate that for meshes as large as 176 × 176 × 70 elements, MT forward responses and Jacobians can be calculated in ~1.5 hr per frequency. Together with an efficient inversion parameter step described in Part II, MT inversion problems of 200–300 stations are computable with total run times of several days on such workstations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]