Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200

SEISRES Ð a Visual C++ program for the sequential

inversion of seismic refraction and geoelectric datap
Sankar Kumar Nath*, Shamsuddin Shahid, Pawan Dewangan
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, India
Received 20 November 1998; received in revised form 21 July 1999; accepted 21 July 1999

Abstract

Refraction seismic and geoelectric methods are usually applied for the delineation of near surface structures in
environmental, engineering and hydrogeological investigations. When applied independently, these techniques yield
suciently accurate subsurface models. But the inversion of these data may also lead to incorrect parameter estimation
specially in complicated geological situations, namely, blind zone problems in seismics, suppression and equivalence
problems in geoelectrics. Stability and non-uniqueness can be reduced to a great extent by integrating physically di€erent
sets of data into a joint or sequential inversion scheme. In the present paper, we aim at introducing one such algorithm,
wherein the seismic refraction and DC resistivity inversion routines are amalgamated. Even though the seismic and
geoelectric methods may independently see di€erent interfaces due to completely di€erent physical responses, the joint or
sequential inversion needs a common parameter, the layer thickness being the one in this situation. The proposed scheme
is coded in Visual C++ on Microsoft Windows '95 environment using the concept of object-oriented programming.
The program SEISRES is exclusively menu driven and customised for running on personal computers. It has several
options, namely, seismic ray inversion for near-surface estimation, curve dissemination for generating a starting
model using seismic depth section, 1D resistivity inversion for Schlumberger and Wenner single electrode arrays
using evolutionary programming for global optimisation, 1D forward calculations, creation of resistivity data sets
from Wenner multi-electrode pseudo-section and construction of quasi-2D geoelectric section of the subsurface. The
software is tested on a variety of synthetic examples with complex litho-stratigraphic relationships. The present
paper deals with three such synthetic examples for the delineation of an aquifer in a three-layer setting in the ®rst
two examples and the detection of a thin conductive clay lens embedded in an aquifer in a four layered earth model
emulating an equivalence problem. The seismic-guided 1D Schlumberger and Wenner inversions and the quasi-2D
sections from pseudo-section interpretation led to subsurface information with better precision compared to the
direct 2D inversion. A detailed ®eld investigation was undertaken in Midnapur District for ground water
prospecting. The results of two test sites at Satkui and Tangasol are presented here for judging the performance of
the software package. Available borehole lithologs and geophysical logs validated the ®ndings from SEISRES. The
strength of the present scheme lies in its ability to model the subsurface seismically and geoelectrically, even in 2D
#
environment by 1D approximation on a laptop/personal computer at-site cost-e€ectively. 2000 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: RINSE; Evolutionary programming; Pseudo-section; Quasi-2D section; Aquifer

p
Code available at http://www.iamg.org/CGEditor/index.htm
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-3222-83374; fax: +91-3222-55303.
E-mail address: nath@gg.iitkgp.ernet.in (S.K. Nath).
0098-3004/00/$ - see front matter # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 9 8 - 3 0 0 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 8 6 - 2
178 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
1. Introduction
Seismic and geoelectric methods often involve map-
ping of geological units of di€erent grain sizes, inter-
faces between unconsolidated sediment and underlying
bedrock, gentle to con¯icting dips of the interfaces and
minor to large lateral variation in the physical property
of the subsurface. Inverting the recorded data sets sep-
arately may lead to incorrect parameter estimation of
the underground model (Herring et al., 1995). For
example, in an underground structure with a high-vel-
ocity layer overlying a low-velocity structure, neither
refraction nor re¯ection seismic alone is capable of
resolving the parameter of the low-velocity layer. The
geoelectric surveys may also fail to determine the
lithounits with low resistivity contrast, comparatively
thin conductive/resistive layer enclosed between resis-
tive/conductive layers (problem of equivalence), a thin
stratum with resistivity value intermediate between the
enclosing beds (problem of suppression) and a depth
of an interface between a conductive layer and a resis-
tive one because of the ambiguity of solutions based
on potential methods. Vertical Electrical Sounding
(VES) curves are appropriate when geological units are
gently dipping with large lateral extent having minor
variations in lithology (Sandberg, 1993).
Stability and non-uniqueness problems can be su-
ciently reduced by integrating physically di€erent types
of data into a single inversion procedure using joint or
sequential inversion algorithms. In order to process
DC resistivity and magnetotelluric data, Vozo€ and
Jupp (1975) introduced such a joint inversion method.
They proved that some model parameters, which play
insigni®cant roles in determining the solution of an in-
dividual inversion problem, can lead to important par-
ameters in a joint inversion, resulting in well resolved
models. Completely di€erent physical data can also be
integrated into a joint or sequential inversion if, at
least, the measured data are in¯uenced by a subset of
the underground parameters. For example, when using
seismic and geoelectrical data representing physically
di€erent responses of the near surface structures, the
layer thickness is the only parameter common to both.
The boundary between two layers of di€erent resistiv-
ities and seismic velocities may not coincide. Thus, it
may occur that the number of layers derived by inde-
pendent inversion of seismic and geoelectric data are
not identical. However, in order to be sure that geo-
electric and seismic data can be combined in a joint
inversion scheme, it is assumed (Herring et al., 1995)
that the layer-interfaces are the same for both geoelec-
tric and seismic properties. Breitzke et al. (1987) tried
the parameter estimation and fault detection by
sequential seismic and geoelectrical surveys in a coal
mine and found that the geoelectrical interfaces corre-
late with the seismic interfaces within an accuracy of
0.5 m. They also observed an improved lithological in-
terpretation of the seismic model by the geoelectrically
derived model, wherein a coal seam with 24 times
higher resistivity than that of the surrounding strata
could be unambiguously recognised.
Many multi-sequential and joint inversion algor-
ithms have been reported so far by Raiche et al.
(1985), Breitzke et al. (1987), Dobroka et al. (1991),
Sandberg (1993), Herring et al. (1995), Verma and
Venkataramana (1995), Misiek et al. (1997) and others.
Lines et al. (1987) used surface seismic data, sonic log,
vertical seismic pro®ling (VSP) and gravity data to get
stable joint inversion results. Zeyen and Pous (1993)
published results of a magnetic/gravimetric joint inver-
sion. In mines, VSP and underground DC resistivity
data were combined in an inversion procedure by
Dobroka et al. (1991). All the authors demonstrated
that the accuracy and reliability of the estimated
model parameters are much better in joint/sequential
inversion than an independent one. The present paper
is aimed at combining seismic refraction and DC geo-
electric data (both Schlumberger and Wenner arrays)
in a sequential scheme.
There exist a number of refraction interpretation
techniques like intercept time method, generalised reci-
procal method, etc. In the present context we used the
basic principle of ray inversion for near surface esti-
mation (RINSE) (Jones and Jovanovich, 1985) and
introduced downward continuation of the refracted
rays by lowering the plane of observation with the
stripping of the overlying layer (Nath et al., 1996). The
geoelectric forward (Ghosh, 1971; Johanssen, 1975;
O'Neill, 1975) and inverse (Johanssen, 1977; Koefoed,
1979; Zhody, 1989; Chundru et al., 1995; Sen and
Sto€a, 1995) problems are well established for various
arrays. Schlumberger and Wenner soundings are com-
puted for the estimation of resistivity as a function of
depth from the measured apparent resistivity values at
di€erent electrode separations using various inversion
techniques. Wenner multi-electrode survey emulates a
2D pro®ling which is also referred to as continuous
vertical electrical sounding (CVES) (Dahlin and Loke,
1998). The forward program for the 1D inversion pro-
cedure in our routine is based on the linear digital ®lter
of Ghosh (1971) for both Schlumberger and Wenner
arrays. Since generation of ®nal layer parameters from
a range of probable solutions is also aimed at, we
attempted global optimisation algorithm using evol-
utionary programming (EP) (Fogel, 1991; Sen and
Sto€a, 1995) in the 1D inversion of the geoelectric
data. Although the data interpretation is done using
horizontally layered earth model (1D) assumption in a
2D or 3D environment, it is always better to use inter-
pretational tools which assume 2D or 3D models.
Even so, it becomes necessary at times to analyse data
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
in 1D, either inadvertently or by choice. Beard and
Morgan (1991) made an assessment of 2D resistivity
structures using 1D inversion. They indicated that 2D
subsurface geometry can be approximately delineated
using contours based on apparent resistivity and 1D
inversion. In the present investigation, the seismic
inversion provides 2D control on the initial geoelectric
parameterisation for a better solution with 1D inver-
sion of Schlumberger and Wenner data. Compared to
direct 2D inversion without any extra control (Loke
and Barker, 1996) the results of 1D resistivity inversion
of 2D pseudo-sections with seismic control, are su-
perior. It should be noted that the synthetic pseudo-
sections in our analyses are generated using ®nite
di€erence approach of Dey and Morrison (1979).
SEISRES, the proposed sequential algorithm inverts
seismic refraction traveltime data for the delineation of
subsurface velocity and interface depths in the ®rst
instant. Following the assumption of Herring et al.
(1995), the seismic depth values are passed on to the
direct dissemination of resistivity sounding curves
(both Schlumberger and Wenner arrays) using Koe-
foed's algorithm (Koefoed, 1979) for the initial geo-
electric parameterisation of the subsurface.
Subsequently, iterative evolutionary programming is
invoked for the generation of ®nal layer parameters till
a user de®ned criteria is ful®lled. For 2D multi-elec-
trode Wenner resistivity pseudo-sections, a number of
closely spaced vertical slices simulating 1D resistivity
soundings, are considered for the generation of quasi-
2D sections by stacking together the resistivity-depth
models evolved from 1D inversion. We prefer to call it
2D inversion by 1D approximation.
SEISRES is a graphical interactive and menu driven
user friendly Visual C++ package developed in Micro-
soft Windows environment (95 or higher). The pro-
gram allows the user to migrate from one module to
the other, export data from routine to routine and
major modules, retrieve information from stored input
and output ASCII data bases by simply pressing re-
spective button on the toolbar.
The paper is organised as follows. In the ®rst section
we discuss the basic theory of RINSE, initial geoelec-
tric parameterisation by curve dissemination and 1D
inversion by evolutionary programming. The major
modules of the program SEISRES are subsequently
outlined with their source codes provided on the ser-
ver, iamg.org. The performance of this sequential
inversion algorithm is tested using a variety of syn-
thetic and real ®eld examples, with some of the results
being presented in the Results and Discussion section.
The numerical examples are chosen to simulate a
three-layer horizontal earth model with the intermedi-
ate layer resistivity varying laterally, a three-layer
model with a dipping intermediate layer and a litho-
stratigraphic unit su€ering from the problem of equiv-
179
2
alence. A 10% Gaussian noise is added to the syn-
thetic data in order to simulate noisy ®eld conditions.
In all these cases, seismic refraction, Schlumberger and
Wenner resistivity curves and Wenner multi-electrode
2D pseudo-sections are sequentially interpreted and
compared with the direct 2D pseudo-section inversion
using least square method (Loke and Barker, 1996;
Dahlin and Loke, 1998), the software being down-
loaded from the public domain of Lund University,
Sweden. The cross-sections evolved from the sequential
scheme in all the cases are replicative of the original
models. Seismic and geoelectric surveys were con-
ducted in Midnapur District., West Bengal, India for
the delineation of shallow aquifers in the soft rock of
Kasai River basin. The results obtained by SEISRES
at two sites Satkui and Tangasol and the latter vali-
dated by available borehole geophysical logs (point re-
sistance and SP) and the corresponding lithologs at
Tangasol site are presented here.
2. Basic theory and algorithm
2.1. Ray inversion for near surface estimation from
seismic refraction data (RINSE)
RINSE uses head wave traveltimes from multi-fold
seismic refraction data and the average velocity in the
layer above the refractor to determine the shape of the
boundary. The slopes of head wave traveltime curves
are used to determine the direction of refracted waves
arriving at the surface and leaving the source. Travel-
time computed along pairs of intersecting rays from
the source to receivers near the source are compared
with observed traveltime to reconstruct the shape of
the ®rst refractor boundary beneath the surface and
the variation in seismic velocity along the boundary.
This theoretical information is used as a basis for
further processing to calculate depth and velocity vari-
ations along the remaining refractors by downward
continuation of the refracted rays. The basic theoreti-
cal aspects of RINSE for the delineation of weathered
layer is discussed in detail by Jones and Jovanovich
(1985). Nath et al. (1996) extended it further by incor-
porating downward continuation along the refracted
head wave traveltimes to develop a complete refraction
interpretation package in HP-UX environment. The
present seismic inversion algorithm is the Visual C++
version of this package. However, it should be noted
that the combinatorial optimisation option for the raw
®eld data is eliminated in order to facilitate generation
of more number of layers depending on channel to
channel critical distance (Xc) variation. RINSE uses
backward continuation to project head wave arrival
times to near o€sets where they are not recorded as
180 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
®rst arrivals. This back projected arrival time is necess-
ary for the computation of critical distances (Xc) from
the source. Xc is the sole controlling parameter in
RINSE to determine the number of layers present in
the subsurface. Xc also helps in determining the point
of emergence of the ®rst refracted signal on an inter-
face. Xc value remains constant for all the refracted
arrivals from the same interface, but is marked by an
abrupt change when the arrivals come from a di€erent
interface. The plotting of Xc values helps the in-
terpreter select the channel numbers at which the arri-
vals come from di€erent layers and in a way, to assess
the total number of layers also. Once the depth points
of the ®rst interface are determined, the observation
plane is brought down to a level passing through the
®rst interface by downward continuation. The travel-
time curves are reduced accordingly to conform to the
new observation plane. The new depth points are cal-
culated and observation plane is lowered further till all
the data are exhausted. In this process subsurface
lithounits are delineated with their velocities derived
from the slopes.
2.2. Dissemination of 1D Schlumberger and Wenner
curves
Seismic refraction inversion discussed in the previous
section imparts 2D control over the inversion of geo-
electric data. Seismically derived layer thicknesses are
used in the dissemination of sounding curves for initial
parameterisation and the subsequent geoelectric inver-
sion. Koefoed's algorithm (Koefoed, 1979) is used for
the curve dissemination purpose. The method consists
of three steps, namely, (i) computation of sample
values of the resistivity transform from the observed
apparent resistivity values by using a linear ®lter, (ii)
calculation of layer parameters of the top layer from
the early part of the resistivity transform curve and
(iii) reduction of the resistivity transform curve to a
lower boundary plane. The ¯ow is iterative in nature
and is carried out till the transform curve is completely
exhausted.
The resistivity of di€erent layers, ri from the
reduced resistivity transform data are determined by
using the following relation:
q
ri ˆ 14 A…Ti Ti0 † ‡ 4 A …Ti ÿ Ti † ‡ Ti Ti
1 2 0 2 0 …1†
where, Ti and Ti0 is the resistivity transform of the ®rst
and next sampling points respectively and
A ˆ cotanh‰…l ÿ l 0 †ti Š, such that l and l ' is the
abscissa of the ®rst and next sampling points respect-
ively; ti is the prescribed seismic layer thickness.
2.3. 1D inversion of geoelectric data by Evolutionary
Programming (EP) technique
Genetic Algorithms (Goldberg, 1989; Sen and Sto€a,
1995) belongs to the group of random search tech-
niques such as Monte Carlo, Simulated Evolution,
Simulated Annealing (SA) and Very Fast Simulated
Annealing (VFSA) techniques (Chundru et al., 1995).
In Genetic Algorithm (GA) the search is random but
is guided by the stochastic process which helps the sys-
tem to learn the minimum path leading to the solution.
However, one of the diculties of GA as pointed out
by Fogel (1991) lies in the premature convergence, as
after successive generation the entire population con-
verges to a set of coding such that the crossover no
longer generates any new chromosomes. This may hap-
pen even before ®nding an optimal solution. Although
mutation allows for diversity, the mutation rate is
usually low, so that practically no improvement can be
achieved in the ®nal generation of the population. The
problem can be solved by EP.
In D.C. resistivity sounding we are concerned with
the parameters like r1, r2, . . . , rn and h1, h2, . . . , hnÿ1.
For each parameter there is a pair of bounds. We
intend to ®nd the exact solution within the speci®ed
domains. EP does this by using three major steps
which are generation of population, computation of
®tness and mutation as de®ned below.
1. Generation of population. In the ®rst step n real
coded individuals in the population are generated
randomly within the speci®ed bounds. Two import-
ant criteria for the generation of population are the
population size and randomisation seed number,
which depend on the computational eciency
desired. The individuals of the population are ran-
domly created by considering n values between
upper and lower limits of each parameter.
2. Computation of ®tness. Fitness function of each
newly generated individuals of the population is cal-
culated by using the concept of chi-square error
from the computed apparent resistivity, rcom
a using
Ghosh's (1971) linear digital ®lter and observed
apparent resistivity, robs
a values for N number of ob-
servations. The chi-square error is de®ned as,
!2
e
1
ˆN rcom
a ÿ robs
a
: …2†
rcom
a
3. Mutation: An equal number of individuals are gen-
erated by perturbing each member of the population
by step function mutation. The mutation value is
assigned depending on the ®tness of the individual.
After several tests, the probability of mutation Pm is
found to yield better convergence if a step like dis-
tribution is used as given below:
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200 181

Pm ˆ 0 999
: if e 0:03R centrally sliced VES curve is disseminated using seismic
layer thicknesses for the generation of starting geoelec-
Pm ˆ 0 98 if 0:03 < e 0:5 R tric model for the subsequent iterative 1D inversion of
2
:

the created resistivity data sets by EP. A 25% pertur-

Pm ˆ 0 97
: if 0:5 < e R1 0 :
bation is added to the initial geoelectric section to ®x
up the upper and lower bounds of the solution. This is
important as EP evolves the ®nal solution out of a ran-
Pm ˆ 0 96
: if 1:0 < e 1:5 R domly generated population within this preset ranges.
It also takes care of any appreciable di€erences arising
Pm ˆ 0 95
: R
if 1:5 < e 2:0
between the seismic and geoelectric boundaries. In case
the initial guess values are derived from noisy data, the
prescribed perturbation enhances the possibility of get-
Pm ˆ 0 94 if 2 0 R5 0
: : < e : ting closer to the correct solution.
The amalgamation of the above is our proposed
Pm ˆ 0 9 if 5 0R R10 0
: : e :
sequential inversion package `SEISRES' coded in
Visual C++ and implemented in Microsoft Win-
dows'95 environment. The supporting hardware is an
Pm ˆ 0 85 if 10 0 R25 0
: : < e : Intel Pentium II processor ranging from 266 to 333
MHz with 32 MB RAM and a full screen monitor res-
olution of 1024 2 768.
Pm ˆ 0 8 if 25 0 R50 0
: : < e :

Pm ˆ 0 7 if 50 0 R100 0
: : < e : 2.5. The program

Pm ˆ 0 5 if 100 0 R200 0
: : < e :
Pm ˆ random value generated by using same seed
value used for population generation
if e > 200:0 …
The modi®ed n models after a particular iteration
are mixed with those from the previous iteration. 2n
models are arranged in the decreasing order of ®tness
value. The best n models are retained for the next iter-
ation. The process is repeated until the population con-
verges to a high ®tness value or a threshold iteration
limit.
2.4. Sequential inversion
In our seismic-geoelectric sequential inversion
method, the ®rst arrival traveltime picked from refrac-
tion seismograms and apparent resistivity values for
various electrode separations using Schlumberger and
Wenner arrays are required as input. Seismic inversion
is the initial processing step, wherein the subsurface
litho-stratigraphic units with seismic velocities and
thicknesses are delineated. Resistivity curve dissemina-
tion follows if direct 1D geoelectric inversion is the
next objective. For 2D pseudo-sections, a number of
closely spaced vertical slices simulating continuous ver-
tical electrical soundings are selected for a 1D approxi-
mation of the 2D inversion with seismic layer
information from RINSE. In this particular case the
The program SEISRES is developed by adopting the
concept of object oriented programming (OOP) con-
sisting of a group of related objects formed by using
class data type arranged hierarchically (Murray and
Pappas, 1995). The parent class CJointView is derived
3† from the inbuilt Visual C++ platform (version 1.5)
CformView. By invoking AppWizard a project ®le
(`.MAK') is created which houses automatically gener-
ated `.CPP' ®les for overall control, documentation,
mainframe utility and the user coded processing mod-
ules (main and submodules). There is also a ®le `.RC'
generated by default which contains the information
about the resources available in Visual C++ platform.
Except for the processing ones, the user may or may
not modify the control, documentation, resources and
mainframe utility ®les containing the default infor-
mation like `popup' menu, dialog boxes, mouse driven
graphic user interface, input/output modules, variables,
keyboard, icons, bitmaps, cursors, etc. However, in the
present program we incorporated the major changes in
mainframe `.CPP', `doc.CPP' and `.RC' ®les for custo-
mising our software to render maximum user inter-
action and migration of ®les from module to module.
The message and dialog boxes are used in creating
data ®les and interpreting user response. The left and
right buttons of mouse are assigned for user interface,
the left to choose option in menu, the right to enter
data from graphical display. Various types of ®les are
used in ASCII mode, namely, `.SES' ®le to store seis-
mic ®rst arrival traveltime data, `.SCH' to store appar-
ent resistivity versus electrode spacing data for
Schlumberger con®guration, `.WEN' to store Wenner
182 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
single electrode con®guration apparent resistivity data, slices of the pseudo-section for 2D geoelectric inversion
`.PSU' to store 2D Wenner multi-electrode apparent by 1D approximation, `.CMP' for computed apparent
resistivity data, `.SMT' to store smoothened seismic resistivity data and `.ERR' for % chi-square errors.
traveltime data, `.DPT' for velocity and depth values, The main module of the parent class for this pro-
`.INI' for initial model parameters, `.OUT' for ®nal gram is `JointView.CPP' which controls the child
layer parameters using EP for 1D inversion, `.CRS' for classes in the form of auxiliary processing modules as
depth versus true resistivity data for all the vertical per the coding done by the user. The auxiliary modules

Fig. 1. Processing ¯owchart of sequential inversion scheme.

 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200 183

Fig. 2. Typical graphic displays of SEISRES operation showing: (A) Xc parameterisation. (B) Composite time±depth plot and seis-
mic depth section. (C) Observed and estimated resistivity curves.
184 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
in this routine are RINSE, AutoDirInv and EvolPrg.
But in the implementation of SEISRES we include
RINSE directly in `JointView.CPP' for adopting a sim-
pler architecture and graphic compatibility. All the
functions and subroutines in RINSE, therefore, point
to the parent class CJointView. AutoDirInv and
EvolPrg are included in the `.MAK' project ®le and all
the subroutines in these classes point to corresponding
parent classes. The project ®le is compiled to generate
the `.EXE' executable ®le for routine interpretation by
the users. This ®le is transported to the Pentiums by
di€erent vendors and tested for versatility. It is found
to be system independent, can run on Pentiums and
486DX2 under Windows platform. We now highlight
the major functions of the processing modules, the
¯ow chart of which is depicted in a modular fashion in
Fig. 1.
2.6. Seismic data processing modules (RINSE)
This module reads the traveltime data, number of
channels, number of shots, geophone spacing and near
o€set from `.SES' ®le. Through dialog box the user
enters the seismic data ®le name and pro®le ID code.
This module performs the task of generating velocity±
depth section invoking the following subroutines in a
sequential manner shown in the ¯ow chart of Fig. 1.
1. time_info: This subroutine reads seismic headwave
®rst arrival traveltime data using a ®le pointer.
2. OnPlotsTdplot: This is a function to generate time±
distance plot for each shot pair. User can optimise
the T±D curve by clicking Optimisation in Option
menu. All the T±D curves for each shot pair can be
displayed sequentially by using the T±D PLOT but-
ton in the toolbar. The user needs to click the ®rst
break points for both the direct and reverse shots to
proceed to the next step. This module shows the
break points selected by the user and allows the
entry of these values by clicking OK button.
3. tr_extrapol: It generates the traveltime data by
backward extrapolation to be passed on to the
xc_compute function.
4. xc_compute: This subroutine computes the Xc values
at each channel position using the ®rst break points
entered by the user.
5. OnPlotsXcPlot: When called in the main routine
this function generates a plot of Xc values calculated
by previous subroutine. If the user chooses the
Re®ne option in the OnPlotsTdplot module then a
regression analysis function is activated to perform
linear regression on the Xc plot which is transmitted
back to the T±D plot, thereby, optimising the dis-
played T±D curves. Else the Xc plot switches to the
next subroutine velo_fun. A sample Xc plot dis-
played on the monitor is shown in Fig. 2A.
6. velo_fun:This subroutine when invoked computes
the velocities from slopes of T±D curve segments.
7. depth_compute: This does the calculation of depth
values for each subsurface point from the knowl-
edge of break points determined from Xc values.
8. layer_strip: This subroutine lowers the plane of ob-
servation by downward continuation at successive
depth points and reduces the traveltime data accord-
ingly to conform to the new observation plane.
9. OnPlotsDepthplot: The ®nal velocity depth section is
displayed in 2D after the complete interpretation of
seismic pro®le by this subroutine. It also exports the
layer parameters to the utility module for storing as
an ASCII `.DPT' ®le. Fig. 2B depicts a typical com-
posite monitor display of T±D curves and depth
section.
The source code of the RINSE module is available
from the server ftp.iamg.org by anonymous ftp.
2.7. Curve dissemination module (AutoDirInv)
To execute the sequential inversion the user has to
choose this option so that the depth values from
RINSE is exported to AutoDirInv. This module shows
the dialog box to enter seismic pro®le ID, resistivity
data ®le name (.SCH/.WEN/.PSU) depending on
whether the data is acquired by Schlumberger or Wen-
ner single or multi-electrode con®gurations. This mod-
ule also reads the number of data points in the
resistivity curve to be disseminated. For Wenner multi-
electrode arrangement, only the centrally sliced resis-
tivity curve out of a number of slices will be chosen
for the purpose. Using the subroutine Read the resis-
tivity data for the curve in question is interpolated to
obtain a sample interval of one-eighth of a decade for
Schlumberger array. The subroutine read1 interpolates
the Wenner data sets to one-sixth per decade. The sub-
routine Calculate does the layer-wise reduction of resis-
tivity transform as depicted in the ¯owchart of Fig. 1.
This also transfers the layer parameter to the utility
module for storage as .INI ®le. The source code of
AutoDirInv is also available on the server.
2.8. Evolutionary programming module (EvolPrg)
With the input `.INI', `.SCH', `.WEN', or `.PSU',
®les for Schlumberger, Wenner single or multi-elec-
trode con®guration, this module invokes the following
subroutines to perform global optimisation for the
evolution of geoelectric 1D or quasi-2D section. For
Wenner pseudo-sections a number of vertical slices,
each representing a Wenner resistivity curve are con-
sidered for the 1D inversion. For each resistivity curve
whether Schlumberger or Wenner the following func-
tions are used.
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
gen_pop: This subroutine generates n number of in-
dividuals in the population randomly by calling ran
2
function after adding 25% perturbation to the in-
itial model for the reason cited earlier in the theory
of sequential inversion.
appres and appresw: These are the forward model-
ling functions for the estimation of apparent resis-
tivity data from layer parameters for Schlumberger
and Wenner single/multi-electrode forward calcu-
lations respectively. These routines are invoked as
per the choice given to the EP module at the begin-
ning by the user. They are used in each iteration for
the entire population, since the evolution process is
a reduction of a mis®t function de®ned by the chi-
square error in the present case. The chi_err per-
forms the task of calculating the mis®t function for
both Schlumberger and Wenner data sets.
mutation: Mutation being the only genetic operator,
the subroutine mutation uses a step function mu-
tation de®ned by step_func submodule to perturb
the n models for the generation of new n models. It
arranges the 2n models in a two dimensional array.
The sorting of the best n models out of the lot of 2n
is done by activating ®t_sort based on a Q-sort tech-
nique.
The ®nal result is graphically displayed by the main
module by using inversion subroutine for each resis-
tivity curve. Using the same `.INI' ®le all the resistivity
curves identi®ed by pro®le code are interpreted serially.
A sample estimated and calculated VES display on
screen for Schlumberger array is given in Fig. 2C. For
2D pseudo-sections, after all the vertical slices are
interpreted, the 1D resistivity±depth sections are
stacked together by the module OnViewDraw, to simu-
late a quasi-2D geoelectric section which is the ®nal
output for the 2D inversion by 1D approximation. The
quasi-2D section is stored as `.CRS' ®le. The source
code for EvolPrg is also available on the server.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Numerical investigations
In the numerical experiment we considered three
case studies of geological relevance with di€erent resis-
tivity and velocity distributions. The model response of
these synthetic examples are calculated for 1D Schlum-
berger and Wenner arrays by Ghosh's linear ®lter
method (Ghosh, 1971) with di€erent ®lter coecients
and for Wenner pseudo-section by 2D ®nite di€erence
method (Dey and Morrison, 1979). Seismic traveltime
curves are simulated for 12 channel recordings at var-
ious spreads using generalised multi-layer traveltime re-
2
lations (Palmer, 1986). A 10% Gaussian noise is
185
added to both the seismic and geoelectric model re-
sponses for simulating real ®eld conditions before
being passed on to the sequential inversion algorithm.
Throughout this section the following graphical pre-
sentations are made for each model study:
1. Original model section Ð con®guration and physi-
cal parameters;
2. Time±distance plot and depth-section derived from
seismic ray inversion;
3. Schlumberger 1D resistivity±depth section with the
VES curves and corresponding chi-square error
curves;
4. Wenner 1D resistivity±depth section with Wenner
resistivity curves and the corresponding chi-square
error curves (omitted for synthetic models II and III);
5. Multi-electrode Wenner pseudo-section;
6. Geoelectric cross-section from direct 2D inversion
without seismic depth control using least square
method of Loke and Barker (1996) and;
7. Quasi-2D Wenner geoelectric section generated
from sequential inversion of the resistivity data sets
created from the pseudo-section.
3.1.1. Model I
Fig. 3A is the pictorial representation of a three
layered earth model intended to simulate a shallow
aquifer sandwiched between an upper unconsolidated
clay layer with P-wave velocity (Vp) of 500 m/s and
resistivity (r ) of 10 O m and a bottom semi-consoli-
dated clay layer with P-wave velocity of 2000 m/s and
resistivity of 15 O m. The aquifer is a saturated sand
layer with Vp ˆ 1000 m/s and the resistivity varying
between 65 and 80 O m in three distinct zones. Four
direct and four reverse shots are synthetically ®red for
seismic ®rst arrival time generation. Fig. 3B shows one
such shot pair with Gaussian noise added. The Xc
plots for both these shots are displayed in Fig. 3C. We
visualise two major changes in Xc values at channels 4
and 9 for the direct and channels 3 and 8 for the
reverse shots. Since there are only two drastic Xc
changes, it is expected that a three layered seismic
model would exist. As presented in Fig. 3D, the ®nal
section turned out to be a three-layered one with the
velocities of 498, 991 and 1994 m/s in the layers. With
this seismic depth section as input, three synthetically
generated K-type Schlumberger VES curves at S1, S2
and S3 are inverted by EP, the resulting 1D geoelectric
sections being given in Fig. 3E with the error curves in
Fig. 3F. Similarly, 1D Wenner apparent resistivity
curves at the same locations are inverted with the seis-
mic depth control. The evolved geoelectric sections and
the error curves are presented in Figs. 4A and B re-
spectively. In both the cases the estimated layer par-
ameters are very close to the actual ones.
186 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200

Fig. 3. (A) Con®guration and physical parameters of three-layer earth model. (B) Representative direct and reverse time±distance
plot. (C) Xc plot for direct and reverse shot pairs. (D) Composite time±distance and velocity±depth section plot of the model. (E)
Schlumberger VES curves at three locations and evolved resistivity±depth sections from EP. (F) Chi-square error curves for VES
interpretation.
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200 187

Fig. 4. (A) Wenner resistivity curves and interpreted layer parameters at three locations for Model I. (B) Chi-square error curves
for Wenner resistivity data interpretation. (C) Wenner multi-electrode synthetic pseudo-section over model of Fig. 3A. (D) 2D geo-
electric cross-section by direct least-square inversion. (E) Quasi-2D geoelectric section by sequential inversion of pseudo-section.
188 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
Subsequently, for 2D inversion, Wenner pseudo-sec-
tion is computed for the entire spread of 150 m, the
raster display of which is shown in Fig. 4C in grey
scale. The apparent resistivity is found to vary between
10 and 50 O m in the pseudo-section. A 2D direct
inversion of the pseudo-section without any extra con-
trol generated a model as depicted in Fig. 4D One can
visualise the resistivity variations in the model where
the high resistive zones in the aquifer are smeared. The
pseudo-section is then sliced into 42 apparent resis-
tivity curves to create sounding data sets for 1D Wen-
ner array leaving aside four slices to the left and four
slices to the right in order to avoid data extrapolation
error. These resistivity curves are individually inverted
using perturbed seismic depth section and the centrally
disseminated layer resistivities as starting model. Each
evolved resistivity-depth model is stacked side by side
to generate the quasi-2D Wenner section whose raster
image is displayed in Fig. 4E in grey scale. This cross-
section, a replica of the original geoelectric model (Fig.
3A) is the 2D inverted output of the pseudo-section by
1D approximation. The layer resistivities are also in
good agreement. It is to be noted that 24 m horizontal
spread, 12 m on either sides of the model remained
unexplored due to the paucity of data. Eventhough a
2D inversion with 2D seismic depth control would
have been the best choice, the 1D approximation with
2D seismic control is highly comparable, as this
example substantiates. In fact the 1D approximation
yielded a better solution compared to the direct 2D
inversion. The aquifer is fully resolved in this case.
3.1.2. Model II
Fig. 5A represents a dipping aquifer (dip less than
158) sandwiched between the top unconsolidated and
bottom semi-consolidated clay layers. The physical par-
ameters of the clay layers are the same as that in the pre-
vious example. The saturated sandy aquifer picks up
resistivity value of 35 O m, 45 O m and 55 O m in three
distinct zones as shown in the diagram. The seismic P-
wave velocity is 1000 m/s in the aquifer. The calculated
time-distance curves and the velocity-depth section from
RINSE are plotted in Fig. 5B. As in the previous case
the K-type Schlumberger curves at S1, S2 and S3 are
inverted by the sequential inversion, the results being
displayed in Fig. 5C with the chi-square error curves in
Fig. 5D. Fig. 5E is the raster display of the Wenner
multi-electrode pseudo-section. The direct 2D inverted
Wenner geoelectric section without seismic control as
depicted in Fig. 5F does not however indicate distinct
layer variations specially in the aquifer. The quasi-2D
resistivity-depth section (Fig. 5G) from the sequentially
inverted 42 Wenner curves created from the pseudo-sec-
tion replicated the subsurface geoelectric model (Fig.
5A) with distinct resistivity variations.
3.1.3. Model III
This model study is intended to solve a typical
equivalence problem of detecting a thin conductive
clay lens embedded in an aquifer. The con®guration
and physical parameters (resistivity and velocity) of
this model is depicted in Fig. 6A. The time-distance
plot for four direct and four reverse shots and the
interpreted seismic velocity-depth section from RINSE
are displayed in Fig. 6B. The thin clay layer can be
identi®ed on the seismic section. Three Schlumberger
VES curves at locations S1, S2 and S3 shown in Fig.
6C reveal A-type envelopes. Conventional 1D inver-
sion would have yielded a three-layer geoelectric
model. But with seismic thicknesses through sequential
inversion we obtained a four layered geoelectric section
given in Fig. 6C. The chi-square error curves for the
iterative interpretation of these VES curves are pre-
sented in Fig. 6D. Fig. 6E is the raster display of the
Wenner multi-electrode pseudo-section simulated over
the entire model. 2D inversion of the pseudo-section
without seismic information could not delineate the
thin conductive clay lens as observed in the Wenner
geoelectric section of Fig. 6F. The sequential inversion
of the pseudo-section by 1D approximation was, how-
ever, capable in detecting the thin clay lens preserving
the resistivity variations in the litho-section. The result-
ing quasi-2D geoelectric section is shown in Fig. 6G.
The ®rst two synthetic examples (Figs. 3, 4 and 5)
established the eciency of the proposed sequential
inversion scheme and the third one (Fig. 6) illustrated
the necessity and usefulness of the same algorithm in
solving complex geological problems, namely, the pro-
blem of equivalence and suppression. The application
of the scheme is further extended to actual ®eld con-
ditions for ground water investigations in the softrock
basin of Kasai River in Midnapur District, India. In
the following section we will take up detailed analysis
at two test sites.
3.2. Field examples
The study area in Midnapur District (Fig. 7) is situ-
ated on a mild topographic high with an average
annual rainfall of 152 cm and temperature of 318C.
The area is covered mainly by three types of lithology
(Roy and Niyogi, 1961) viz. laterite, older alluvium
and newer alluvium. This area is chosen on the basis
of hydrogeological inputs, e.g., lithologs, drainage den-
sity, slope, soil composition etc., its proximity to the
river Kasai and the geological depositional sequence
favourable for shallow potential ground water bearing
zone. Although the entire area is geophysically sur-
veyed, in this paper we focussed our analysis on two
test sites at Satkui and Tangasol (shown on the lo-
cation map of Fig. 7). At Satkui the surface geological
Fig. 5. (A) Three-layered earth model with intermediate dipping aquifer Ð con®guration and physical parameters. (B) Time±dis-
tance plot for four direct and four reverse shots and interpreted velocity±depth section. (C) K-type Schlumberger curves at three
locations and evolved layer parameters by sequential inversion. (D) Chi-square error curves showing convergence with iterations.
(E) Synthetic Wenner multi-electrode pseudo-section over model. (F) 2D inverted resistivity-depth cross-section from pseudo-sec-
tion. (G) Quasi-2D resistivity depth section by sequential inversion of pseudo-section.
Fig. 6. (A) Four-layered earth model representing problem of equivalence Ð con®guration and physical parameters. (B) Time±dis-
tance plot and velocity±depth section from RINSE. (C) Schlumberger resistivity curves and interpreted resistivity±depth sections at
three locations. (D) Error curves showing process of convergence. (E) Synthetic pseudo-section over model. (F) 2D geoelectric
cross-section from 2D inversion of pseudo-section. (G) Quasi-2D resistivity depth section by sequential inversion of pseudo-section.
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200 191

formation is older alluvium while at Tangasol it is pre-
dominantly laterite.
3.2.1. Data Acquisition
Schlumberger and Wenner data are collected with a
maximum spacing (AB/2) ranging from 150 to 250 m.
The multi-electrode Wenner measurements were done
for an electrode separation of 3 m for a maximum
spread ranging from 120 to 250 m. The seismic refrac-
tion data are acquired using OYO McSeis 160 signal-
enhancement 12/24 channel seismograph and a weight
dropper source. At both the sites geoelectric measure-
ments are done at three locations parallel to the seis-
mic pro®les.

Fig. 7. Location of study area in and around Midnapur District with Satkui and Tangasol test sites highlighted.
192 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200

Fig. 8. (A) Time±distance plot and interpreted velocity±depth section from seismic pro®le at Satkui. (B) K-type Schlumberger resis-
tivity curves at three locations S1, S2 and S3 at Satkui and interpreted layer parameters. (C) Chi-square error curves showing con-
vergence during evolution.
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200 193

Fig. 9. (A) Wenner single electrode resistivity curves at Satkui and interpreted layer parameters. (B) Chi-square error curves show-
ing convergence during evolution. (C) Wenner multi-electrode pseudo-section at Satkui. (D) 2D inverted geoelectric section at Sat-
kui from Wenner pseudo-section. (E) Sequentially inverted quasi-2D geoelectric section at Satkui from pseudo-section.
194 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
3.2.2. Satkui ®eld case
Fig. 8A presents the time-distance curves for four
direct and four reverse shots with a shot spacing of 20
m and channel spacing of 5 m. The interpreted vel-
ocity-depth section by ray inversion technique is
plotted at the bottom of the diagram. It depicts a three
layered model with the velocities of 270, 738 and 1068
m/s in the top, intermediate and bottom layers respect-
ively. Three Schlumberger and Wenner soundings are
run at three positions S1, S2 and S3 parallel to the
seismic pro®le. The VES curves are of K-type in
nature. They are interpreted using the sequential inver-
sion, the resulting resistivity depth section together
with the curves being presented in Fig. 8B. The start-
ing model of the inversion was provided by RINSE
and curve dissemination as discussed earlier with
2 25% perturbation in the parameters. The error
curves for the interpretation process are displayed in
Fig. 8C. The Wenner resistivity curves are sub-
sequently inverted following the same procedure to
evolve geoelectric sections close to the Schlumberger
ones as presented in Fig. 9A with the error curves in
Fig. 9B. The Wenner multi-electrode survey generated
a pseudo-section shown in Fig. 9C over a grid of 100
2 30 m2. The result of the direct 2D inversion without
extra control (Loke and Barker, 1996; Dahlin and
Loke, 1998) evolved a 2D geoelectric section given in
Fig. 9D with the resistivity values distributed in four
major zones in three layers. A high resistivity of the
order of 125 to 130 O m could be identi®ed in the
background of 95 to 105 O m in the central layer. This
is the probable shallow aquifer at this test site. The
sequential inversion of the pseudo-section generated a
quasi-2D resistivity-depth section (Fig. 9E) with the
aquifer in the central region of the middle layer. The
results of both the 2D cross-section (Fig. 9D) and
quasi-2D section (Fig. 9E) are highly comparable even
though the later is the output of a 1D approximated
pseudo-section inversion. The seismic and geoelectric
parameters at three positions S1, S2 and S3 under con-
sideration at Satkui are tabulated in Table 1 for a
comparative analysis. The layer parameters by all the
methods are comparable. Since all the methods point
to the similar litho-stratigraphic information (both
seismic and resistivity), the results are unambiguous.
The vertical and lateral extent of the aquifer (high res-
istivity) could be properly delineated by the pseudo-
section inversion.
3.2.3. Tangasol ®eld case
At this site ®ve direct and ®ve reverse shots with a
shot interval of 35 m and a channel interval of 7 m are
considered. The time-distance curve and interpreted
velocity-depth section are compositely presented in
Fig. 10A. Geoelectric measurements are conducted at
three positions T1, T2 and T3 for both Schlumberger
and Wenner electrode arrays. The Schlumberger data
are of QK-type. The sequentially inverted resistivity-
depth sections for Schlumberger and Wenner arrays
together with the curves are presented in Figs. 10B and
11A respectively while the error curves are displayed in
Figs. 10C and 11B respectively. Both the error curves
highlight a faster convergence during the evolution of
the model. Wenner multi-electrode array over a gird of
230 2 35 m2 generated a pseudo-section as displayed in

Table 1
Comparative seismic and geoelectric parameters at three positions at Satkui test site

Position Technique used r1 r2 r3 v1 v2 v3 h1 h2 h3

(Fig. 7) (O m) (O m) (O m) (m/s) (m/s) (m/s) (m) (m) (m)

S1 RINSE ± ± ± 270 738 1668 1.8 5.9 A

1D Schlumberger Sequential inversion 41.1 99.2 8.9 ± ± ± 1.8 6.0 A
1D Wenner Sequential inversion 41.1 98.9 9.2 ± ± ± 1.8 5.9 A
2D direct inversion of pseudo-section (2D cross-section) 40±45 95±105 10±15 ± ± ± 2.0 5.8 A
Sequential inversion of pseudo-section (Quasi-2D section) 40±45 100±105 10±20 ± ± ± 1.9 5.9 A
S2 RINSE ± ± ± 270 738 1668 1.6 6.6 A
1D Schlumberger Sequential inversion 43.4 128.3 13.5 ± ± ± 1.6 6.4 A
1D Wenner Sequential inversion 42.3 130.0 14.2 ± ± ± 1.6 6.5 A
2D direct inversion of pseudo-section (2D cross-section) 40±45 125±130 10±15 ± ± ± 1.8 6.9 A
Sequential inversion of pseudo-section (Quasi-2D section) 40±45 125±130 10±20 ± ± ± 1.6 6.8 A
S3 RINSE ± ± ± 270 738 1668 1.8 5.8 A
1D Schlumberger Sequential inversion 41.1 100.4 10.4 ± ± ± 1.8 6.0 A
1D Wenner Sequential inversion 40.8 98.3 10.3 ± ± ± 1.8 5.9 A
2D direct inversion of pseudo-section (2D cross-section) 40±45 95±105 10±15 ± ± ± 2.2 6.0 A
Sequential inversion of pseudo-section (Quasi-2D section) 40±45 100±105 10±20 ± ± ± 1.8 6.0 A
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200 195

Fig. 11C. The 2D inverted cross-section and the
sequentially inverted quasi-2D section for the resistivity
distribution are plotted as raster images in Fig. 11D
and E respectively. The seismic and geoelectric par-
ameters obtained by di€erent techniques at T1, T2 and
T3 at Tangasol are compared in Table 2. All the
results point to a four-layer lithologic model with the
third layer whose resistivity and thickness vary from
120 to 145 O m and 14 to 16 m respectively, being the
potential water bearing zone. This is further corrobo-
rated from the available electrical (SP and point resist-
ance) and litho logs at a nearby borehole location B1
(Fig. 7). The shallow aquifer from litholog in Fig. 12A
is a morum sand and is situated between 10 and 26 m
depth. The Schlumberger, Wenner single and multi-
electrode results also point to the same fact character-

Fig. 10. (A) The time-distance plot and interpreted velocity-depth section from seismic pro®le at Tangasol. (B) QK-type Schlumber-
ger resistivity curves at three locations T1, T2 and T3 at Tangasol and the interpreted layer parameters. (C) Chi-square error curves
showing convergence during evolution.
196 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200

Fig. 11. (A) Wenner single electrode resistivity curves at Tangasol and interpreted layer parameters. (B) Chi-square error curves
showing convergence during evolution. (C) Wenner multi-electrode pseudo-section at Tangasol. (D) 2D inverted geoelectric cross-
section at Tangasol from pseudo-section. (E) Sequentially inverted quasi-2D geoelectric section at Tangasol from pseudo-section.
 197

A
S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200

2.81 8.7 7.1 ± ± ± ± 51±01 021±011 05±54 512±502 )noitces D2-isauQ( noitces-oduesp fo noisrevni laitneuqeS
A 2.71 2.01 5.1 ± ± ± ± 52±51 021±011 05±54 002±091 )noitces-ssorc D2( noitces-oduesp fo noisrevni tcerid D2
A 0.81 2.8 0.2 ± ± ± ± 2.21 1.121 0.54 1.012 noisrevni laitneuqeS renneW D1
A 1.81 1.8 0.2 ± ± ± ± 0.31 9.811 8.94 7.802 noisrevni laitneuqeS regrebmulhcS D1
A 6.81 0.8 9.1 7452 7441 8401 605 ± ± ± ± ESNIR 3T
A 6.71 8.7 2.2 ± ± ± ± 51±01 541±531 05±54 512±502 )noitces D2-isauQ( noitces-oduesp fo noisrevni laitneuqeS
A 0.71 6.7 1.2 ± ± ± ± 52±51 041±031 05±54 002±091 )noitces-ssorc D2( noitces-oduesp fo noisrevni tcerid D2
A 5.81 6.7 1.2 ± ± ± ± 2.21 7.041 2.24 0.902 noisrevni laitneuqeS renneW D1
A 6.81 6.7 2.2 ± ± ± ± 1.31 7.041 4.54 8.502 noisrevni laitneuqeS regrebmulhcS D1
A 0.81 4.7 2.2 7452 7441 8401 605 ± ± ± ± ESNIR 2T
A 0.41 9.7 0.2 ± ± ± ± 51±01 541±531 05±54 512±502 )noitces D2-isauQ( noitces-oduesp fo noisrevni laitneuqeS
A 7.31 9.7 9.1 ± ± ± ± 52±51 041±031 05±54 002±091 )noitces-ssorc D2( noitces-oduesp fo noisrevni tcerid D2
A 5.41 3.8 0.2 ± ± ± ± 2.11 1.931 2.24 0.112 noisrevni laitneuqeS renneW D1
A 2.41 1.8 2.2 ± ± ± ± 8.21 4.431 6.64 2.802 noisrevni laitneuqeS regrebmulhcS D1
A 9.31 0.8 0.2 7452 7441 8401 605 ± ± ± ± ESNIR 1T
)m( )m( )m( )m( )s/m( )s/m( )s/m( )s/m( )m O( )m O( )m O( )m O( )7 .giF(
h
3 h
3 h
2 h
1 4v 3v 2v 1v 4r 3r 2r 1r desu euqinhceT noitisoP
etis tset losagnaT ta snoitisop eerht ta sretemarap cirtceleoeg dna cimsies evitarapmoC
2 elbaT
198 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
ised by moderate resistivity ranges between 120 and
145 O m. The point resistance log presented in Fig.
12B shows a moderate resistance of the order of 100 O
against this lithologic unit. The SP log (Fig. 12B)
shows a negative SP anomaly around 30 mV against
this layer. We, therefore, can con®dently say that the
morum sand is an aquifer whose thickness, resistivity
and velocity are already determined by the sequential
inversion.
4. Conclusion
In this paper we have presented a new sequential
inversion scheme by amalgamating seismic refraction
and DC resistivity surveys. The provisions are kept for
both 1D geoelectric inversion and 2D pseudo-section
inversion by 1D approximation with seismic thickness
control. The results of the analyses can be either resis-
tivity-depth sections or quasi-2D sections derived by
stacking resistivity-depth sections as per necessity.
Eventhough the seismic and the resistivity depth sec-
tions may not coincide by independent inversion, for
integration the layer thickness has to be considered
common as assumed in all joint or sequential inversion
schemes reported so far. However, in the present
sequential inversion, the initial seismic layer thickness
is perturbed for the ®nal evolution during the iterative
inversion process. The essence of the present algorithm
is felt for solving intricate geological problems, namely,
the problems of suppression and equivalence. The syn-
thetic investigations wherein both the 1D and 2D

Fig. 12. (A) Lithologs at borehole location B1 at Tangasol. (B) SP and point resistance logs at B1 location at Tangasol.
 S.K. Nath et al. / Computers & Geosciences 26 (2000) 177±200
inversions are considered, corroborate the necessity of
the program. The thin conductive clay lens would have
gone undetected had the sequential inversion of the
pseudo-section been not attempted. In the ®eld
examples also we observed the strength of this inver-
sion routine in generating a quasi-2D section of the
subsurface with accurate demarcation of aquifer zones.
The quasi-2D geoelectric section by 1D approximation
and the 2D inverted cross-section found close match in
the real ®eld analysis, but were way o€ in case of the
synthetic analysis, the former being more representa-
tive of the true picture of the subsurface. This, how-
ever, in no way can become an alternative to the 2D
or 3D inversion with proper assumptions. The results
of this study validated by available borehole infor-
mation at Tangasol site indicate that the sequential
inversion is capable of generating 2D subsurface geo-
metry by seismic control and 1D inversion. SEISRES
being extremely user friendly and versatile and devel-
oped on Windows platform, can be installed on porta-
ble laptop computers for on-the-spot interpretation of
the ®eld data. 2D and 3D inversion algorithms need
higher computational environment with greater com-
putational speed and storage. For environmental, en-
gineering and ground water investigations, the
geophysical interpretations must be cost-e€ective. Our
investigation is an attempt in that direction at the ex-
pense of the less computational resources.
Acknowledgements
A part of this work was supported by the Council of
Scienti®c and Industrial Research, Govt. of India vide
the sanction number (24/(0227))/95/EMR-II dated
19.12.1994. The authors are grateful to Dr. M.
Dobroka, Department of Geophysics, University of
Miskole, Dr. S.K. Sandberg, Geology Department,
Rutgers University and Dr. H.P. Patra, Indian Insti-
tute of Technology, Kharagpur for critically reviewing
an earlier version of the manuscript. Their suggestions
helped in improving the quality of the paper to a great
extent. The authors also wish to thank the anonymous
referees for their critical reviews, comments and sug-
gestions which led to the thorough revision of the
manuscript with the addition of new data and methods
for much clearer exposition.
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