Explicit expressions for the Frechet derivatives in 3D anisotropic resistivity inversion

We have developed explicit expressions for the Fréchet derivatives or sensitivity functions in resistivity imaging of a heterogeneous and fully anisotropic earth. The formulation involves the Green’s functions and their gradients, and it is developed from a formal perturbation analysis and by means of a numerical (finite-element) method. A critical factor in the equations is the derivative of the electrical conductivity tensor with respect to the principal conductivity values and the angles defining the axes of symmetry. The Fréchet derivative expressions were derived for the 2.5D and 3D problems using constant-point and constant-block model parameterizations. Special cases such as an isotropic earth and tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media emerge from the general solutions. Numerical examples were investigated for various sensitivities as functions of dip angle and strike of the plane of stratification in uniform TTI media. S. A. Greenhalgh, B. Zhou, M. Greenhalgh, L. Marescot, and T. Wies