Gravity and magnetic data are among the oldest geophysical data acquired for the purpose of resource exploration and exploitation. They currently also have the widest areal coverage on the Earth, span a great range of scales and play important roles in mineral, energy and groundwater arenas. The interpretation methods have evolved from data map-based visual inspection, various map enhancements and depth estimation, to quantitative interpretations based on inversions and integrated modeling.

In particular, 3D inversion techniques have emerged as a major component in this evolution. The availability of 3D inversion techniques has advanced potential-field interpretation from ‘anomaly bump hunting’ to 3D imaging of the subsurface by reconstructing the distribution of density or magnetic properties in various geological units and, thereby, have shifted interpretations from the data domain to the model domain.

Similarly, inversion techniques are also poised to make major contributions to integrated modeling and interpretation, as well as to differentiating and characterizing geology, geological processes and reservoir dynamics. This course will focus on the methodology, numerical computation, solution strategy and applications of 3D physical property inversions of gravity and magnetic data sets.

The course is designed to have two tracks in order to meet the different needs of the EAGE community in mineral exploration and in oil & gas exploration and production. We achieve this by dividing the course into two parts: methodologies common in potential-field methods in Part I and discussion of tools and applications specific to mineral exploration or oil & gas reservoir monitoring in Part II.