Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems (International Geophysics) [Hardcover]

Richard C. Aster (Author), Brian Borchers (Author), Clifford H. Thurber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0120656043 | ISBN-13: 978-0120656042

Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems primarily serves as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and introductory graduate courses. Class notes have been developed and reside on the World Wide Web for faciliting use and feedback by teaching colleagues.

The authors' treatment promotes an understanding of fundamental and practical issus associated with parameter fitting and inverse problems including basic theory of inverse problems, statistical issues, computational issues, and an understanding of how to analyze the success and limitations of solutions to these probles. The text is also a practical resource for general students and professional researchers, where techniques and concepts can be readily picked up on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems is structured around a course at New Mexico Tech and is designed to be accessible to typical graduate students in the physical sciences who may not have an extensive mathematical background. It is accompanied by a Web site that contains Matlab code corresponding to all examples.

* Designed to be accessible to graduate students and professionals in physical sciences without an extensive mathematical background
* Includes three appendices for review of linear algebra and crucial concepts in statistics
* Battle-tested in courses at several universities
*MATLAB exercises facilitate exploration of material

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a very useful textbook at undergraduate and graduate-level courses teaching the numerical techniques used in parameter estimation...it will certainly be a very useful reference also for practitioners who need a guide in selecting the proper mathematical approach when solving real problems, not only in geophysics, but also other branches of science and engineering."
-Wojciech Debski, Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences

"The great strength of this book is that it is a 'one-shop-stop' for solving inverse problems; it contains many different methods for solving your particular problems and, in general, all of the background mathematics to help you understand the method itself."
-John Brittan, in THE LEADING EDGE, SEPT 2005

"The writing is uniformly clear; one unfamiliar with even the most basic ideas of inverse theory will find it ideal for self-study. ...I found the authors' treatment of such concepts as existence, uniqueness, instability, resolution, and ill-posedness to be particularly succinct. They do a fine job in distinguishing the continuous from the discrete case, and they point out some of the pitfalls that can arise when going from one to the other, yet without becoming bogged down in sterile mathematical detail. ...This is an exceptionally well written introductory text which, for a change, is reasonably priced, placing it at least within reach of a college student."

-Sven Treitel, The Leading Edge, March 2006

"This is a well designed textbook with a very clean approach [and] a fine introduction for inverse problems in applied fields. .The tone of the writing is conversational in a way that allows the ideas to come across clearly, while the content is mathematically rigorous, presenting details relevent to the topic and providing references for the rest."

-Paul Phillips, University of Dallas for MAA, February 2006


"A well-presented textbook [and] a one-stop-shop for solving inverse problems...a well recommended addition to the technical library of anybody who has to deal with inverse problems on a regular basis."
--John Brittan, Walton-on-Thames, UK for "The Leading Edge", September 2005

Book Description

Geophysical inverse theory is a mathematical method to solving physical science problems commonly found in: Astrophysics, Geophysics, Atmospheric science, Oceanography, Geologiocal Engineering, Hydrology, and Applied Mathematics.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press (January 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0120656043
• ISBN-13: 978-0120656042
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, April 28, 2009

By 

C. Nino (Newark, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems (International Geophysics) (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite books, it is a great reference for anyone working on signal processing algorithms for image reconstruction, & data estimation. It is well written, and very easy to understand, it has succint expressions with good intuitive explanations. It provides good examples that make it even easier to see the use and advantages of different techniques. I do recommend the book for anyone with enough math background only, it is not entry level.

4.0 out of 5 stars The book and the disk are great!, December 8, 2010

By 

Xenia - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems (International Geophysics) (Hardcover)

It is really a good book on inverse problems. And it is cool that they give you a disk with matlab functions, and the date for the examples. But I think that book is focus on the wrong things: some of the chapters could be removed, and some new chapters could be added.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique book combining theory and practice, November 20, 2010

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Tech_guy (Boulder, Co) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems (International Geophysics) (Hardcover)

I've given this book a 5 star but it's a 4.5 really as explained below.

On the positive side he provides a good combination of theoretical development to ground the applications examples and further provides Matlab code to work examples. I learned allot from this book on the mathematical tools needed to solve parameter estimation and inverse problems. This book reminds me allot of Strang's book on Linear Algebra and it's Application, in that if you work carefully through it the learning curve is steep and provides a deep understanding of how things work. However, he doesn't hand things to you and it requires one to piece together some of the development.

On the negative side, I found some errors in some of the code and sometimes the symbolism and sparse development used creates confusion to the reader. There is a 2nd edition coming out in late 2011 and hopefully the authors will make improvements in these areas. Overall, this is a very unique book and do not know of another with the combination of topics and software tools that is comparable.