Support for a 3D Magnetotelluric Inversion Facility

该项目将继续支持和维护ModEM，这是俄勒冈州州立大学开发的三维（3D）大地电磁（MT）反演软件程序。 该项目将完成对软件的一些重大改进的开发，通过开发和提供在线教学程序，使电磁（EM）和更广泛的地球物理社区参与MT反演软件的使用，并将ModEM转变为可持续的开源社区设施。大量引用该软件的论文（超过450篇）和大量注册用户（近400名）证明了ModEM的发布和支持对基础和应用电磁（EM）地球物理研究的重大影响。作为几乎唯一免费提供的并行3D MT反演软件，ModEM在实现EM方法的3D革命方面发挥了重要作用，并为MT作为理解固体的工具的新发现的突出地位做出了重大贡献-维护和进一步改进ModEM将有助于维持和扩大MT和EM方法对更广泛的地球科学事业的近期重大影响。该提案的教育部分将通过在线和现场短期课程培训科学家适当使用三维大地电磁反演方法。这项工作的一部分将是与新的IRIS MT设备设施合作，吸引地震学家（和其他地球科学家），并扩大对EM方法的理解和使用。三维大地电磁反演在资源工业和应用环境科学中也有许多重要的应用。拟议的反演设施将有助于发展这些应用的能力，支持开发实用和强大的软件以及知识渊博和训练有素的用户。这里提出的开源设施也将使软件免费提供给商业用户，具有广泛和积极的社会影响。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This project will continue to support and maintenance of ModEM, a three-dimensional (3D) magnetotelluric (MT) inversion software program developed at Oregon State University. The project will complete development of a number of significant improvements to the software, to engage the electromagnetic (EM) and broader geophysical communities in use of MT inversion software by developing and delivering online instructional programs, and to transition ModEM to a sustainable, open-source community facility. The large number of papers citing the software (over 450), and the significant number of registered users (nearly 400), attest to the substantial impact that the release and support of ModEM has had on both basic and applied electromagnetic (EM) geophysical research. As virtually the only parallel 3D MT inversion software that is freely available, ModEM has played a significant role in enabling a 3D revolution in EM methods, and made substantial contributions to the newfound prominence of MT as a tool for understanding solid-earth processes.Maintaining and further improving ModEM will help sustain and extend the recent substantial impacts that MT and EM methods are having on the broader earth science enterprise. Educational components of the proposal will train scientists, through on-line and in-person short courses, in appropriate use of 3-D MT inversion methods. Part of this effort will be to work with the new IRIS MT equipment facility to engage seismologists (and other geoscientists), and to expand understanding and use of EM methods. 3D MT inversion also has many important applications in resource industries and in the applied environmental sciences. The proposed inversion facility will help develop capacity for these applications, supporting development of both practical and robust software, and knowledgeable and trained users. The open source facility proposed here will also make software freely available for commercial users, with broad and positive societal impact.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.