LINEAR ALGEBRA

IN
EARTH SCIENCE
GROUP MEMBERS
Chaudhary Umer
Ghaffar
04111613074
Abdul Moiz Ahsan
04111613059
M. Muzmmil Saleem
04111613046
M. Ramish Hussain
04111613016
Asmad Hussain
04111613083
Linear algebra
Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations and their representations
in vector spaces and through matrices.
Linear algebra is about linear combinations. That is, using arithmetic on columns of numbers
called vectors and arrays of numbers called matrices, to create new columns and arrays of
numbers.
Linear algebra includes
• Vectors
• Matrices
• Linear combinations
• Transformations
• Matrix determinants
• Matrix inverses
• Lines and planes
• Vector spaces and mappings that are required for linear transforms and much more operations.
Geology
Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is
composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Geology describes
the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface, and the processes that have shaped
that structure.

Geomathematics
Geomathematics or Mathematical Geophysics is the application of mathematical intuition
to solve problems in Geophysics. The most complicated problem in Geophysics is the
solution of the three dimensional inverse problem, where observational constraints are
used to infer physical properties
Linear Algebra in Geology
Geologists use the techniques as an aid to solving geological problems which can be solved
numerically.
In the areas of geology and geography, linear algebra can be applied. Linear models are
often used for modeling terrain, glaciers, soil pH, erosion surfaces, and for grain size
analysis.
In geology linear algebra is applicable in calculation of:
• Nature of fault
• Stress & Strain Analysis
• Topographic mapping
Fault analysis through linear algebra
A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks
to move relative to each other. Earth scientists use the angle of the fault with respect to the
surface (known as the dip) and the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults.
Following components are calculated using linear algebra:
• Fault dip
• Fault slip
• Fault throw
Fault Dip
Geologist often talk about angle of dip of a bedding plane simply by quoting the measured
angle. This will remain useless until we use the direction of dip and strike of the beds to
which it refers. So dip is vector quantity rather than scaler because it has both magnitude
and direction.
Fault Dip
•   angle of the fault with respect to
The
the surface is known as the dip and
the direction of slip along fault is
used to classify faults.
We can calculate magnitude or
length of the position vectors of the
point (x1, x2) using pythagoras
theorem.
Magnitude =
Direction=
Fault Slip
Slip is defined as the relative
movement of geological features
present on either side of
a fault plane. A fault's sense
of slip is defined as the relative
motion of the rock on each side of
the fault with respect to the other
side.
Linera Equations
• A linera equation describes a straight line with reference to pair of orthogonal axes as
shown in figure 1.1 and 1.1b
• It defines the slope of the line relative to one of the axis as well as intercept of the line of
the other axis.
• General form is given as
x2=a1x1+ z
Fault Throw
The throw of the fault is the vertical component of the
separation between two relatively displaced blocks.
It is calculated by using following triangular linear
equation relationship.
Stress And Strain Analysis
Stress is defined as a force f, divided
by the area of the plane A, on which
it acts:
S= f / A
Stress is a vector and at a point can
be represented by nine numbers
and is, in fact, a tensor:
Stress And Strain Analysis
Strain is the small changes in length and
volume associated with deformation of
the earth by tectonic stresses or by the
passage of seismic waves.
The deformation gradient matrix is given
as:
Topographic mapping
Topographic maps are a detailed record of a land area, giving geographic positions and elevations for
both natural and man-made features. They show the shape of the land the mountains, valleys, and
plains by means of contour lines.
Amplitude of the wave function by means of surface elevation.
• Peaks are points of greatest positive amplitude.
• Pits are points where function is negative.
• In many practical situations such as geological mapping . Geologists are concerned with
solid bodies whose references points are defined relative to three mutually orthogonal
axes requiring three spatial variable to describe them.
• In the case of petrology and geostatistics number of axes can be large
• And rules of algebra will be same wether we are dealing with three or twenty variables
• Long winded and tedious computations can be carried quickly and easily
Linear algebra in geophysics
In geophysics it involves the development of mathematical tools for the modeling of the
underlying problem, the analysis of the model, or the numerical solution. Following models
and alterations are generated on the basis of linear algebra in geophysics.
• Convolution model
• Forward modeling
• Reverse modeling
• Corrections in Seismic data
• Terrestrial Tomography
• Inverse problems
• Regression analysis
• Interpolation
• Surface trend Analysis
Terrestrial Tomography
• Seismic tomography is a technique for imaging the subsurface of the earth using seismic
waves.
• Use large datasets of seismograms and earthquake or explosion sources.
• Seismic tomography create 2D and 3D images of subsurface anomalies.
• Tomography is solved as an inverse problem. Seismic travel time data are compared to
an initial Earth model and the model is modified until the best possible fit between the
model predictions and observed data is found.
• The location and magnitude of these variations can be calculated by the inversion
process.
• Inverse problems are most important mathematical problems in science and
mathematics because they tell us about parameters that we cannot directly observe.
Red colors: low-velocity structures ( Hot Materials)
The low-velocity zone (LVZ) in the upper mantle is characterized by low seismic wave velocities, high
seismic energy attenuation
Blue colors: high-velocity structures (Cold materials).
The High-velocity zone is characterized by high seismic wave velocities & low seismic energy
attenuation.
Linear inverse problem
•  
Earth's gravitational field
The Earth's gravitational field is determined by the density distribution of the Earth in the
subsurface. Because the lithology of the Earth changes quite significantly, we observe
minute differences in the Earth's gravitational field on the surface.
we know that the mathematical expression for gravity is:

d = local gravitational acceleration,

By discretizing the above expression, we are able to relate the discrete data observations
on the surface of the Earth to the discrete model parameters (density) in the subsurface
that we wish to know more about.
EXAMPLE
•   have measurements at 5 locations on the surface of the Earth.
we
our data vector, d is a column vector of dimension (5x1):
ith component is associated with the ith observation location.
pj = unknown masses in the subsurface with known location.
rij =distance between iith observation location & jth mass.
Linear system relating five unknown masses to five data points is follows:
d=
d= , p=, F=
we invert the matrix F & solve model parameters that fit our data,
Seismology
The concept of deconvolution had an early application in reflection seismology. Recorded
seismogram s(t) is the convolution of Earth-reflectivity function e(t) and seismic wavelet w(t)
from a point source, n(t) is noise & t represents recording time. Thus, our convolution equation
is;
s(t) = w(t)*e(t)+n(t)
The seismologist is interested in e, which contains information about the Earth's structure.
Convolutional Model
Convolution is the convolvement of reflection
coefficients associated with the boundaries and
source wavelets. It depends on principle of
superposition. In linear algebra it is represented
as:
Deconvolution
Deconvolution is an algorithm-based process used to enhance signals from recorded data.
Recorded data is distorted by a filter (a process known as convolution).
Deconvolution is widely used in the techniques of signal processing and image processing.
The goal of deconvolution is to reconstruct the original signal p(x) which appears as noisy
on the data d(x). From a mathematical point of view, the kernel K(x,y) here only depends of
the difference between x and y.
In general, the objective of deconvolution is to find the solution f of a convolution equation
of the form;
f*g = h
h = recorded signal
f = signal that we wish to recover
g = filter or distortion function
If we know g, or at least know the form of g, then we can perform deterministic
deconvolution.
Trend surface analysis

For application of trend surfaces to the grain size data, UTM coordinates are used as the x
and y variables, while average grain size for the core (subtracting out soil profile data) is
the z variable. The equations below are used to find interpolated z values, in the first,
second, third, and fourth order trend surfaces.
Example

• In one case, trend surface is used in the analysis of grain size in order to study sand
dunes. Dunes are formed, depending on wind velocity and direction.
• The analysis of grain size data, as well as entrainment analysis, predicts a northerly
decreasing critical shear velocity.
• The wind blows sand from the south over an increasing amount of land and a
corresponding decreased wind velocity.
• Also, sand typically shows an increase thickness trending northward.
• To test this hypothesis, grain size data for the dunes could be examined.
Z = A + Bx + Cy
Z = A + Bx + Cy + Dx2 + E y2 +Fxy
Z = A + Bx + Cy + Dx2 + Ey2 + Fxy + Gx3 + Hy3 + Ix2y + Jxy2
Z = A + Bx + Cy + Dx2 + Ey2 + Fxy + Gx3 + Hy3 + Ix2y + Jxy2 + Kx4 + L y4 + Mx3 y +Nxy3 + Ox2y2

The analysis of grain size data via trend surfacing and entrainment velocities
provides a detailed description about grain size trends and their implications.

Example
Local models of terrain are created from the data (u1, v1, y1),…, ( un, vn, yn), where uj,
vj, and yj are latitude, longitude, and altitude, respectively. Describe the linear model
based on
the given equation y = b0 + b1u + b2v that gives a least-squares fit to such data. The
solution is called the least-squares plane.
The expected data has to satisfy the following equations:
y1 = b0 + b1 u1 + b2 v1 + Î1

y 2= b0 + b1 u2+ b2 v2 + Î2
.
.
y n= b0 + b1 un+ b2 vn + În.
This system has the matrix form y = X + , where

This example shows the linear