Computational cost comparison between nodal and vector finite elements in the modeling of controlled source electromagnetic data using a direct solver

The Finite Element method can be implemented to model geophysical electromagnetic data using one of two methodologies called Nodal and Vector Finite Elements. This paper presents a comparison between the two approaches, emphasizing memory usage and processing time, when simulating Marine Controlled Source Electromagnetic (MCSEM) data in three-dimensional models. The study is carried out using unstructured meshes and a direct solver. Computational cost information from both methodologies are gathered from four different 3D models, each emphasizing a different aspect of the problem. The results indicate that the Vector Finite Element methodology requires less memory and processing time to calculate the same data using the same mesh. Although the nodal method generates a smaller linear system than the vector method, the vector coefficient matrix is significantly more sparse than the nodal one. The greater sparsity makes the vector approach more computationally efficient, requiring less memory and running in less time than the nodal method to generate results with the same level of accuracy.