Direct and indirect inversions

A bridge is highlighted between the direct inversion and the indirect inversion. They are based on fundamental different approaches: one is looking after a projection from the data space to the model space while the other one is reducing a misfit between observed data and synthetic data obtained from a given model. However, it is possible to obtain similar structures for model perturbation, and we shall focus on P-wave velocity reconstruction. This bridge is built up through the Born approximation linearizing the forward problem with respect to model perturbation and through asymptotic approximations of the Green functions of the wave propagation equation. We first describe the direct inversion and its ingredients and then we focus on a specific misfit function design leading to a indirect inversion. Finally, we shall compare this indirect inversion with more standard least-squares inversion as the FWI, enabling the focus on small weak velocity perturbations on one side and the speed-up of the velocity perturbation reconstruction on the other side. This bridge has been proposed by the group led by Raul Madariaga in the early nineties, emphasizing his leading role in efficient imaging workflows for seismic velocity reconstruction, a drastic requirement at that time.