Comparison of Different Coupling Methods for Joint Inversion of Geophysical Data: A Case Study for the Namibian Continental Margin

Integration of multiple geophysical data is a key practice to reduce model uncertainties and enhance geological interpretations. Electrical resistivity models resulting from inversion of marine magnetotelluric (MT) data, often lack depth resolution of lithological boundaries and distinct information for shallow model parts. This is due to the diffusive nature of electromagnetic fields, enhanced by deficient data sampling and model regularization during inversion. Thus, integrating data or models to constrain layer thicknesses or structural boundaries is an effective approach to derive better constrained and more detailed resistivity models. We investigate the different impacts of three cross‐gradient coupled constraints on 3D MT inversion of data from the Namibian passive continental margin. The three constraints are (a) coupling with a fixed structural density model; (b) coupling with satellite gravity data; (c) coupling with a fixed gradient velocity model. Here, we show that coupling with a fixed model (a and c) improves the resistivity model the most. Shallow conductors imaging sediment cover are confined to a thinner layer in the resulting resistivity models compared to the MT‐only model. Additionally, these constraints help to suppress vertical smearing of a conductive anomaly attributed to a fracture zone, and clearly show that the seismically imaged Moho is not accompanied by a change in electrical resistivity. All of these observations help to derive an Earth model, which will form the basis for future interpretation of the processes that lead to continental break‐up during the early Cretaceous.