A novel principle to localize the sensitivity of waveform tomography using wave interferences at the observation boundary.

When using waveform tomography to perform high-resolution imaging of a medium, it is vital to calculate the sensitivity in order to describe how well a model fits a given set of data and how the sensitivity changes with the spatial distribution of the heterogeneities. The traditional principle behind calculating the sensitivity—for detecting small changes—suffers from an inherent limitation in case other structures, not of interest, are present along the wave propagation path. We propose a novel principle that leads to enhanced localization of the sensitivity of the waveform tomography, without having to know the intermediate structures. This new principle emerges from a boundary integral representation which utilizes wave interferences observed at multiple points. When tested on geophysical acoustic wave data, this new principle leads to much better sensitivity localization and detection of small changes in seismic velocities, which were otherwise impossible. Overcoming the insensitivity to a target area, it offers new possibilities for imaging and monitoring small changes in properties, which is critical in a wide range of disciplines and scales.