Geophysical data analysis : discrete inverse theory The treatment of inverse theory in this book is divided into four parts. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a general background explaining what inverse problems are and what constitutes their solution as well as reviewing some of the basic concepts from linear algebra and probability theory that will be applied throughout the text. Chapters 3 7 discuss the solution of the canonical inverse problem: the linear problem with Gaussian statistics. This is the best understood of all inverse problems; and it is here that the fundamental notions of uncertainty uniqueness and resolution can be most clearly developed. Chapters 8 11 extend the discussion to problems that are non Gaussian nonlinear and continuous. Chapters 12 13 provide examples of the use of inverse theory and a discussion of the steps that must be taken to solve inverse problems on a computer