Magnetotelluric Modeling Using Moving Triangular Elements

We have developed a moving finite element (MFE) solution for MT in two dimensions, in which the locations of the mesh nodes are an intrinsic part of the solution along with the function values at the nodes. This leads to the automatic concentration of mesh points in regions of large field gradient, yielding a more accurate solution for a given size mesh than is possible with conventional finite element solutions. Regularization is employed to prevent the cross-over of mesh nodes, to control the mesh motion, and to prevent extremely elongate elements from being formed. The current version of the model uses fully-deformable triangular elements in which each node can move independently.