DL-RMD: A geophysically constrained electromagnetic resistivity model database for deep learning applications

Abstract. Deep learning algorithms have shown incredible potential in many applications. The success of these data-hungry methods is largely associated with the availability of large-scale data sets, as millions of observations are often required to achieve acceptable performance levels. Recently, there has been an increased interest in applying deep learning methods to geophysical applications where electromagnetic methods are used to map the subsurface geology by observing variations in the electrical resistivity of the subsurface materials. To date, there are no standardized datasets for electromagnetic methods, which hinders the progress, evaluation, benchmarking, and evolution of deep learning algorithms due to data inconsistency. Therefore, we present a large-scale electrical resistivity model database of a wide variety of geologically plausible and geophysically resolvable subsurface structures for the commonly deployed ground-based and airborne electromagnetic systems. The presented database can potentially be used to build surrogate models of well-known processes and aid in labour intensive tasks. The geophysically constrained property of this database will not only achieve enhanced performance and improved generalization but, more importantly, it will incorporate consistency and credibility in deep learning models. We show the effectiveness of the presented database by surrogating the forward modelling process, and urge the geophysical community interested in deep learning for electromagnetic methods to utilize the presented database. The dataset is publically available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7260886 (Asif et al., 2022a).