Publications

Preprints

Zhao, X., Curtis, A. and Mosegaard, K. (2026). Designing solutions to geophysical inverse problems by changing variables. Preprint; in preparation for journal submission. arXiv
Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2025). A semi-analytic but biased uncertainty assessment method using sample extensions, analysed for travel time tomography. Submitted to Seismica; major revision. arXiv
Liu, Q., Fisher, M., Shen, Z., Zhao, X., Tant, K., Curtis, A. and Oates, C. (2025). Detecting model misspecification in Bayesian inverse problems via variational gradient descent. Submitted to Bayesian Analysis; major revision. arXiv

Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2026). Linearised versus nonlinear estimates of uncertainty in full waveform inversion. Geophysical Journal International, 246(3), ggag248. DOI
Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2026). GeoPVI: A Python package for geoscientific inversion using parametric variational inference. Geophysical Journal International, 245(3), ggag138. DOI · Code
Zhao, X., Irvin, L., Galetti, E. and Curtis, A. (2026). Direct-3D variational Bayesian surface wave inversion and its application to ambient noise tomography beneath Great Britain. Geophysical Journal International, 245(2), ggag079. DOI
Dromigny, S., Zhao, X., Reu, T., Koelemeijer, P. and Curtis, A. (2026). Approximation bias during marginalisation over nuisance parameters in likelihood-based variational inference, and its impact on Bayesian solutions. Geophysical Journal International, 246(1), ggag180. DOI
Zhang, Z., Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2026). Variational and Monte Carlo methods for Bayesian inversion of dynamic subsurface flow simulations using seismic and fluid pressure data. Water Resources Research, 62, e2025WR042519. DOI

Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2025). Efficient Bayesian full waveform inversion and analysis of prior hypotheses in 3D. Geophysics, 90(6), R373–R388. DOI
Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2025). On the design of ultra-sparse seismic surveys for monitoring subsurface CO₂ storage sites using full waveform inversion. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 146, 104433. DOI

Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2024). Physically structured variational inference for full waveform inversion. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129, e2024JB029557. DOI
Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2024). Variational prior replacement in Bayesian inference and inversion. Geophysical Journal International, 239, 1236–1256. DOI
Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2024). Bayesian inversion, uncertainty analysis and interrogation using boosting variational inference. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129, e2023JB027789. DOI

Zhao, X., Curtis, A. and Zhang, X. (2022). Interrogating subsurface structures using probabilistic tomography: An example assessing the volume of Irish Sea Basins. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127, e2022JB024098. DOI
Zhao, X., Curtis, A. and Zhang, X. (2022). Bayesian seismic tomography using normalizing flows. Geophysical Journal International, 228(1), 213–239. DOI
Wang, Y., Bai, M., Yang, L., Zhao, X., Saad, O. M. and Chen, Y. (2022). An unsplit CFS-PML scheme for the second-order wave equation with its application in fractional viscoacoustic simulation. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 60, 5905211. DOI

Zhao, X., Zhou, H., Chen, H. and Wang, Y. (2021). Domain decomposition for large-scale viscoacoustic wave simulation using localized pseudo-spectral method. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 59(3), 2666–2679. DOI
Zhang, X., Nawaz, M. A., Zhao, X. and Curtis, A. (2021). An introduction to variational inference in geophysical inverse problems. Advances in Geophysics, 62, 73–140. DOI

Wang, N., Zhu, T., Zhou, H., Chen, H., Zhao, X. and Tian, Y. (2020). Fractional Laplacians viscoacoustic wavefield modeling with K-space-based time-stepping error compensating scheme. Geophysics, 85(1), T1–T13. DOI

Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Zhao, X. et al. (2019). CuQ-RTM: A CUDA-based code package for stable and efficient Q-compensated reverse time migration. Geophysics, 84(1), F1–F15. DOI
Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Zhao, X. et al. (2019). Q-compensated viscoelastic reverse time migration using mode-dependent adaptive stabilization scheme. Geophysics, 84(4), S301–S315. DOI

Zhao, X., Zhou, H. et al. (2018). A stable approach for Q-compensated viscoelastic reverse time migration using excitation amplitude imaging condition. Geophysics, 83(5), S459–S476. DOI