THE BENEFITS OF INVERSE MODELING ARE SUBSTANTIAL.

Note that the following terms:

INVERSE MODELING PARAMETER ESTIMATION AUTOMATED CALIBRATION

are used interchangeably in practice.

INVERSE MODELING PROVIDES QUANTIFICATION OF THE:

quality of calibration
data shortcomings and needs
confidence in parameter estimates & simulations using those estimates
INVERSE MODELING IS IMPORTANT FOR COMMUNICATING RESULTS OF GROUND-WATER MODELING TO:

managers
regulators
lawyers
concerned citizens
modelers
BENEFITS OF INVERSE MODELING INCLUDE:

improves quality of model
reveals issues even experienced modelers can overlook
yields products that are difficult to obtain from forward modeling
requires less time than trial-and-error calibration
allows user to pay more attention to conceptual model issues
OBSTACLES TO INVERSE MODELING ARE THE:

lack of knowledge of requirements and benefits
time investment in learning inverse modeling procedures
Click here to explore more about Inversion: Requirements, Benefits, and an Example of Discriminating between Alternative Conceptual Models

Click here to explore an example illustrating the use of inverse modeling to discriminate between conceptual models Inversion as a Tool for Discriminating Models