arXiv subjects

Peter K. Kitanidis

Publications and source records attributed to Peter K. Kitanidis.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Multi-fidelity Hamiltonian Monte Carlo

Numerous applications in biology, statistics, science, and engineering require generating samples from high-dimensional probability distributions. In recent years, the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) method has emerged as a state-of-the-art Markov chain Monte Carlo technique, exploiting the shape of such high-dimensional target distributions to efficiently generate samples. Despite its impressive empirical success and increasing popularity, its wide-scale adoption remains limited due to the high computational cost of gradient calculation. Moreover, applying this method is impossible when the gradient of the posterior cannot be computed (for example, with black-box simulators). To overcome these challenges, we propose a novel two-stage Hamiltonian Monte Carlo algorithm with a surrogate model. In this multi-fidelity algorithm, the acceptance probability is computed in the first stage via a standard HMC proposal using an inexpensive differentiable surrogate model, and if the proposal is accepted, the posterior is evaluated in the second stage using the high-fidelity (HF) numerical solver. Splitting the standard HMC algorithm into these two stages allows for approximating the gradient of the posterior efficiently, while producing accurate posterior samples by using HF numerical solvers in the second stage. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this algorithm for a range of problems, including linear and nonlinear Bayesian inverse problems with in-silico data and experimental data. The proposed algorithm is shown to seamlessly integrate with various low-fidelity and HF models, priors, and datasets. Remarkably, our proposed method outperforms the traditional HMC algorithm in both computational and statistical efficiency by several orders of magnitude, all while retaining or improving the accuracy in computed posterior statistics.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2022

Improving debris flow evacuation alerts in Taiwan using machine learning

Taiwan has the highest susceptibility to and fatalities from debris flows worldwide. The existing debris flow warning system in Taiwan, which uses a time-weighted measure of rainfall, leads to alerts when the measure exceeds a predefined threshold. However, this system generates many false alarms and misses a substantial fraction of the actual debris flows. Towards improving this system, we implemented five machine learning models that input historical rainfall data and predict whether a debris flow will occur within a selected time. We found that a random forest model performed the best among the five models and outperformed the existing system in Taiwan. Furthermore, we identified the rainfall trajectories strongly related to debris flow occurrences and explored trade-offs between the risks of missing debris flows versus frequent false alerts. These results suggest the potential for machine learning models trained on hourly rainfall data alone to save lives while reducing false alerts.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2022

Effective approaches to disaster evacuation during a COVID-like pandemic

Since COVID-19 vaccines became available, no studies have quantified how different disaster evacuation strategies can mitigate pandemic risks in shelters. Therefore, we applied an age-structured epidemiological model, known as the Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model, to investigate to what extent different vaccine uptake levels and the Diversion protocol implemented in Taiwan decrease infections and delay pandemic peak occurrences. Taiwan's Diversion protocol involves diverting those in self-quarantine due to exposure, thus preventing them from mingling with the general public at a congregate shelter. The Diversion protocol, combined with sufficient vaccine uptake, can decrease the maximum number of infections and delay outbreaks relative to scenarios without such strategies. When the diversion of all exposed people is not possible, or vaccine uptake is insufficient, the Diversion protocol is still valuable. Furthermore, a group of evacuees that consists primarily of a young adult population tends to experience pandemic peak occurrences sooner and have up to 180% more infections than does a majority elderly group when the Diversion protocol is implemented. However, when the Diversion protocol is not enforced, the majority elderly group suffers from up to 20% more severe cases than the majority young adult group.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2021

Deep learning-based fast solver of the shallow water equations

Fast and reliable prediction of river flow velocities is important in many applications, including flood risk management. The shallow water equations (SWEs) are commonly used for this purpose. However, traditional numerical solvers of the SWEs are computationally expensive and require high-resolution riverbed profile measurement (bathymetry). In this work, we propose a two-stage process in which, first, using the principal component geostatistical approach (PCGA) we estimate the probability density function of the bathymetry from flow velocity measurements, and then use machine learning (ML) algorithms to obtain a fast solver for the SWEs. The fast solver uses realizations from the posterior bathymetry distribution and takes as input the prescribed range of BCs. The first stage allows us to predict flow velocities without direct measurement of the bathymetry. Furthermore, we augment the bathymetry posterior distribution to a more general class of distributions before providing them as inputs to ML algorithm in the second stage. This allows the solver to incorporate future direct bathymetry measurements into the flow velocity prediction for improved accuracy, even if the bathymetry changes over time compared to its original indirect estimation. We propose and benchmark three different solvers, referred to as PCA-DNN (principal component analysis-deep neural network), SE (supervised encoder), and SVE (supervised variational encoder), and validate them on the Savannah river, Augusta, GA. Our results show that the fast solvers are capable of predicting flow velocities for different bathymetry and BCs with good accuracy, at a computational cost that is significantly lower than the cost of solving the full boundary value problem with traditional methods.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2021

Variational encoder geostatistical analysis (VEGAS) with an application to large scale riverine bathymetry

Estimation of riverbed profiles, also known as bathymetry, plays a vital role in many applications, such as safe and efficient inland navigation, prediction of bank erosion, land subsidence, and flood risk management. The high cost and complex logistics of direct bathymetry surveys, i.e., depth imaging, have encouraged the use of indirect measurements such as surface flow velocities. However, estimating high-resolution bathymetry from indirect measurements is an inverse problem that can be computationally challenging. Here, we propose a reduced-order model (ROM) based approach that utilizes a variational autoencoder (VAE), a type of deep neural network with a narrow layer in the middle, to compress bathymetry and flow velocity information and accelerate bathymetry inverse problems from flow velocity measurements. In our application, the shallow-water equations (SWE) with appropriate boundary conditions (BCs), e.g., the discharge and/or the free surface elevation, constitute the forward problem, to predict flow velocity. Then, ROMs of the SWEs are constructed on a nonlinear manifold of low dimensionality through a variational encoder. Estimation with uncertainty quantification (UQ) is performed on the low-dimensional latent space in a Bayesian setting. We have tested our inversion approach on a one-mile reach of the Savannah River, GA, USA. Once the neural network is trained (offline stage), the proposed technique can perform the inversion operation orders of magnitude faster than traditional inversion methods that are commonly based on linear projections, such as principal component analysis (PCA), or the principal component geostatistical approach (PCGA). Furthermore, tests show that the algorithm can estimate the bathymetry with good accuracy even with sparse flow velocity measurements.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2021

Routing algorithms as tools for integrating social distancing with emergency evacuation

One of the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic is the importance of social distancing, even in challenging circumstances such as pre-hurricane evacuation. To explore the implications of integrating social distancing with evacuation operations, we describe this evacuation process as a Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) and solve it using a DNN (Deep Neural Network)-based solution (Deep Reinforcement Learning) and a non-DNN solution (Sweep Algorithm). A central question is whether Deep Reinforcement Learning provides sufficient extra routing efficiency to accommodate increased social distancing in a time-constrained evacuation operation. We found that, in comparison to the Sweep Algorithm, Deep Reinforcement Learning can provide decision-makers with more efficient routing. However, the evacuation time saved by Deep Reinforcement Learning does not come close to compensating for the extra time required for social distancing, and its advantage disappears as the emergency vehicle capacity approaches the number of people per household.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2020

Application of deep learning to large scale riverine flow velocity estimation

Fast and reliable prediction of riverine flow velocities is important in many applications, including flood risk management. The shallow water equations (SWEs) are commonly used for prediction of the flow velocities. However, accurate and fast prediction with standard SWE solvers is challenging in many cases. Traditional approaches are computationally expensive and require high-resolution riverbed profile measurement ( bathymetry) for accurate predictions. As a result, they are a poor fit in situations where they need to be evaluated repetitively due, for example, to varying boundary condition (BC), or when the bathymetry is not known with certainty. In this work, we propose a two-stage process that tackles these issues. First, using the principal component geostatistical approach (PCGA) we estimate the probability density function of the bathymetry from flow velocity measurements, and then we use multiple machine learning algorithms to obtain a fast solver of the SWEs, given augmented realizations from the posterior bathymetry distribution and the prescribed range of BCs. The first step allows us to predict flow velocities without direct measurement of the bathymetry. Furthermore, the augmentation of the distribution in the second stage allows incorporation of the additional bathymetry information into the flow velocity prediction for improved accuracy and generalization, even if the bathymetry changes over time. Here, we use three solvers, referred to as PCA-DNN (principal component analysis-deep neural network), SE (supervised encoder), and SVE (supervised variational encoder), and validate them on a reach of the Savannah river near Augusta, GA. Our results show that the fast solvers are capable of predicting flow velocities with good accuracy, at a computational cost that is significantly lower than the cost of solving the full boundary value problem with traditional methods.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2015

A Fast Algorithm for Parabolic PDE-based Inverse Problems Based on Laplace Transforms and Flexible Krylov Solvers

We consider the problem of estimating parameters in large-scale weakly nonlinear inverse problems for which the underlying governing equations is a linear, time-dependent, parabolic partial differential equation. A major challenge in solving these inverse problems using Newton-type methods is the computational cost associated with solving the forward problem and with repeated construction of the Jacobian, which represents the sensitivity of the measurements to the unknown parameters. Forming the Jacobian can be prohibitively expensive because it requires repeated solutions of the forward and adjoint time-dependent parabolic partial differential equations corresponding to multiple sources and receivers. We propose an efficient method based on a Laplace transform-based exponential time integrator combined with a flexible Krylov subspace approach to solve the resulting shifted systems of equations efficiently. Our proposed solver speeds up the computation of the forward and adjoint problems, thus yielding significant speedup in total inversion time. We consider an application from Transient Hydraulic Tomography (THT), which is an imaging technique to estimate hydraulic parameters related to the subsurface from pressure measurements obtained by a series of pumping tests. The algorithms discussed are applied to a synthetic example taken from THT to demonstrate the resulting computational gains of this proposed method.

math.NA↗

arXiv2015

Randomized algorithms for Generalized Hermitian Eigenvalue Problems with application to computing Karhunen-Loève expansion

We describe randomized algorithms for computing the dominant eigenmodes of the Generalized Hermitian Eigenvalue Problem (GHEP) $Ax=λBx$, with $A$ Hermitian and $B$ Hermitian and positive definite. The algorithms we describe only require forming operations $Ax$, $Bx$ and $B^{-1}x$ and avoid forming square-roots of $B$ (or operations of the form, $B^{1/2}x$ or $B^{-1/2}x$). We provide a convergence analysis and a posteriori error bounds that build upon the work of~\cite{halko2011finding,liberty2007randomized,martinsson2011randomized} (which have been derived for the case $B=I$). Additionally, we derive some new results that provide insight into the accuracy of the eigenvalue calculations. The error analysis shows that the randomized algorithm is most accurate when the generalized singular values of $B^{-1}A$ decay rapidly. A randomized algorithm for the Generalized Singular Value Decomposition (GSVD) is also provided. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of our algorithm on computing the Karhunen-Loève expansion, which is a computationally intensive GHEP problem with rapidly decaying eigenvalues.

math.NA↗

arXiv2015

Fast computation of uncertainty quantification measures in the geostatistical approach to solve inverse problems

We consider the computational challenges associated with uncertainty quantification involved in parameter estimation such as seismic slowness and hydraulic transmissivity fields. The reconstruction of these parameters can be mathematically described as Inverse Problems which we tackle using the Geostatistical approach. The quantification of uncertainty in the Geostatistical approach involves computing the posterior covariance matrix which is prohibitively expensive to fully compute and store. We consider an efficient representation of the posterior covariance matrix at the maximum a posteriori (MAP) point as the sum of the prior covariance matrix and a low-rank update that contains information from the dominant generalized eigenmodes of the data misfit part of the Hessian and the inverse covariance matrix. The rank of the low-rank update is typically independent of the dimension of the unknown parameter. The cost of our method scales as $\bigO(m\log m)$ where $m $ dimension of unknown parameter vector space. Furthermore, we show how to efficiently compute measures of uncertainty that are based on scalar functions of the posterior covariance matrix. The performance of our algorithms is demonstrated by application to model problems in synthetic travel-time tomography and steady-state hydraulic tomography. We explore the accuracy of the posterior covariance on different experimental parameters and show that the cost of approximating the posterior covariance matrix depends on the problem size and is not sensitive to other experimental parameters.

math.NA↗

arXiv2015

Fast Kalman Filter using Hierarchical-matrices and low-rank perturbative approach

We develop a fast algorithm for Kalman Filter applied to the random walk forecast model. The key idea is an efficient representation of the estimate covariance matrix at each time-step as a weighted sum of two contributions - the process noise covariance matrix and a low rank term computed from a generalized eigenvalue problem, which combines information from the noise covariance matrix and the data. We describe an efficient algorithm to update the weights of the above terms and the computation of eigenmodes of the generalized eigenvalue problem (GEP). The resulting algorithm for the Kalman filter with a random walk forecast model scales as $\bigO(N)$ in memory and $\bigO(N \log N)$ in computational cost, where $N$ is the number of grid points. We show how to efficiently compute measures of uncertainty and conditional realizations from the state distribution at each time step. An extension to the case with nonlinear measurement operators is also discussed. Numerical experiments demonstrate the performance of our algorithms, which are applied to a synthetic example from monitoring CO$_2$ in the subsurface using travel time tomography.

math.NA↗

arXiv2014

A Kalman filter powered by $\mathcal{H}^2$-matrices for quasi-continuous data assimilation problems

Continuously tracking the movement of a fluid or a plume in the subsurface is a challenge that is often encountered in applications, such as tracking a plume of injected CO$_2$ or of a hazardous substance. Advances in monitoring techniques have made it possible to collect measurements at a high frequency while the plume moves, which has the potential advantage of providing continuous high-resolution images of fluid flow with the aid of data processing. However, the applicability of this approach is limited by the high computational cost associated with having to analyze large data sets within the time constraints imposed by real-time monitoring. Existing data assimilation methods have computational requirements that increase super-linearly with the size of the unknowns $m$. In this paper, we present the HiKF, a new Kalman filter (KF) variant powered by the hierarchical matrix approach that dramatically reduces the computational and storage cost of the standard KF from $\mathcal{O}(m^2)$ to $\mathcal{O}(m)$, while producing practically the same results. The version of HiKF that is presented here takes advantage of the so-called random walk dynamical model, which is tailored to a class of data assimilation problems in which measurements are collected quasi-continuously. The proposed method has been applied to a realistic CO$_2$ injection model and compared with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). Numerical results show that HiKF can provide estimates that are more accurate than EnKF, and also demonstrate the usefulness of modeling the system dynamics as a random walk in this context.

math.NA↗

arXiv2014

A Flexible Krylov Solver for Shifted Systems with Application to Oscillatory Hydraulic Tomography

We discuss efficient solutions to systems of shifted linear systems arising in computations for oscillatory hydraulic tomography (OHT). The reconstruction of hydrogeological parameters such as hydraulic conductivity and specific storage using limited discrete measurements of pressure (head) obtained from sequential oscillatory pumping tests, leads to a nonlinear inverse problem. We tackle this using the quasi-linear geostatistical approach \cite{kitanidis1995quasi}. This method requires repeated solution of the forward (and adjoint) problem for multiple frequencies, for which we use flexible preconditioned Krylov subspace solvers specifically designed for shifted systems based on ideas in \cite{gu2007flexible}. The solvers allow the preconditioner to change at each iteration. We analyze the convergence of the solver and perform an error analysis when an iterative solver is used for inverting the preconditioner matrices. Finally, we apply our algorithm to a challenging application taken from oscillatory hydraulic tomography to demonstrate the computational gains by using the resulting method.

math.NA↗

arXiv2012

An Improved Data Assimilation Scheme for High Dimensional Nonlinear Systems

Nonlinear/non-Gaussian filtering has broad applications in many areas of life sciences where either the dynamic is nonlinear and/or the probability density function of uncertain state is non-Gaussian. In such problems, the accuracy of the estimated quantities depends highly upon how accurately their posterior pdf can be approximated. In low dimensional state spaces, methods based on Sequential Importance Sampling (SIS) can suitably approximate the posterior pdf. For higher dimensional problems, however, these techniques are usually inappropriate since the required number of particles to achieve satisfactory estimates grows exponentially with the dimension of state space. On the other hand, ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and its variants are more suitable for large-scale problems due to transformation of particles in the Bayesian update step. It has been shown that the latter class of methods may lead to suboptimal solutions for strongly nonlinear problems due to the Gaussian assumption in the update step. In this paper, we introduce a new technique based on the Gaussian sum expansion which captures the non-Gaussian features more accurately while the required computational effort remains within reason for high dimensional problems. We demonstrate the performance of the method for non-Gaussian processes through several examples including the strongly nonlinear Lorenz models. Results show a remarkable improvement in the mean square error compared to EnKF, and a desirable convergence behavior as the number of particles increases.

stat.CO↗