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iTOUGH2 is a simulation-optimization framework for the TOUGH suite of nonisothermal multiphase flow models and related simulators of geophysical, geochemical, and geomechanical processes. After appropriate parameterization of subsurface structures and their properties, iTOUGH2 runs simulations for multiple parameter sets and analyzes the resulting output for parameter estimation through automatic model calibration, local and global sensitivity analyses, data-worth analyses, and uncertainty propagation analyses. Development of iTOUGH2 is driven by scientific challenges and user needs, with new capabilities continually added to both the forward simulator and the optimization framework. This review article provides a summary description of methods and features implemented in iTOUGH2, and discusses the usefulness and limitations of an integrated simulation-optimization workflow in support of the characterization and analysis of complex multiphysics subsurface systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imaging of the evolution of conductive fluids in porous media with electrical resistance tomography (ERT) can be considered as a dynamic inverse problem, in which the time-dependent electrical conductivity distribution in the target region is inferred from voltage measurements at electrodes placed in boreholes or on the ground surface. A petrophysical relationship is then used to relate the electrical conductivity to water saturation. We consider a state estimation approach that combines the complete electrode model for simulating ERT measurements and a hydrological evolution model for unsaturated flow. To demonstrate the approach, we consider synthetic measurements from a simulated experiment in which water is injected from a point source into an initially dry soil. The purpose is to carry out a feasible study. In the studied simple cases, the proposed method provides improved estimates of the water saturation distribution compared to the traditional reconstruction approach, which does not employ an evolution model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]