Bayesian inference for data assimilation using Least-Squares Finite Element methods

It has recently been observed that Least-Squares Finite Element methods (LS-FEMs) can be used to assimilate experimental data into approximations of PDEs in a natural way, as shown by Heyes et al. in the case of incompressible Navier-Stokes flow. The approach was shown to be effective without regularization terms, and can handle substantial noise in the experimental data without filtering. Of great practical importance is that - unlike other data assimilation techniques - it is not significantly more expensive than a single physical simulation. However the method as presented so far in the literature is not set in the context of an inverse problem framework, so that for example the meaning of the final result is unclear. In this paper it is shown that the method can be interpreted as finding a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator in a Bayesian approach to data assimilation, with normally distributed observational noise, and a Bayesian prior based on an appropriate norm of the governing equations. In this setting the method may be seen to have several desirable properties: most importantly discretization and modelling error in the simulation code does not affect the solution in limit of complete experimental information, so these errors do not have to be modelled statistically. Also the Bayesian interpretation better justifies the choice of the method, and some useful generalizations become apparent. The technique is applied to incompressible Navier-Stokes flow in a pipe with added velocity data, where its effectiveness, robustness to noise, and application to inverse problems is demonstrated.