Volker Michel is a mathematics professor at the University of Siegen where he founded the geomathematics group. He is also an editor-in-chief of the 'International Journal on Geomathematics' and a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Geodesy and Mathematics of Computation and Data Science. Previous works include Lectures on Constructive Approximation (Springer, 2013) and 'Multiscale Potential Theory' (Birkhauser, 2004) with Willi Freeden. Michel has organised several conferences on inverse problems and geomathematics.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Required Mathematical Basics; 3. Gravitation and Harmonic Functions; 4. Basis Functions; 5. Inverse Problems; 6. The Magnetic Field; 7. Mathematical Models in Seismology; Appendix A. Hints for the Exercises; Appendix B. Questions for Understanding; References; Index.

'Volker does a good job of presenting thorough associated proofs. These chapters serve much as a mathematical methods survey course would in a physics curriculum, presenting the needed mathematics without unduly burdening the reader with the breadth that would normally be offered in a mathematics course … Recommended.' E. Kincanon, Choice