Inversions of electromagnetic data from different coil configurations provi
de independent information about geological structures. We develop a 1-D in
version algorithm that can invert data from the horizontal coplanar (HC), v
ertical coplanar, coaxial (CA), and perpendicular coil configurations separ
ately or jointly. The inverse problem is solved by minimizing a model objec
tive function subject to data constraints. Tests using synthetic data from
1-D models indicate that if data are collected at a sufficient number of fr
equencies, then the recovered models from individual inversions of differen
t coil systems can be quite similar. However, if only a limited number of f
requencies are available, then joint inversion of data from different coils
produces a better model than the individual inversions. Tests on 3-D synth
etic data sets indicate that 1-D inversions can be used as a fast and appro
ximate tool to locate anomalies in the subsurface. Also for the test exampl
e presented here, the joint inversion of HC and CA data over a 3-D conducti
vity provided a better model than that produced by the individual inversion
of the data sets.