Estimation as minimization
§Solve for x with an approximate, iterative method rather than an exact matrix inversion

§Start with guess x0, compute gradient                                   efficiently with an adjoint model, search for minimum along -, compute new and repeat
§Good for non-linear problems;  use conjugate gradient or BFGS approaches
§Low-rank covariance matrix built up as iterations progress
§As with Kalman filter, transport errors can be handled as dynamic noise