Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
December 2000
Contents
I Gravity Surveying 5
1
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 2
II Magnetic Surveying 67
3 My section 116
3.1 My subsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
3.1.1 My subsubsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
10 My section 145
10.1 My subsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
10.1.1 My subsubsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
5
Part I
Gravity Surveying
1 Geophysical Surveying Using Gravity (T. Boyd)
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Gravitational Force
under the influence of the gravitational force. That is, if you drop a rock off
a cliff, it not only falls, but its speed increases as it falls.
In addition to defining the law of mutual attraction between masses,
Newton also defined the relationship between a force and an acceleration.
Newtons second law states that force is proportional to acceleration.
F = m2 g (2)
Contrary to what you might first think, the shape of the curve describing
the variation in gravitational acceleration is not dependent on the absolute
densities of the rocks. It is only dependent on the density difference (usually
referred to as density contrast) between the ore body and the surrounding
soil. That is, the spatial variation in the gravitational acceleration4 gener-
ated from our previous example would be exactly the same if we were to
assume different densities for the ore body and the surrounding soil, as long
as the density contrast, d2 - d1, between the ore body and the surrounding
soil were constant. One example of a model that satisfies this condition is
to let the density of the soil be zero and the density of the ore body be d2 -
d1, Figure 7.
The only difference in the gravitational accelerations produced by the
two structures shown above (one given by the original model and one given
by setting the density of the soil to zero and the ore body to d2 - d1)
is an offset in the curve derived from the two models. The offset is such
that at great distances from the ore body, the gravitational acceleration
approaches zero in the model which uses a soil density of zero rather than the
non-zero constant value the acceleration approaches in the original model.
For identifying the location of the ore body, the fact that the gravitational
accelerations approach zero away from the ore body instead of some non-zero
number is unimportant. What is important is the size of the difference in the
gravitational acceleration near the ore body and away from the ore body and
the shape of the spatial variation in the gravitational acceleration. Thus, the
latter model that employs only the density contrast of the ore body to the
surrounding soil contains all of the relevant information needed to identify
the location and shape of the ore body.
4
It is common to use expressions like Gravity Field as a synonym for gravitational
acceleration.
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 13
Thus far it sounds like a fairly simple proposition to estimate the variation
in density of the earth due to local changes in geology. There are, how-
ever, several significant complications. The first has to do with the density
contrasts measured for various earth materials.
The densities associated with various earth materials are shown in Ta-
ble 1.
Notice that the relative variation in rock density is quite small, 0.8 gm/cm3 ,
and there is considerable overlap in the measured densities. Hence, a knowl-
edge of rock density alone will not be sufficient to determine rock type.
This small variation in rock density also implies that the spatial varia-
tions in the observed gravitational acceleration caused by geologic structures
will be quite small and thus difficult to detect.
buried at a depth of 25 meters below the surface, and with a density contrast
to the surrounding rocks of 0.5 g/cm3 From the table of rock densities,
Table 1, notice that the chosen density contrast is actually fairly large. The
specifics of how the gravitational acceleration was computed are not, at this
time, important.
There are several things to notice about the gravity anomaly5 produced
by this structure.
The gravity anomaly produced by a buried sphere is symmetric about
the center of the sphere. The maximum value of the anomaly is quite small.
For this example, 0.025 mgals. The magnitude of the gravity anomaly ap-
proaches zero at small ( 60 meters) horizontal distances away from the
center of the sphere.
Later, we will explore how the size and shape of the gravity anomaly
is affected by the model parameters such as the radius of the ore body, its
density contrast, and its depth of burial. At this time, simply note that
the gravity anomaly produced by this reasonably-sized ore body is small.
When compared to the gravitational acceleration produced by the earth as
a whole, 980000 mgals, the anomaly produced by the ore body represents a
change in the gravitational field of only 1 part in 40 million.
Clearly, a variation in gravity this small is going to be difficult to mea-
sure. Also, factors other than geologic structure might produce variations
in the observed gravitational acceleration that are as large, if not larger.
While it is true that Galileo did make these observations, he didnt use a
falling body experiment to do them. Rather, he used measurements based
on pendulums.
It is easy to show that the distance a body falls is proportional to the
time it has fallen squared. The proportionality constant is the gravitational
acceleration, g. Therefore, by measuring distances and times as a body falls,
it is possible to estimate the gravitational acceleration, Figure 9.
To measure changes in the gravitational acceleration down to 1 part in
40 million using an instrument of reasonable size (say one that allows the
object to drop 1 meter), we need to be able to measure changes in distance
down to 1 part in 10 million and changes in time down to 1 part in 100
million!! As you can imagine, it is difficult to make measurements with this
level of accuracy.
It is, however, possible to design an instrument capable of measuring
accurate distances and times and computing the absolute gravity down to 1
microgal (0.001 mgals; this is a measurement accuracy of almost 1 part in 1
billion!!). Micro-g Solutions is one manufacturer of this type of instrument,
known as an Absolute Gravimeter. Unlike the instruments described next,
this class of instruments is the only field instrument designed to measure
absolute gravity. That is, this instrument measures the size of the verti-
cal component of gravitational acceleration at a given point. As described
previously, the instruments more commonly used in exploration surveys are
capable of measuring only the change in gravitational acceleration from point
to point, not the absolute value of gravity at any one point.
Although absolute gravimeters are more expensive than the traditional,
relative gravimeters and require a longer station occupation time (1/2 day to
1 day per station), the increased precision offered by them and the fact that
the looping strategies described later are not required to remove instrument
drift or tidal variations may outweigh the extra expense in operating them.
This is particularly true when survey designs require large station spacings
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 19
Tower of Pisa.
If we were to construct a simple pendulum by hanging a mass from a
rod and then displace the mass from vertical, the pendulum would begin
to oscillate about the vertical in a regular fashion, Figure 10. The rele-
vant parameter that describes this oscillation is known as the period6 of
oscillation.
The reason that the pendulum oscillates about the vertical is that if the
pendulum is displaced, the force of gravity pulls down on the pendulum. The
pendulum begins to move downward. When the pendulum reaches vertical
it cant stop instantaneously. The pendulum continues past the vertical and
upward in the opposite direction. The force of gravity slows it down until
it eventually stops and begins to fall again. If there is no friction where the
pendulum is attached to the ceiling and there is no wind resistance to the
motion of the pendulum, this would continue forever.
Because it is the force of gravity that produces the oscillation, one might
expect the period of oscillation to differ for differing values of gravity. In
particular, if the force of gravity is small, there is less force pulling the
pendulum downward, the pendulum moves more slowly toward vertical, and
the observed period of oscillation becomes longer. Thus, by measuring the
period of oscillation of a pendulum, we can estimate the gravitational force
or acceleration.
It can be shown that the period of oscillation of the pendulum, T, is
proportional to one over the square root of the gravitational acceleration, g.
q
T =2 (k/g) (4)
8
Figure from Introduction to Geophysical Prospecting, M. Dobrin and C. Savit.
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 24
Thus far we have shown how variations in the gravitational acceleration can
be measured and how these changes might relate to subsurface variations
in density. Weve also shown that the spatial variations in gravitational
acceleration expected from geologic structures can be quite small.
Because these variations are so small, we must now consider other factors
that can give rise to variations in gravitational acceleration that are as large,
if not larger, than the expected geologic signal. These complicating factors
can be subdivided into two catagories: those that give rise to temporal
variations and those that give rise to spatial variations in the gravitational
acceleration.
Figure 14: Tidal variations at a fixed location (red) and the interpreted
instrument drift (green).
nent of gravity. Unlike instrument drift, which results from the temporally
varying characteristics of the gravimeter, this component represents real
changes in the gravitational acceleration. Unfortunately, these are changes
that do not relate to local geology and are hence a form of noise in our
observations.
Just as the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon distorts the
shape of the ocean surface, it also distorts the shape of the earth. Because
rocks yield to external forces much less readily than water, the amount the
earth distorts under these external forces is far less than the amount the
oceans distort. The size of the ocean tides, the name given to the distortion
of the ocean caused by the sun and moon, is measured in terms of meters.
The size of the solid earth tide, the name given to the distortion of the earth
caused by the sun and moon, is measured in terms of centimeters.
This distortion of the solid earth produces measurable changes in the
gravitational acceleration because as the shape of the earth changes, the
distance of the gravimeter to the center of the earth changes (recall that
gravitational acceleration is proportional to one over distance squared). The
distortion of the earth varies from location to location, but it can be large
enough to produce variations in gravitational acceleration as large as 0.2
mgals. This effect would easily overwhelm the example gravity anomaly
described previously.
An example of the variation in gravitational acceleration observed at
one location (Tulsa, Oklahoma) is shown in Figure 1512 . These are raw
observations that include both instrument drift (notice how there is a general
trend in increasing gravitational acceleration with increasing time) and tides
(the cyclic variation in gravity with a period of oscillation of about 12 hours).
In this case the amplitude of the tidal variation is about 0.15 mgals, and
the amplitude of the drift appears to be about 0.12 mgals over two days
(Figure 14).
12
Data are from: Wolf, A. Tidal Force Observations, Geophysics, V, 317-320, 1940.
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 29
have values at the base station that are known (or assumed to be known)
accurately. Data from the base station may be used to normalize data from
other stations.**
This procedure is rarely used for a number of reasons.
It requires the use of two gravimeters. For many gravity surveys, this
is economically infeasable.
The use of two instruments requires the mobilization of two field crews,
again adding to the cost of the survey.
them. From these intermittant observations, we could then assume that the
tidal and drift components of the field varied linearly (that is, are defined
as straight lines) between observation points, and predict the time-varying
components of the gravity field at any time.
For this method to be successful, it is vitally important that the time
interval used to intermittantly measure the tidal and drift components not
be too large. In other words, the straight-line segments used to estimate
these components must be relatively short. If they are too large, we will get
inaccurate estimates of the temporal variability of the tides and instrument
drift.
For example, assume that instead of using the green lines to estimate the
tidal and drift components we could use the longer line segments shown in
blue. Obviously, the blue line is a poor approximation to the time-varying
components of the gravity field. If we were to use it, we would incorrectly
account for the tidal and drift components of the field. Furthermore, because
we only estimate these components intermittantly (that is, at the end points
of the blue line) we would never know we had incorrectly accounted for these
components.
Establish the location of one or more gravity base stations. The lo-
cation of the base station for this particular survey is shown as the
yellow circle. Because we will be making repeated gravity observa-
tions at the base station, its location should be easily accessible from
the gravity stations comprising the survey. This location is identified,
for this particular station, by station number 9625 (This number was
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 32
Figure 16: Detail plot of tidal and drift variation in gravity data from a
fixed station.
Establish the locations of the gravity stations appropriate for the par-
ticular survey. In this example, the location of the gravity stations are
indicated by the blue circles. On the map, the locations are identified
by a station number, in this case 158 through 163.
Figure 17: The true tide/drift curve (dots) can be approximated by straight
line segments (green). But if the time interval between calibration measure-
ments is too long, we get a poor approximation (blue).
the base station and remeasure the relative gravity at this location.
Again, the time at which the observation is made is noted.
After recording the gravity at the last survey station, or at the end of
the day, we return to the base station and make one final reading of
the gravity.
slice will be perpendicular to the equator and will follow a line of constant
longitude between the poles.
Shape To a first-order approximation, the shape of the earth through
this slice is elliptical, with the widest portion of the ellipse aligning with
the equator. This model for the earths shape was first proposed by Isaac
Newton in 1687. Newton based his assessment of the earths shape on a set
of observations provided to him by a friend, named Richer, who happened
to be a navigator on a ship. Richer observed that a pendulum clock that
ran accurately in London consistently lost 2 minutes a day near the equator.
Newton used this observation to estimate the difference in the radius of the
earth measured at the equator from that measured at one of the poles and
came remarkably close to the currently accepted values.
Although the difference in earth radii measured at the poles and at the
equator is only 22 km (this value represents a change in earth radius of
only 0.3in conjunction with the earths rotation, can produce a measurable
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 39
force is relatively large at the equator and goes to zero at the poles. The
direction this force acts is always away from the axis of rotation. Therefore,
this force acts to reduce the gravitational acceleration we would observe at
any point on the earth, from that which would be observed if the earth were
not rotating.
rotation.
The mathematical formula used to predict the components of the grav-
itational acceleration produced by the earths shape and rotation is called
the Geodetic Reference Formula of 1967. The predicted gravity is called the
normal gravity,
on the surface of the earth varies at about -0.3086 mgal per meter in elevation
difference. The minus sign indicates that as the elevation increases, the
observed gravitational acceleration decreases. The magnitude of the number
says that if two gravity readings are made at the same location, but one is
done a meter above the other, the reading taken at the higher elevation will
be 0.3086 mgal less than the lower. Compared to size of the gravity anomaly
computed from the simple model of an ore body, 0.025 mgal, the elevation
effect is huge!
To apply an elevation correction to our observed gravity, we need to
know the elevation of every gravity station. If this is known, we can correct
all of the observed gravity readings to a common elevation16 (usually chosen
to be sea level) by adding -0.3086 times the elevation of the station in meters
to each reading. Given the relatively large size of the expected corrections,
how accurately do we actually need to know the station elevations?
If we require a precision of 0.01 mgals, then relative station elevations
need to be known to about 3 cm. To get such a precision requires very
careful location surveying to be done. In fact, one of the primary costs of a
high-precision gravity survey is in obtaining the relative elevations needed
to compute the Free-Air correction.
mass below the reading taken at a higher elevation than there is of one taken
at a lower elevation.
As a first-order correction for this additional mass, we will assume that
the excess mass underneath the observation point at higher elevation, point
B in Figure 25, can be approximated by a slab of uniform density and thick-
ness. Obviously, this description does not accurately describe the nature of
the mass below point B. The topography is not of uniform thickness around
point B and the density of the rocks probably varies with location. At this
stage, however, we are only attempting to make a first-order correction.
More detailed corrections will be considered next.
tum. Notice that the sign of this correction is opposite to that used for the
elevation correction.
Also notice that to apply the Bouguer Slab correction we need to know
the elevations of all of the observation points and the density of the slab
used to approximate the excess mass. In choosing a density, use an average
density for the rocks in the survey area. For a density of 2.67 gm/cm3 , the
Bouguer Slab Correction is about 0.11 mgals/m.
where is the average density of the rocks underlying the survey area.
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lets now assume that the sedimentary rocks in which the ore body resides
are underlain by a denser Granitic basement that dips to the right. This
geologic model and the gravity profile that would be observed over it are
shown in Figure 27
Notice that the observed gravity profile is dominated by a trend indi-
cating decreasing gravitational acceleration from left to right. This trend is
the result of the dipping basement interface. Unfortunately, were not in-
terested in mapping the basement interface in this problem; rather, we have
designed the gravity survey to identify the location of the buried ore body.
The gravitational anomaly caused by the ore body is indicated by the small
hump at the center of the gravity profile.
The gravity profile produced by the basement interface only is shown
in figure 28. Clearly, if we knew what the gravitational acceleration caused
by the basement was, we could remove it from our observations and iso-
late the anomaly caused by the ore body. This could be done simply by
subtracting the gravitational acceleration caused by the basement contact
from the observed gravitational acceleration caused by the ore body and
the basement interface. For this problem, we do know the contribution to
the observed gravitational acceleration from basement, and this subraction
yields the desired gravitational anomaly due to the ore body, Figure 29.
From this simple example you can see that there are two contributions
to our observed gravitational acceleration. The first is caused by large-scale
geologic structure that is not of interest. The gravitational acceleration
produced by these large-scale features is referred to as the Regional Gravity
Anomaly. The second contribution is caused by smaller-scale structure for
which the survey was designed to detect. That portion of the observed
gravitational acceleration associated with these structures is referred to as
the Local or the Residual Gravity Anomaly.
Because the Regional Gravity Anomaly is often much larger in size than
the Local Gravity Anomaly, as in the example shown above, it is imperative
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that we develop a means to effectively remove this effect from our gravity
observations before attempting to interpret the gravity observations for local
geologic structure.
Figure 27: Gravity profile over a simple ore body and complicating geologic
structure. Density values shown are relative to sediment density.
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Figure 28: Gravity profile due to the basement structure alone the regional
gravity anomaly.
Figure 29: By subtracting the regional gravity anomaly from the original
gravity profile, we generate the gravity anomaly associated with the ore
body.
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 55
buried cylinder will increase the size of the gravity anomaly it produces
without changing the breadth of the anomaly. Thus, regional contributions
to the observed gravity field that are large in amplitude and broad in shape
are assumed to be deep (producing the large breadth in shape) and large in
aerial extent (producing a large amplitude).
Because Regional Anomalies vary slowly along a particular profile and Lo-
cal Anomalies vary more rapidly, any method that can identify and isolate
slowly varying portions of the gravity field can be used to separate Regional
and Local Gravity Anomalies. The methods generally fall into three broad
categories:
Although the interpretive nature of the moving average method for esti-
mating the regional gravity contribution is readily apparent, you should be
aware that all of the methods described above require interpreter input of
one form or another. Thus, no matter which method is used to estimate the
regional component of the gravity field, it should always be considered an
interpretational process.
Figure 32: Two moving average examples calculated from the sample gravity
data.
Substituting these into our expression for the vertical component of the
gravitational acceleration caused by a point mass, we obtain
Gmz
g = 2 . (14)
(x + z 2 )3/2
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 62
Knowing the depth of burial, z, of the point mass, its mass, m, and the
gravitational constant, G, we can compute the gravitational acceleration we
would observe over a point mass at various distances by simply varying x in
the above expression. An example of the shape of the gravity anomaly we
would observe over a single point mass is shown above.
Therefore, if we thought our observed gravity anomaly was generated by
a mass distribution within the earth that approximated a point mass, we
could use the above expression to generate predicted gravity anomalies for
given point mass depths and masses and determine the point mass depth and
mass by matching the observations with those predicted from our model.
Although a point mass doesnt appear to be a geologically plausible den-
sity distribution, as we will show next, this simple expression for the grav-
itational acceleration forms the basis by which gravity anomalies over any
more complicated density distribution within the earth can be computed.
also represents the gravitational acceleration over a buried sphere. For ap-
plication with a spherical body, it is convenient to rewrite the mass, m, in
terms of the volume and the density contrast of the sphere with the sur-
rounding earth using
4
m = v where v= R3 (16)
3
where v is the volume of the sphere, is the density contrast of the sphere
with the surrounding rock, and R is the radius of the sphere. Thus, the
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gravitational field over the structure. The gravitational field, however, can
not uniquely define the geologic structure that produced it.
If this is the case, how do we determine which model is correct? To do
this we must incorporate additional observations on which to base our inter-
pretation. These additional observations presumably will limit the range of
acceptable models we should consider when interpreting our gravity observa-
tions. These observations could include geologic observations or observations
from different types of geophysical surveys.
Figure 35: Gravity anomalies over four spheres with different radius and
density. Due to non-uniqueness, all profiles are identical.
Liner Env Geophysics Reader 66
Figure 36: The gravity profile for an arbitray body can be approximated by
considering it to be composed of many point masses.
Part II
Magnetic Surveying
2 Geophysical Surveying Using Magnetic Meth-
ods (T. Boyd)
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Historical Overview
Unlike the gravitational field, which does not change significantly with
time20 , the magnetic field is highly time dependent.
Recall that the gravitational force exerted between two point masses of mass
m1 and m2 separated by a distance r is given by Newtons law of gravitation,
which is written as
G m 1 m2
Fg = (22)
r2
where G is the gravitational constant. This law, in words, simply states that
the gravitational force exerted between two bodies decreases as one over the
square of the distance separating the bodies. Since mass, distance, and the
gravitational constant are always positive values, the gravitational force is
always an attractive force.
Charles Augustin de Coulomb, in 1785, showed that the force of attrac-
tion or repulsion between electrically charged bodies and between magnetic
poles also obey an inverse square law like that derived for gravity by Newton.
20
By this we are only referring to that portion of the gravity field produced by the
internal density distribution and not that produced by the tidal or drift components of
the observed field. That portion of the magnetic field relating to internal earth structure
can vary significantly with time.
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Given that the magnetic force applied to one magnetic monopole by another
magnetic monopole is given by Coulombs equation, what does the force look
like? Assume that there is a negative magnetic pole, p1 < 0.0, located at
a point x = 1 and y = 0. Now, lets take a positive magnetic pole,
p2 > 0.0, and move it to some location (x, y) and measure the strength and
the direction of the magnetic force field. Well plot this force as an arrow in
the direction of the force with a length indicating the strength of the force.
Repeat this by moving the positive pole to a new location. After doing
this at many locations, you will produce a plot similar to the one shown in
Figure 37.
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Figure 39: Force components for two magnetic monopoles (red and purple)
a magnetic dipole (green).
Another way to visualize the magnetic force field associated with a magnetic
dipole is to plot the field lines for the force. Field lines are nothing more
than a set of lines drawn such that they are everywhere parallel to the
direction of the force you are trying to describe, in this case the magnetic
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The units associated with magnetic poles and the magnetic field are a
bit more obscure than those associated with the gravitational field. From
23
Unlike the force plots shown on the previous page, the arrows representing the force
have not been rescaled. Thus, you can now see how rapidly the size of the force decreases
with distance from the dipole. Small forces are represented only by an arrow head that is
constant in size. In addition, please note that the vertical axis in the above plot covers a
distance almost three times as large as the horizontal axis.
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Figure 41: Field lines (red) and force vectors (green) for a magnetic dipole.
Coulombs expression,
1 p1 p2
Fm = (24)
r2
we know that force must be given in Newtons,N , where a Newton is a
kg m/s2 . We also know that distance has the units of meters, m. Perme-
ability, ;, is defined to be a unitless constant. The units of pole strength
are defined such that if the force, F , is 1 N and the two magnetic poles are
separated by 1 m, each of the poles has a strength of 1 Amp m (Ampere-
meters). In this case, the poles are referred to as unit poles.
The magnetic field strength, H, is defined as the force per unit pole
strength exerted by a magnetic monopole, p1 . H is nothing more than
Coulombs expression divided by p2 ,
Fm p1
H= = (25)
p2 r2
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positive or negative values. Positive values imply that the induced magnetic
field, I, is in the same direction as the inducing field, H. Negative values
imply that the induced magnetic field is in the opposite direction as the
inducing field.
In magnetic prospecting, the susceptibility is the fundamental material
property whose spatial distribution we are attempting to determine. In this
sense, magnetic susceptibility is analogous to density in gravity surveying.
Figure 43: Concept of a pure ferromagnetic material, examples are the ele-
ments iron, cobalt and nickel.
duced magnetic field. In this case, the inducing field is the Earths magnetic
field. As the Earths magnetic field changes with time, a portion of the in-
duced field in the rock does not change but remains fixed in a direction and
strength reflective of the Earths magnetic field at the time the rock cooled
through its Curie Temperature. This is the remanent magnetization of the
rockthe recorded magnetic field of the Earth at the time the rock cooled
past its Curie Temperature.
The only way you can measure the remanent magnetic component of a
rock is to take a sample of the rock back to the laboratory for analysis. This
is time consuming and expensive. As a result, in exploration geophysics,
we typically assume there is no remanent magnetic component in the ob-
served magnetic field. Clearly, however, this assumption is wrong and could
possibly bias our interpretations.
As you can see, although we started by comparing the magnetic field to the
gravitational field, the specifics of magnetism are far more complex than
gravitation. Despite this, it is still useful to start from the intuition you
have gained through your study of gravitation when trying to understand
magnetism. Before continuing, however, we need to define some of the
relevant terms we will use to describe the Earths magnetic field.
When discussing gravity, we really didnt talk much about how we de-
scribe gravitational acceleration. To some extent, this is because such a
description is almost obvious; gravitational accleration has some size (mea-
sured in geophysics with a gravimeter in mgals), and it is always acting
downward (in fact, it is how we define down). Because the magnetic field
does not act along any such easily definable direction, earth scientists have
developed a nomenclature to describe the magnetic field at any point on the
Earths surface.
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At any point on the Earths surface, the magnetic field25 , F , has some
strength and points in some direction. The following terms, see Figure 46,
are used to describe the direction of the magnetic field.
Inclination - The angle between the surface of the earth and F . Posi-
tive inclinations indicate F is pointed downward, negative inclinations
indicate F is pointed upward. Inclination varies from -90 to 90 degrees.
Magnetic Equator - The location around the surface of the Earth where
the Earths magnetic field has an inclination of zero (the magnetic
field vector F is horizontal). This location does not correspond to the
Earths rotational equator.
Magnetic Poles - The locations on the surface of the Earth where the
Earths magnetic field has an inclination of either plus or minus 90
degrees (the magnetic field vector F is vertical). These locations do
not correspond to the Earths north and south poles.
Ninety percent of the Earths magnetic field looks like a magnetic field that
would be generated from a dipolar magnetic source located at the center of
the Earth and aligned with the Earths rotational axis. This first order de-
scription of the Earths magnetic field was first given by Sir William Gilbert
25
In this context, and throughout the remainder of these notes, F includes contributions
from the Earths main magnetic field (the inducing field), induced magnetization from
crustal sources, and any contributions from sources external to the Earth. The main
magnetic field refers to that portion of the Earths magnetic field that is believed to be
generated within the Earths core. It constitutes the largest portion of the magnetic field
and is the field that acts to induce magnetization in crustal rocks that we are interested
in for exploration applications.
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in 1600. The strength of the magnetic field at the poles is about 60 000 nT .
If this dipolar description of the field were complete, then the magnetic
equator would correspond to the Earths equator and the magnetic poles
would correspond to the geographic poles. Alas, as weve come to expect
from magnetism, such a simple description is not sufficient for analysis of
the Earths magnetic field.
The remaining 10% of the magnetic field can not be explained in terms of
simple dipolar sources. Complex models of the Earths magnetic field have
been developed and are available. Shown in Figure 47 is a sample of one of
these models generated by the USGS. The plot shows a map of declinations
for a model of the magnetic field as it appeared in the year 199526 .
If the Earths field were simply dipolar with the axis of the dipole oriented
along the Earths rotational axis, all declinations would be 0 degrees (the
field would always point toward the north). As can be seen, the observed
declinations are quite complex.
As observed on the surface of the earth, the magnetic field can be broken
into three separate components.
Main Field - This is the largest component of the magnetic field and
is believed to be caused by electrical currents in the Earths fluid outer
26
As well describe later, another potential complication in using magnetic observations
is that the Earths magnetic field changes with time!
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core. For exploration work, this field acts as the inducing magnetic
field.
This is all beginning to get a bit complicated. What are we actually going to
observe, and how is this related to geology? The portion of the magnetic field
that we have described as the main magnetic field is believed to be generated
in the Earths core. There are a variety of reasons why geophysicists believe
that the main field is being generated in the Earths core, but these are not
important for our discussion. In addition to these core sources of magnetism,
rocks exist near the Earths surface that are below their Curie temperature
and as such can exhibit induced as well as remanent magnetization27 .
27
We will assume that there is no remanent magnetization throughout the remainder of
this discussion.
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Figure 47: World map showing declination of the geomagnetic field in 1995.
Like the gravitational field, the magnetic field varies with time. When de-
scribing temporal variations of the magnetic field, it is useful to classify these
variations into one of three types depending on their rate of occurence and
source. Please note explicitly that the temporal variations in the magnetic
field that we will be discussing are those that have been observed directly
during human history. As such, the most well-known temporal variation,
magnetic polarity reversals, while important in the study of earth history,
will not be considered in this discussion. We will, however, consider the
following three temporal variations:
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The fact that the Earths magnetic field varies with time was well established
several centuries ago. In fact, this is the primary reason that permanent
magnetic observatories were established from which we have learned how
the magnetic field has changed over the past few centuries. Many sources
of historical information are available.
Shown in Figure 49 is a plot of the declination and inclination of the
magnetic field around Britain from the years 1500 through 1900.
At this one location, you can see that over the past 400 years, the dec-
lination has varied by almost 37 degrees while the inclination has varied
by as much as 13 degrees. These changes are generally assumed to be as-
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sociated with the Earths main magnetic field. That is, these are changes
associated with that portion of the magnetic field believed to be generated
in the Earths core. As such, solid earth geophysicists are very interested in
studying these secular variations, because they can be used to understand
the dynamics of the Earths core.
To understand these temporal variations and to quantify the rate of vari-
ability over time, standard reference models are constructed from magnetic
observatory observations about every five years. One commonly used set
of reference models is known as the International Geomagnetic Reference
Field. Based on these models, it is possible to predict the portion of the
observed magnetic field associated with the Earths main magnetic field at
any point on the Earths surface, both now and for several decades in the
past.
Because the main magnetic field as described by these secular variations
changes slowly with respect to the time it takes us to complete our explo-
ration magnetic survey, this type of temporal variation is of little importance
to us.
Figure 49: Time variation of the declination and inclination of the earths
magnetic field.
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during this event varies by almost 100 nT in a time period shorter than 10
minutes!!
Exploration magnetic surveys should not be conducted during times of
magnetic storms. This is simply because the variations in the field that they
can produce are large, rapid, and spatially varying. Therefore, it is difficult
to correct for them in acquired data.
2.4 Magnetometers
2.4.1 Instrumentation Overview
Instruments for measuring aspects of the Earths magnetic field are among
some of the oldest scientific instruments in existence. Magnetic instruments
can be classified into two types.
Figure 51: Field variation during a magnetic storm can be rapid and dra-
matic.
the horizontal plane. Because the positive pole of the test magnet
is attracted to the Earths negative magnetic pole and the negative
pole of the test magnet is attracted to the Earths positive magnetic
pole, the test magnet will align itself along the horizontal direction
of the Earths magnetic field. Thus, it provides measurements of the
declination of the magnetic field. The earliest known compass was
invented by the Chinese no later than the first century A.D., and
more likely as early as the second century B.C.
Since that time, several other magnetometer designs have been de-
veloped that include the Proton Precession and Alkali-Vapor magne-
tometers.
In the following discussion, we will describe only the fluxgate and the
proton precession magnetometers, because they are the most commonly used
magnetometers in exploration surveys.
that produces induced magnetic fields in the two cores that have the same
strengths but opposite orientations.
A secondary coil surrounds the two ferromagnetic cores and the primary
coil. The magnetic fields induced in the cores by the primary coil produce
a voltage potential in the secondary coil. In the absence of an external
field (i.e., if the earth had no magnetic field), the voltage detected in the
secondary coil would be zero because the magnetic fields generated in the
two cores have the same strength but are in opposite directions (their affects
on the secondary coil exactly cancel).
If the cores are aligned parallel to a component of a weak, external
magnetic field, one core will produce a magnetic field in the same direction
as the external field and reinforce it. The other will be in opposition to the
field and produce an induced field that is smaller. This difference is sufficient
to induce a measureable voltage in the secondary coil that is proportional
to the strength of the magnetic field in the direction of the cores.
Thus, the fluxgate magnetometer is capable of measuring the strength
of any component of the Earths magnetic field by simply re-orienting the
instrument so that the cores are parallel to the desired component. Flux-
gate magnetometers are capable of measuring the strength of the magnetic
field to about 0.5 to 1.0 nT. These are relatively simple instruments to con-
struct, hence they are relatively inexpensive ($5,000 - $10,000). Unlike the
commonly used gravimeters, fluxgate magnetometers show no appreciable
instrument drift with time.
spinning dipole magnets, become aligned along the direction of the applied
field (i.e., along the axis of the cylinder). Power is then cut to the coil by
opening the switch. Because the Earths magnetic field generates a torque
on the aligned, spinning hydrogen nuclei, they begin to precess30 around
the direction of the Earths total field. This precession induces a small
alternating current in the coil. The frequency of the AC current is equal to
the frequency of precession of the nuclei. Because the frequency of precession
is proportional to the strength of the total field and because the constant
of proportionality is well known, the total field strength can be determined
quite accurately.
Like the fluxgate magnetometer, the proton precession magnetometer is
relatively easy to construct. Thus, it is also relatively inexpensive ($5,000 -
$10,000). The strength of the total field can be measured down to about 0.1
nT. Like fluxgate magnetometers, proton precession magnetometers show
no appreciable instrument drift with time.
One of the important advantages of the proton precession magnetometer
is its ease of use and reliability. Sensor orientation need only be set to a
high angle with respect to the Earths magnetic field. No precise leveling or
orientation is needed. If, however, the magnetic field changes rapidly from
place to place (larger than about 600 nT/m), different portions of the cylin-
drical sensor will be influenced by magnetic fields of various magnitudes, and
readings will be seriously degraded. Finally, because the signal generated by
precession is small, this instrument can not be used near AC power sources.
Given the ease of use of the proton precession magnetometer, most explo-
ration geophysical surveys employ this instrument and thus measure only
30
Precession is motion like that experienced by a top as it spins. Because of the Earths
gravitational field, a spinning top not only spins about its axis of rotation, but the axis
of rotation rotates about vertical. This rotation of the tops spin axis is referred to as
precession.
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The main magnetic field, or that part of the Earths magnetic field
generated by deep (outer core) sources. The direction and size of this
component of the magnetic field at some point on the Earths surface
is represented by the vector labeled Fe in the figure.
Magnetic observations are routinely collected using any one of three different
field operational strategies.
Ground Based - Like gravity surveys, magnetic surveys are also com-
monly conducted on foot or with a vehicle. Ground-based surveys
may be necessary when the target of interest requires more closely-
spaced readings than are possible to acquire from the air. In the next
discussion we will concentrate on ground-based surveys. All of this
discussion, however, could be applied to air- and shipborne surveys
also.
When making total field measurements from which estimates of the sub-
surface distribution of magnetic susceptibility or the presence of subsur-
face magnetized bodies are made, it is imperative that factors affecting the
recorded field other than these be eliminated or isolated so that they can be
removed. We have already discussed several of these added complications,
including spatial variations of the Earths main magnetic field and temporal
variations mostly associated with the external magnetic field. In addition
to these factors which we can not control, there are other sources of noise
that we can control.
Because any ferromagnetic substance can produce an induced magnetic
field in the presence of the Earths main field and because modern magne-
tometers are very sensitive (0.1 nT), the field crew running the magnetic
survey must divest itself of all ferrous objects. This includes, but is not lim-
ited to, belt buckles, knives, wire-rimmed glasses, etc. As a result of this,
proton precession magnetometers are typically placed on two to three meter
poles to remove them from potential noise sources worn by the operators,
Figure 55
In addition to noise sources carried by the operators, many sources of
magnetic noise may be found in the environment. These can include any
ferrous objects such as houses, fences, railroad rails, cars, rebar in concrete
foundations, etc. Finally, when using a proton precession magnetometer,
reliable readings will be difficult to obtain near sources of AC power such as
utility lines and transformers.
Like our gravity observations, magnetic readings taken at the same loca-
tion at different times will not yield the same results. There are temporal
variations in both the Earths magnetic and gravitational fields.
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Cheap Instruments - Unlike gravimeters that can cost more than $25,000,
magnetometers are relatively cheap ($7,500).
Corrections for spatial variations in the strength of the Earths main mag-
netic field are referred to as geomagnetic corrections. One commonly used
method of accounting for these variations is to use one of the many mod-
els of the Earths main magnetic field that are available. One such set of
commonly used models of the main field is referred to as the International
Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF).
The IGRF models are regularly updated to account for secular variations.
Given the latitude and longitude of some point on the Earths surface, the
total field strength of the Earths main magnetic field can be calculated.
Consider a small two-dimensional survey. A plan view of such a survey is
shown in Figure 56. One commonly used method of applying the main field
correction is to linearly interpolate the computed values of the main field at
the corners of the survey throughout the survey region. These interpolated
values can then be subtracted from the field observations. After applying
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this correction, you are left with that portion of the magnetic field that can
not be attributed to the Earths main magnetic field.
This two-dimensional application of linear interpolation is only slightly
more complex than the one-dimensional linear interpolation used to reduce
our gravity observations. Values of the Earths main magnetic field are first
determined from the IGRF for each corner point of the survey (c1 , c2 , c3 , c4 ).
To determine the strength of the main field at the point p, we first perform
two linear interpolations up the edges of the survey in the y direction to
determine the values of the field at the points t1 and t2 . That is, first
determine the value of the Earths main magnetic field at the point t1 by
linearly interpolating between the points c1 and c4 . Then determine the
value of the main field at the point t2 by linearly interpolating between the
points c2 and c3 . Now, linearly interpolate in the x direction between t1 and
t2 . The result is the two-dimensionally interpolated value of the field at the
point p31 .
youve determined the shape of the gravity anomaly that the density distri-
bution will produce, then you can make reasonable guesses about how the
anomaly will change as the density constrast is varied or as the depth to the
density contrast is varied. In addition, the anomaly will not change shape
if the density distribution is moved to a different location on the Earth, say
from the equator to the north pole. The gravity anomaly is a function of
density only.
Magnetic anomalies, on the other hand, are a function of two indepen-
dent parameters: the subsurface distribution of susceptibility and the orien-
tation of the Earths main magnetic field. Change one of these parameters
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and you change the resulting magnetic anomaly. What this means in prac-
tice is that magnetic anomalies over the same susceptibility distribution will
be different if the distribution is in a different location, say one located be-
neath the equator versus one located beneath the north pole. Additionally,
the magnetic anomaly over a two-dimensional body such as a tunnel will
look different depending on the orientation of the tunnel, say east-west or
north-south, even if the magnetic profile is always taken perpendicular to
the trend of the tunnel.
With these complexities in mind, we will not spend a great deal of time
analyzing the shapes of magnetic anomalies over simple structures; there
are many computer programs available that do this quite well. Rather, we
will look at several simple examples and qualitatively construct the magnetic
anomalies over them so that you can get a better feeling for the complexities
involved and for how it might be done in the computer.
magnetometer, will be sum of the main field, Fe, and the induced, anomalous
field, Fa. Notice that to either side of the sphere, the anomalous field points
in the opposite direction as the main field. Thus, when the main field
is removed from our observations we will observe negative values for the
anomalous field. Near the sphere, the anomalous field points in the same
direction as the main field. Therefore, when the main field is removed, we
will observe positive values for the anomalous field.
In this case, the anomalous magnetic field is symmetric about the center
of the buried sphere, is dominated by a central positive anomaly, and is
surrounded on both sides by smaller negative anomalies.
Now, lets examine the shape of the anomalous magnetic field for the exact
same metallic sphere buried at the equator.
At the equator (magnetic), the direction of the Earths main magnetic
field is now horizontal. It still induces an anomalous magnetic field in the
metallic sphere, but the orientation of field lines describing the magnetic
field are now rotated 90 degrees. As in the previous case, these field lines
are indicated by the black lines, and the strength and direction of the anoma-
lous field at the surface of the earth are shown by the blue arrows. Above
the sphere, the anomalous magnetic field, Fa , now points in the opposite
direction as the Earths main magnetic field, Fe . Therefore, the total field
measured will be less than the Earths main field, and so upon removal of
the main field, the resulting anomalous field will be negative. On either
side of the sphere, the anomalous field points in the general direction of
the main field and thus reinforces it resulting in total field measurements
that are larger than the Earths main field. Upon removal of the main field
contribution, these areas will show positive magnetic anomalies.
As with the previous case, the resulting anomaly is again symmetrically
distributed about the center of the sphere. In this case, however, the promi-
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Figure 57: Magnetic anomaly associated with a metallic sphere at the (mag-
netic) north pole.
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Finally, lets examine the shape of the anomalous magnetic field for a metal-
lic sphere buried somewhere in the northern hemisphere, say near Denver,
as seen in Figure 59.
As in the previous examples, the Earths main magnetic field induces
an anomalous field in surrounding the sphere. The anomalous field is now
oriented at some angle, in this case 45 degrees, from the horizontal. By
looking at the direction of the anomalous field, Fa , in comparison with
the Earths main field, Fe , you can see that there will be a small negative
anomaly far to the south of the sphere, a large postive anomaly just south
of the sphere, and a small, broad, negative anomaly north of the sphere.
Notice that the magnetic anomaly produced is no longer symmetric about
the sphere. Unless you are working in one of those special places, like at the
magnetic poles or equator, this will always be true.
From this simple set of examples, you now see that it is indeed more diffi-
cult to visually interpret magnetic anomalies than gravity anomalies. These
visual problems, however, present no problem for the computer modeling
alogrithms used to model magnetic anomalies. You simply need to incorpo-
rate the location of your survey into the modeling algorithm to generate an
appropriate magnetic model.
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Figure 58: Magnetic anomaly associated with a metallic sphere at the (mag-
netic) equator.
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Part III
Seismic Refraction Surveying
3 My section
3.1 My subsection
3.1.1 My subsubsection
Part IV
Electrical Conductivity Surveying
4 Electromagnetic techniques
5 Conductivity overview
soils have higher conductivity than dry soils. Fine soils (clay) have higher
conductivity than coarse soils (sands or gravels), and high salinity soils have
high conductivity.
At a more fundamental level, the conductivity is governed by the num-
ber and mobility of free charge carriers available in the soil. The principal
sources of these free charge carriers are soluble ions. Thus, the simultane-
ous availability of soil moisture and soluble salts determines the free charge
carrier concentration in the soil. The mobility of these carriers is also an
important parameter in soil conductivity. The mobility of the soluble ions
is governed by soil moisture content, soil grain size, temperature, soil com-
paction as well as the surface chemistry of the soil grains. These processes
govern soil conductivity at the low frequency used in these surveys. At
higher frequencies soil conductivity becomes a more complex issue.
6 Terrain conductivity
porosity
water saturation
d = A w m S n + c , (27)
d = w m S 2 + c . (28)
The particle shape factor, m, is usually given one of two values: 1.2 for
spheres (sandy soil) or 1.9 for platey fragments (shaley soil).
6.2 Example
d = w m S 2 + c . (32)
d + d = (w + w ) m S 2 + c , (33)
d = w m S 2 (34)
= 1000/ . (35)
Since the factor of 1000 will cancel, for every conductivity, there is a corre-
sponding resistivity
d = 1/d (36)
w = 1/w (37)
w = 1/w . (38)
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4 Using the 0.16 mmho value gives w 0.16 T DS. Combining this with
d 0.25 w gives the result
T DS
d T DS in ppm (40)
25
35
This section from McNeil ??
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1
Reader 123
0.8
0.6 m = 1.2
sd
f = m
sw
0.4
m = 1.9
0.2
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Porosity
Figure 60: Relationship between formation factor and porosity for fully
saturated, clay-free soils. (Source: Redrawn from McNeil?)
This result means that the addition of 25 ppm of TDS to soil water will
increase saturated bulk conductivity by 1 mmho. Regulation place limits
on TDS in potable (drinkable) water at 500 ppm. This gives a pore fluid
conductivity of 80 mmho, and a terrain conductivity of 20 mmho (12.5 m).
This terrain conductivity is a value typical of clay-free soils, but can quickly
be overshadowed by clay conductivity.
The36 simplest electromagnetic (EM) methods rely on the fact that an im-
posed, alternating primary magnetic field Hp will give rise to a secondary
36
modified from http:
eas4420.em.html
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Material Porosity
soils .5-.6
clay .45-.55
silt .4-.5
med to coarse mixed sand .35-.45
uniform sant .3-.4
fine to med mixed sand .3-.35
gravel .3-.4
gravel and sand .2-.35
sandstone .1-.2
shale .01-.1
limestone .01-.1
ical parameter from which the composition and structure can be deduced.
The EM31 and EM34 measure electrical conductivity in units of mil-
liSiemens per meter (mS/m). The EM31 is a single operator instrument
that has a fixed spacing of 3.7 m between the coils. Two operators are re-
quired for the EM34, which has coils that can be spaced at 10 m, 20 m, or
40 m.
The response function R for the EM-31 or EM-34 operated in vertical mode
is given by
1
R= (42)
4 L2 /s2 + 1
where L is the depth (m).
For a two-layer model (one layer over a half-space as shown in Figure 61)
the apparent conductivity is given by
90
80
70
sa HmmhoL 60
50
40
30
20
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Coil Spacing HmL
9.3 Features
Surveys are readily carried out in all regions, including those of high
surface resistivity such as sand, gravel and asphalt.
100
90
80
70
sa HmmhoL
60
50
40
0 1 2 3 4 5
Layer ThicknessHmL
Two digital meters display both the quadrature phase and inphase
components that can be recorded simultaneously on the digital data
recorder.
9.4 General
The simplest38 electromagnetic (EM) methods rely on the fact that an im-
posed, alternating magnetic field will give rise to a secondary magnetic field
whose strength is directly proportional to the electrical conductivity of a
material. Electrical conductivity is the inverse of the better-known quantity
resistivity and refers to how easily current moves through a material. For a
38
This section is modified from http://www.eas.gatech.edu/eas4420.em.html
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constant value of the input (primary) magnetic field, the magnitude of the
induced secondary magnetic field will be much larger for a high conductivity
material than for a low conductivity material. The electrical conductivity
of various soil and rock types depends on many factors. Some of these fac-
tors are the degree of saturation; the degree of compaction; the salinity of
pore waters; and soil composition. Like most geophysical methods, elec-
tromagnetic techniques cannot uniquely determine the composition of the
subsurface. The instruments instead measure a physical parameter from
which the composition and structure can be deduced.
The EM-31 measures electrical conductivity in units of milliSiemens per
meter (mS/m) or millimhos (mmho). The EM-31 terrain conductivity meter
is a commonly used instrument for environmental applications.
The EM-31 is a 3.7-m long instrument consisting of a transmitter coil
and a receiver coil with a control unit in the middle. The instrument is
normally carried above the ground at hip-level, but it can also be operated
directly on the ground. In normal operation, no part of the instrument ever
needs to come in contact with the ground. Usually the instrument is carried
alongside the operator, so that it is oriented parallel to the operators steps.
The transmitter coil transmits the primary magnetic field. The receiver
coil measures the induced secondary magnetic field and displays the constant
of proportionality between the two magnetic fields (the electrical conductiv-
ity) on the control unit. The EM31 nominally senses to a depth of about
5-6 m. Figure 64 shows the instrument in operating position.
Figure 65 demonstrates how the EM-31 is assembled. The long white
pieces are usually stored in the cradles beneath the blue control unit. During
assembly, these long white pieces (which contain the coils) are detached from
the cradles and the connections between the control unit and the transmitter
and receiver are completed. We have cheat sheets available to guide you
in assembly and calibration of the instrument.
Once the control unit (shown upside down in Figure 65) is flipped over,
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then the top pops off and instrument set-up and calibration begins. Fig-
ure 66 shows the dials and digital readouts on the face of the control unit.
The scale dial tells the instrument whether the expected terrain conduc-
tivity lies in the range of 0-200 mS/m (set dial on 100) or 200 mS/m (set
dial on 1000). If the scale dial is not set correctly, the DL720 data logger
(not shown here) will still log the measured value correctly.
The mode dial is primarily used during instrument calibration and setup.
During normal operation, the dial is set to oper.
The coarse-fine dials are used for adjustment during calibration and
setup.
Terrain conductivity values are displayed in the data readout window.
The orange reading button is located on the instruments transmitter.
When the operator reaches the spot to take a reading, the button is pressed
and the data are collected. When used with a data logger (not shown), it
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is also possible to run the EM-31 in continuous mode. In this case, it is not
necessary to press the reading button at each survey point.
Figure 67 is a fully labelled picture of the EM-31 in operation along a
survey line at the Georgia Tech Research Facility (GTRF) geophysics test
bed facility in Cobb County, Georgia. Note that the EM31 can be operated
either with or without a datalogger. When no logger is available, data are
recorded by hand directly off the digital readout screen.
The pictures shown here have all demonstrated operation of the EM-31
in vertical mode. In this mode, the digital readout faces upward during the
measurement. The designation of vertical refers to the fact that the coils
inside the long white tubes (transmitter and receiver) are oriented parallel
to the ground during the measurement, resulting in a vertical EM field. The
EM-31 can also be operated in horizontal mode, which involves rotating
the entire instrument 90 degrees about an axis aligned with the transmitter-
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receiver tubes. In this configuration, the digital readout faces toward or away
from the operator. In horizontal mode, the coils in the transmitter-receiver
tubes are aligned perpendicular to the ground during the measurement.
EM-31 data are also often collected in different directions at the same
survey location. For example, at a single spot, the operator might take one
reading in the vertical mode facing east along a survey line and then turn 90
degrees and take another reading in the vertical mode facing south, with the
instrument perpendicular to the survey line. Such surveys are particularly
useful for detecting any directional components to the subsurface feature.
For example, over a pipe oriented parallel to the survey line, one would
expect different terrain conductivity values when the measurement is taken
parallel to the survey line instead of perpendicular to the survey line.
Finally, the EM-31 records both the inphase and quadrature phase part
of the response signal. The quadrature component is the one most often used
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for general surveying and that the inphase component is useful for locating
metallic objects.
Figure 68 shows sample quadrature phase data from the EM-31. The
high values on the left side of the diagram were obtained close to the Atlantic
Ocean and reflect the presence of saltwater (very high conductivity; about
5000-6000 mS/m) in the near-surface. The values drop off quickly toward
the interior of the island. The feature at 1150 ft coincides with a recently
dug shallow irrigation well that pulls water out of the surficial aquifer. The
local increase in conductivity near this well indicates that a cone of saltwa-
ter may be developing below the pumping site. Using simple formula and
adopting assumptions about the conductivities of the freshwater-saturated
and underlying saltwater-saturated sand layers, it is possible to invert the
EM-31 data for the depth to the freshwater-saltwater interface beneath this
barrier island.
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Since the EM-31 can only sense to 5-6 m below the surface, the low
background values obtained in the interior of this island likely indicate that
the freshwater-saltwater interface lies at depths greater than this nominal
sensing depth. The EM-34, an instrument related to the EM-31 but more
cumbersome to use, can sense to depths as great as 60 m when used in
vertical mode with maximum coil spacing (40 m).
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9.5 Specifications
Measured Quantities:
1.Apparent conductivity of the ground in millisiemens per meter (mS/m, mmho)
2.Inphase ratio of the secondary to primary magnetic field in parts per thousand
Measuring Ranges:
Conductivity: 10,100,1000 mS/m (mmho)
Inphase: 12ppt
Dimensions:
Boom: 4.0m extended, 1.4m stored
Console: 24 x20 x18cm
Weight:
Instrument: 11kg
Shipping: 26kg
Noise Levels:
Conductivity: 0.1 mS/m (mmho)
Inphase: 0.03ppt
Some FAQ39
What are the EM31 units?40 The EM31 reads in millisiemens/m (mmho),
which can be converted to ohm-m by dividing the value into 1000.
6. If utilities are present at the project site (e.g. power lines, buried
linear features), make certain to note the location of these features
and any anomalous EM readings resulting from the structures on the
field form.
Site map in Figure 69. Gridded conductivities and control points in Fig-
ure 70. Surface plot of conductivities showing 20 mmho threshold in Fig-
ure 71. The low conductivity areas (i.e., not red) would be good candidates
for ground penetrating radar which works best in terrain with conductivity
at or below 20 mmho.
Purpose Historical42 aerial photographs and old records indicated the pres-
ence of buried waste materials scattered over an area of 30 acres.
In planning the excavation of these industrial wastes, knowledge of
their exact extent and distribution was required. EM conductivity
and metal detector surveys were performed with EM31 and EM61
instruments to delineate suspected burial trenches, pits, tanks, and
scattered cylinders. See Figure 72.
42
http://www.geosphereinc.com/cases-0.htm
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solids (TDS) levels in pore fluids will result in higher electrical conduc-
tivity values, which can be used to locate changes in natural geologic
conditions and inorganic contaminants. EM31 measurements have a
response to materials from the surface down to approximately 20 ft,
with the bulk of the response centered at 4.8 ft, providing a sampling
volume of more than 1,000 cubic ft.
A survey grid was established and the EM31 data were collected within
the survey grid along parallel survey lines spaced 10 feet apart. The
10-foot line spacing was chosen to provide the most complete spa-
tial coverage of the site given the time and budget constraints of the
project. A total of 98,300 linear feet (18.6 miles) of EM31 data were
acquired. The EM31 data were contoured and evaluated in the field,
and anomalies due to subsurface metal or higher electrical conductivity
were identified.
Contaminant plume In one portion of the site (Tract BE), a large high
conductivity area was observed in the EM31 data that is not entirely
associated with subsurface metal (Figure 73). Based on historical data
from Phase I and II research, the high conductivity area lies where a
pesticide plant was once located. The high conductivity area likely rep-
resents a plume which may be the result of an inorganic component
of the pesticides, possible biodegradation products from the pesticide,
or other inorganic components associated with the manufacturing of
pesticides. Chemical assessment and remediation within this high con-
ductivity area is currently being planned.
for them. Also, a large plume possibly associated with pesticide con-
tamination was discovered. Excavation and sampling efforts were ef-
fectively guided by the geophysical survey so that an accurate and
efficient environmental assessment could be carried out.
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25
W26 W27 W28
24
23
22
21
N
20
W25 W24 W23 W22
19
18
17
16
15
W18 W19 W20 W21
14
13
12
11
10
W17 W16 W15 W14
9
7 W7 W8 W9
5
W6 W5 W4 W3
4
1
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Figure 69: Conductivity case history 1. Site map for Gypsy project showing
grid and well locations.
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Figure 73: EM-31 data over a contaminate plume. (Source: Technos, Inc.)
145
Part V
Ground Penetrating Radar
Surveying
10 My section
10.1 My subsection
10.1.1 My subsubsection