Static shift of magnetotelluric data and its removal in a sedimentary basin environment

Geophysics ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 967-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Apparent Resistivity ◽  
Sedimentary Basin ◽  
Electrode Array ◽  
Line Length ◽  
Static Shift ◽  
Magnetotelluric Data ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Spatial Size

Previous modeling investigations of the static shift of magnetotelluric (MT) apparent resistivity curves have limited appeal in that the electric fields used were point measurements, whereas field observations are of voltage differences. Thus, inhomogeneities of dimension of the order of the electrode line length could not be investigated. In this paper, by using a modeling algorithm that derives point voltages rather than point electric fields, I consider the effect on the MT responses of local near‐surface distorting structures, which are both outside of, and inside, the telluric electrode array. I show that static‐shift effects are of larger spatial size but of less magnitude than would be expected from conventional modeling. Also, the field observation that static shift affects only the apparent resistivity curve but not the phase response can be replicated by the voltage difference modeling. If there exists within the earth a layer whose variation in electrical resistivity along the profile can be treated in a parametric fashion, then static shift of the apparent resistivity curves can be corrected. Deriving the modal value from a sufficient number of observations for the layer resistivity is the most useful approach.

scholarly journals On the Use of Electromagnetics for Earth Imaging of the Polar Regions

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham J. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Occupation Times ◽  
Magnetotelluric Data ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Snow And Ice

Abstract The polar regions are host to fundamental unresolved challenges in Earth studies. The nature of these regions necessitates the use of geophysics to address these issues, with electromagnetic and, in particular, magnetotelluric studies finding favour and being applied over a number of different scales. The unique geography and climatic conditions of the polar regions means collecting magnetotelluric data at high latitudes, which presents challenges not typically encountered and may result in significant measurement errors. (1) The very high contact resistance between electrodes and the surficial snow and ice cover (commonly MΩ) can interfere with the electric field measurement. This is overcome by using custom-designed amplifiers placed at the active electrodes to buffer their high impedance contacts. (2) The proximity to the geomagnetic poles requires verification of the fundamental assumption in magnetotellurics that the magnetic source field is a vertically propagating, horizontally polarised plane wave. Behaviour of the polar electro-jet must be assessed to identify increased activity (high energy periods) that create strong current systems and may generate non-planar contributions. (3) The generation of ‘blizstatic’, localised random electric fields caused by the spin drift of moving charged snow and ice particles that produce significant noise in the electric fields during periods of strong winds. At wind speeds above ~ 10 m s−1, the effect of the distortion created by the moving snow is broad-band. Station occupation times need to be of sufficient length to ensure data are collected when wind speed is low. (4) Working on glaciated terrain introduces additional safety challenges, e.g., weather, crevasse hazards, etc. Inclusion of a mountaineer in the team, both during the site location planning and onsite operations, allows these hazards to be properly managed. Examples spanning studies covering development and application of novel electromagnetic approaches for the polar regions as well as results from studies addressing a variety of differing geologic questions are presented. Electromagnetic studies focusing on near-surface hydrologic systems, glacial and ice sheet dynamics, as well as large-scale volcanic and tectonic problems are discussed providing an overview of the use of electromagnetic methods to investigate fundamental questions in solid earth studies that have both been completed and are currently ongoing in polar regions.

Removal of static shift in two dimensions by regularized inversion

Geophysics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 2102-2106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine deGroot‐Hedlin
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Apparent Resistivity ◽  
Skin Depth ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Regularized Inversion ◽  
Conductivity Anomalies ◽  
Local Distortions

A common problem in magnetotelluric (MT) sounding is the presence of static shifts in the data, i.e., a vertical shifting of the log‐apparent‐resistivity versus period curves relative to regional values (Jones, 1988; Jiracek, 1990; Berdichevsky et al., 1989). These static shifts are due to the presence of small‐scale, shallow conductivity anomalies near the measurement site. Electric charge builds up on near‐surface anomalies that are small in comparison to the skin depth of the electromagnetic (EM) fields. The charge buildup produces a perturbation of the measured electric fields from their regional values that persists to arbitrarily low frequencies. Incorrect removal of these local distortions leads to incorrect interpretation of the deeper targets of investigation.

Seismoelectric imaging of shallow targets

Geophysics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. G9-G20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth S. Haines ◽  
Steven R. Pride ◽  
Simon L. Klemperer ◽  
Biondo Biondi
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Electrode Array ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Synthetic Image ◽  
Response Signal ◽  
Line Geometry ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Promising Application

We have undertaken a series of controlled field experiments to develop seismoelectric experimental methods for near-surface applications and to improve our understanding of seismoelectric phenomena. In a set of off-line geometry surveys (source separated from the receiver line), we place seismic sources and electrode array receivers on opposite sides of a man-made target (two sand-filled trenches) to record separately two previously documented seismoelectric modes: (1) the electromagnetic interface response signal created at the target and (2) the coseismic electric fields located within a compressional seismic wave. With the seismic source point in the center of a linear electrode array, we identify the previously undocumented seismoelectric direct field, and the Lorentz field of the metal hammer plate moving in the earth’s magnetic field. We place the seismic source in the center of a circular array of electrodes (radial and circumferential orientations) to analyze the source-related direct and Lorentz fields and to establish that these fields can be understood in terms of simple analytical models. Using an off-line geometry, we create a multifold, 2D image of our trenches as dipping layers, and we also produce a complementary synthetic image through numerical modeling. These images demonstrate that off-line geometry (e.g., crosswell) surveys offer a particularly promising application of the seismoelectric method because they effectively separate the interface response signal from the (generally much stronger) coseismic and source-related fields.

Near-surface resistivity contrast mapping with a capacitive sensor array and an inductive source

Geophysics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. G13-G23 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Macnae ◽  
Christopher Adams
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Electrode Array ◽  
Capacitive Sensor ◽  
Surface Integral ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Electric Field Sensors ◽  
Electric Component ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Further Development

Electromagnetic survey methodology is adapted to use the electric component to directly detect buried resistors and map resistivity contrasts in the near surface. System implementations do not require ground contact because they use capacitive electric-field sensors and an inductive source and may be operated at walking pace. This study outlined theoretical basis, computational modeling, and verification for the methodology. The systems are designed to operate at low enough frequency that any responses are at the resistive limit; as such, the electric fields they measure are insensitive to horizontal layering and absolute conductivity. A surface integral equation algorithm is used to model regular discrete objects in a half-space. Anomalies are controlled by geometry and lateral resistivity contrast rather than by absolute resistivity values. A prototype electrode array system called CARIS 1 reliably detects resistive objects submerged in a saltwater tank, and the measured responses are consistent with numerical modeling. These results provided the basis for further development of the CARIS II system with flexible geometry that is adaptable to detect resistive or conductive targets in any background environment. CARIS is designed to be useful where conventional electromagnetics, ground-penetrating radar, and conventional resistivity face difficulties or fail, and it has easily detected a range of buried targets in the near surface. However, it is quite sensitive to disturbed ground and surface undulation and inhomogeneity.

scholarly journals Correcting for Static Shift of Magnetotelluric Data with Airborne Electromagnetic Measurements: A Case Study from Rathlin Basin, Northern Ireland

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Delhaye ◽  
Volker Rath ◽  
Alan G. Jones ◽  
Mark R. Muller ◽  
Derek Reay
Keyword(s):  
Distortion Correction ◽  
Vertical Scaling ◽  
Spatial Density ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Resistivity Structure ◽  
Static Shift ◽  
Magnetotelluric Data ◽  
Archie’S Law ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Resistivity Variation

Abstract. Galvanic distortions of magnetotelluric (MT) data, such as the static shift effect, are a known problem that can lead to incorrect estimation of resistivities and erroneous modelling of geometries with resulting misinterpretation of subsurface electrical resistivity structure. A wide variety of approaches have been proposed to account for these galvanic distortions, some depending on the target area, with varying degrees of success. The natural laboratory for our study is a hydraulically permeable volume of conductive sediment at depth, the internal resistivity structure of which can be used to estimate reservoir viability for geothermal purposes, however static shift correction is required in order to ensure robust and precise modelling accuracy. We propose a method employing frequency–domain electromagnetic data for static shift correction, which in our case are regionally available with high spatial density. The spatial distributions of the derived static shift corrections are analysed and applied to the uncorrected MT data prior to inversion. Two comparative inversion models are derived, one with and one without static shift corrections, with instructive results. As expected from the one–dimensional analogy of static shift correction, at shallow model depths, where the structure is controlled by a single local MT site, the correction of static shift effects leads to vertical scaling of resistivity-thickness products in the model, with the corrected model showing improved correlation to existing borehole wireline resistivity data. In turn, as these vertical scalings are effectively independent of adjacent sites, lateral resistivity distributions are also affected, with up to half a decade of resistivity variation between the models estimated at depths down to 2000 m. Simple estimation of differences in bulk porosity, derived using Archie’s Law, between the two models reinforces our conclusion that the sub–order of magnitude resistivity contrasts induced by correction of static shifts correspond to similar contrasts in estimated porosities, and hence, for purposes of reservoir investigation or similar cases requiring accurate absolute resistivity estimates, galvanic distortion correction, especially static shift correction, is essential.

Magnetotelluric static shift: Estimation and removal using the cokriging method

Geophysics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. F25-F34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoit Tournerie ◽  
Michel Chouteau ◽  
Denis Marcotte
Keyword(s):  
Apparent Resistivity ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Shift Factor ◽  
Static Shift ◽  
Geostatistical Model ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Resistivity Sounding ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Cross Variogram

We present and test a new method to correct for the static shift affecting magnetotelluric (MT) apparent resistivity sounding curves. We use geostatistical analysis of apparent resistivity and phase data for selected periods. For each period, we first estimate and model the experimental variograms and cross variogram between phase and apparent resistivity. We then use the geostatistical model to estimate, by cokriging, the corrected apparent resistivities using the measured phases and apparent resistivities. The static shift factor is obtained as the difference between the logarithm of the corrected and measured apparent resistivities. We retain as final static shift estimates the ones for the period displaying the best correlation with the estimates at all periods. We present a 3D synthetic case study showing that the static shift is retrieved quite precisely when the static shift factors are uniformly distributed around zero. If the static shift distribution has a nonzero mean, we obtained best results when an apparent resistivity data subset can be identified a priori as unaffected by static shift and cokriging is done using only this subset. The method has been successfully tested on the synthetic COPROD-2S2 2D MT data set and on a 3D-survey data set from Las Cañadas Caldera (Tenerife, Canary Islands) severely affected by static shift.

A hybrid regularization scheme for the inversion of magnetotelluric data from natural and controlled sources to layer and distortion parameters

Geophysics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. E301-E315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kalscheuer ◽  
Juliane Hübert ◽  
Alexey Kuvshinov ◽  
Tobias Lochbühler ◽  
Laust B. Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Homogeneous Distribution ◽  
Stable Configuration ◽  
Inversion Algorithm ◽  
Magnetotelluric Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Minimum Solution ◽  
Magnetic Transfer ◽  
Distortion Parameters

Magnetotelluric (MT), radiomagnetotelluric (RMT), and, in particular, controlled-source audiomagnetotelluric (CSAMT) data are often heavily distorted by near-surface inhomogeneities. We developed a novel scheme to invert MT, RMT, and CSAMT data in the form of scalar or tensorial impedances and vertical magnetic transfer functions simultaneously for layer resistivities and electric and magnetic galvanic distortion parameters. The inversion scheme uses smoothness constraints to regularize layer resistivities and either Marquardt-Levenberg damping or the minimum-solution length criterion to regularize distortion parameters. A depth of investigation range is estimated by comparing layered model sections derived from first- and second-order smoothness constraints. Synthetic examples demonstrate that earth models are reconstructed properly for distorted and undistorted tensorial CSAMT data. In the inversion of scalar CSAMT data, such as the determinant impedance or individual tensor elements, the reduced number of transfer functions inevitably leads to increased ambiguity for distortion parameters. As a consequence of this ambiguity for scalar data, distortion parameters often grow over the iterations to unrealistic absolute values when regularized with the Marquardt-Levenberg scheme. Essentially, compensating relationships between terms containing electric and/or magnetic distortion are used in this growth. In a regularization with the minimum solution length criterion, the distortion parameters converge into a stable configuration after several iterations and attain reasonable values. The inversion algorithm was applied to a CSAMT field data set collected along a profile over a tunnel construction site at Hallandsåsen, Sweden. To avoid erroneous inverse models from strong anthropogenic effects on the data, two scalar transfer functions (one scalar impedance and one scalar vertical magnetic transfer function) were selected for inversion. Compared with a regularization of distortion parameters with the Marquardt-Levenberg method, the minimum-solution length criterion yielded smaller absolute values of distortion parameters and a horizontally more homogeneous distribution of electrical conductivity.

scholarly journals Improving of electrical channels for magnetotelluric sounding instrumentation

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Prystai ◽  
V. O. Pronenko
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Deep Structure ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Magnetotelluric Sounding ◽  
Earth’S Crust ◽  
Geomagnetic Variations ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Earth's Crust

Abstract. The study of the deep structure of the Earth's crust is of great interest for both applied (e.g. mineral exploration) and scientific research. For this the electromagnetic (EM) studies which enable one to construct the distribution of electrical conductivity in the Earth's crust are of great use. The most common method of EM exploration is magnetotelluric sounding (MT). This passive method of research uses a wide range of natural geomagnetic variations as a powerful source of electromagnetic induction in the Earth, producing telluric current variations there. It includes the measurements of variations of natural electric and magnetic fields in orthogonal directions at the surface of the Earth. By this, the measurements of electric fields are much more complicated metrological processes, and, namely, they limit the precision of MT prospecting. This is especially complicated at deep sounding when measurements of long periods are of interest. The increase in the accuracy of the electric field measurement can significantly improve the quality of MT data. Because of this, the development of a new version of an instrument for the measurements of electric fields at MT – both electric field sensors and the electrometer – with higher levels relative to the known instrument parameter level – was initiated. The paper deals with the peculiarities of this development and the results of experimental tests of the new sensors and electrometers included as a unit in the long-period magnetotelluric station LEMI-420 are given.

scholarly journals Features of the Earth surface deformations in the Kamchatka peninsula and their relation to geoacoustic emission

Solid Earth ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1293-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. Larionov ◽  
Y. V. Marapulets ◽  
B. M. Shevtsov
Keyword(s):  
Michelson Interferometer ◽  
Kamchatka Peninsula ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Geoacoustic Emission ◽  
Direction Change ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Deformation Processes ◽  
Rock Deformations ◽  
Artificial Water

Abstract. The paper presents the results of investigations of deformation processes in the near-surface sedimentary rocks, which have been carried out in a seismically active region of the Kamchatka peninsula since 2007. The peculiarity of the experiments on registration of geodeformations is the application of a laser strainmeter–interferometer constructed according to the Michelson interferometer scheme. Besides rock deformations, geoacoustic emission in the frequency range from several hertz to the first tens of kilohertz is under investigation. Piezoceramic hydrophones installed in artificial water reservoirs are applied. It is shown that periods of primary rock compression and tension with a duration of up to several months are distinguished in the geodeformation process at the observation site. During the direction change in the deformations, when the geodeformation process rate grows, an increase in geoacoustic radiation is observed.

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