Geology 228

Applied Geophysics
Lecture 10

Electromagnetic Methods (EM)

(Reynolds, Ch. 10, 11)

Outline
Lecture
Introduction
Principles
Systems and Methods (FDEM & TDEM)
Case Histories

APPLICATIONS
1. Mineral exploration - metallic elements are found in
highly conductive massive sulfide ore bodies.
2. Groundwater investigations - groundwater contaminants
such as salts and acids significantly increase the
groundwater conductivity. UConn landfill.
3. Stratigraphy mapping - rock types may have different
conductivities.
4. Geothermal energy - geothermal alteration due to hot
water increases the conductivity of the host rock. Oil and
gas.
5. Permafrost mapping - there is a significant conductivity
contrast at the interface between frozen and unfrozen
ground.
6. Environmental - locate hazards such as drums and tanks,
contaminant plumes. UXO, landmine

ADVANTAGES
1. TDEM systems may be used in many different
configurations.
2. A pulsed transmitter waveform allows the receiver to
measure the electromagnetic response during the
transmitter off-time without the presence of the primary
field.
3. No direct electrical contact with the ground is required so
that surveys can be equally effective in frozen
environments.
4. The same basic techniques can be used to investigate the
top few meters of ground or to depths over 1000 meters.
5. Generally fast and cost effective for the amount of data
generated.

Limitations
Do not work well for high resistive region.
Susceptible to interference from nearby metal pipes,
cables, fences, vehicles and induced noise from power
lines.
EM equipment tends to be somewhat more costly due to
its greater complexity. Need more sophisticated
interpretation skill.
Not effective for very shallow measurements. Fixed depth
of investigation depending on frequency used and Tx-Rx
separation.

Types of EM Systems
1. TDEM vs FDEM

Time-domain (TDEM)

Measurements as a function of time

Frequency-domain (FDEM)

Measurements at one or more frequencies

2. Passive vs Active

Passive: Uses natural ground signals (e.g.,

magnetotellurics), sources are lightning,
magnetosphere activities, etc.
Active: use transmitter to induce ground current

Near-field ( ground conductivity meters)

Far-field (VLF uses very low frequency signals used to
communicate with submarines ).

Types of EM Systems
Inductive
Small loop
Most FDEM (EM 31, EM 34, etc.) but some TDEM
Most widely used in environmental investigations

Large loop (5 m to 100 m loops)

Many TDEM systems ( esp. airborne)
Mineral exploration, environmental investigations

Plane wave (VLF, Magnetotelluric)

Mineral exploration, deep geologic structure

Small Loop Systems

FDEM ( frequency domain EM)
Pole, two small coils, one transmitter and one
receiver, separated by a constant spacing moved
along a survey transect.

Geonics EM31

Small loop systems

Two coils( transmitter and receiver) connected by wires
that permit several different separations and
configurations

Geonics EM34

Loop configurations
HCP (horizontal co-planer)
VCP (vertical co-planer)
VCA (vertical Coaxial)
Others

How does EM Induction work?

Magnetism

Magnetic lines of force ( owing to

alignment of atoms, the H-field)

EM Theory (1)

In 1820, Hans Oersted discovered that a magnetic compass could be deflected

from its resting position if a wire carrying electric current were placed near the
compass.
Magnetic Field
Any wire in which an electric current is flowing is surrounded by an invisible
force field called a magnetic field. This phenomenon is described as the
Amperes law.

Idl r0
H =
2r 2

EM Theory (2)
Electromagnetism
The term electromagnetism is defined as the production of a
magnetic field by current flowing in a conductor.
Coiling a current-carrying conductor around a core material that
can be easily magnetized, such as iron, can form an
electromagnet.
The magnetic field will be concentrated in the core. This
arrangement is called a solenoid.
The more turns we wrap on this core, the stronger the
electromagnet and the stronger the magnetic lines of force
become.

Right hand being used to find the polarity of the magnetic field around a coil
of wire (the thumb is pointing towards the North pole) when you know the
direction of the current around the coil (the fingers are wrapping around the
coil in the same direction as the current).
Notice that all of the lines of force pass through the center of the coil material,
regardless of how they extend outside the coil of wire.

EM Theory (3)
The magnetic field that surrounds a currentcarrying conductor is made up of concentric lines
of force.
The strength of these circular lines of force gets
progressively smaller the further away from the
conductor.
if a stronger current is made to flow through the
conductor, the magnetic lines of force become
stronger.
the strength of the magnetic field is directly
proportional to the current that flows through the
conductor.

Idl r0
H =
2
2r

EM Theory (4)
The term field intensity is used to describe the strength of the
magnetic field.
We have now seen that if electrical current is flowing in a
conductor, there is an associated magnetic field created around
the wire.
In a similar manner, if we move a wire inside a magnetic field
there will be an electrical current that will be generated in the
wire. This is described as the Faradays law.

EM Theory (5)
Induction
Current is produced in a conductor when it is moved through a
magnetic field because the magnetic lines of force are applying a
force on the free electrons in the conductor and causing them to
move.
The direction that the induced current flows is determined by the
direction of the lines of force and by the direction the wire is
moving in the field.
If an AC current is fed through a piece of wire,
the electromagnetic field that is produced is constantly
growing and shrinking due to the constantly changing current
in the wire.
This growing and shrinking magnetic field can induce
electrical current in another wire that is held close to the first
wire.
The current in the second wire will also be AC and in fact will
look very similar to the current flowing in the first wire.

If we move a wire in a magnetic field, the movement will create a current in the
wire. Essentially, as we cut through the magnetic lines of force, we cause the
electrons to move in the wire. The faster we move the wire, the more current we
generate.
Again, the right hand helps determine which way the current is going to flow. If
you hold your hand as is shown in the diagram below, point your index finger in
the direction of the magnetic lines of force (N to S...) and your thumb in the
direction of the movement of the wire relative to the lines of force, your middle
finger will point in the direction of the current.

Principles of EM Surveying
Generate EM field by passing an AC through a wire coil ( transmitter)
EM field propagates above and below ground.
If there is conductive material in ground, magnetic component of the
EM wave induces eddy currents (AC) in conductor.
The eddy currents produce a secondary EM field which is detected by
the receiver.
The receiver also detects the primary field (the resultant field is a
combination of primary and secondary which differs from the primary
field in phase and amplitude).
After compensating for the primary field (which can be computed
from the relative positions and orientations of the coils), both the
magnitude and relative phase of the secondary field can be measured.
The difference in the resultant field from the primary provides
information about the geometry, size and electrical properties of the
subsurface conductor.

Secondary field can be converted to components in-phase and 90

out of phase with the transmitted field.
The out-of-phase (or quadrature-phase ) component, using certain
simplifying assumptions, can be converted to a measure of apparent
ground conductivity.
The in-phase component, while generally not responsive to
changes in bulk conductivity, is especially responsive to discrete,
highly-conductive bodies such as metal objects.
The apparent conductivity measurement is the average
conductivity of one or more layers in the ground in the proximity of
the instrument, to a depth of investigation dependent on
the coil spacing,
orientation,
operating frequency of the instrument,
and the individual conductivity of each ground layer.

General Principles of EM Operation

FDEM:
Transmitter produces continuous EM field, secondary
field is determined by nulling the primary field ( need
two coils);

TDEM
Primary field is applied in pulses ( 20-40 ms) then
switched off and the secondary field measured ( same
coil can be transmitter and receiver, more often large
coil on ground and move small coil around).

Factors influencing subsurface

electrical conductivity

Mineralogy
Clays more conductive (relates to CEC)
Moisture content
Porosity
EC of the subsurface water
Stratigraphy
Structure
Temporal Changes in soil EC due to soil moisture change, water
table changes, soils are frozen ( Low EC), soil temperature changes
(lowers EC of soil water).
Adding or subtracting soluble constituents (contaminants)source
strength variations and directions of ground water flow.
Presence of NAPLs

Relative Response
Horizontal dipole

z = normalized depth:
=depth/(inter-coil spacing);

Vertical dipole

= relative contribution to
Hs from a thin layer at depth
z;
For Vertical dipole, max
contribution of layer is at .4z,
not sensitive to surface
conditions.

z
dz

Using different spacing and

configurations in Modeling

Advantages Relative to DC
Resistivity
Less sensitive to conditions at surface of
ground
No problems with coupling to ground since
it is inductive.
Perform simple multilayered earth calcs.
Easy and Rapid Measurements
On plane and boat

Disadvantages relative to DC
resistivity
Limited dynamic range (1-1000 mmhos/m)
Low EC: cant readily induce current
High EC: EC not linear function of H

Setting instrument to zero

Ideally needs to suspending in free space
Reality set to zero rel. prevailing conditions

Limited vertical sounding capability

Survey Instruments
Frequency-domain Electromagnetic
Methods (FDEM)

Frequency Domain Theory

Measure the frequency response H() and
E()
Alternating field source
In-phase and quadrature
Host rock is ignored (assume
electromagnetically transparent)

Measured Response
Conductive and permeable sphere in free space
H s = ( H r , r + H , r ) cos 0 ( H r , + H , ) sin 0

Radial Source
Hr,r and Hr,

Transverse Source
H,r and H,

r = r0, = 0 for the GEM-3

Figure: Characterization of UXO-Like Targets Using Broadband
Electromagnetic Induction Sensor, H. Huang and I.J. Won

Response Components
H r ,r

m
= r
4

a 2 n +1
n(n + 1) Pn (cos )
( X n + iYn )

n+2
(rr0 )
n =1

H r ,

mr
=
4

a 2 n +1
1
X
iY
nP
+
(
)

n
n
n (cos )
n+ 2
(rr0 )
n =1

H , r

m
= r
4

H ,

mr
=
4

a 2 n +1
nPn (cos )
( X n + iYn )

n+2
(rr0 )
n =1

a 2 n +1
( X n + iYn )

n+2
rr
(
)
n =1
0

n
2

n Pn cos
cot Pn1 ( cos )
n +1

where Pn is the nth-order Legendre polynomial

The Response Function

Contains all the EM properties and the size of the
sphere
1

+
(
)
r
2
I n + 1 ( ka ) + kaI n + 1 ( ka )
2
2
X n + iYn =
1

n
+

r I 1 ( ka ) + kaI 1 ( ka )
n+
2
n+ 2
2
which k 2 = i and I n +1 2 ( ka ) is the modifed spherical
Bessel function of the first kind at order n + (1 2 )

Graphical Representation
a = 0.1m, r = 0.6m
= 106 S/m, = 200

Induction number

= ()1/2a
Figures: Characterization of UXO-Like Targets Using Broadband
Electromagnetic Induction Sensor, H. Huang and I.J. Won

EM survey on move

EM 31 GEONICS

EM 31 Characteristics
Intercoil spacing of 3.7 m.
Effective depth of exploration = 6 m (pole horizontal), 3
m (pole vertical)
Detect layering by rasing and lower instrument.
Procedure: Lay out survey line with a measuring tape,
walk to measurement location, turn on transmitter read
apparent conductivity ( in millimhos/m)

EM 34 GEONICS

EM 34 Characteristics
Two person instrument
Intercoil spacing of 10, 20 and 40M
Intercoil spacing is measured electronically, read meter
to accurately set spacing.

Survey procedure:
(1) Lay out survey line with tape
(2) Transmitter operator stops at measurement station.
(3) The receiver operator moves coil forward and back until
his meter indicates correct intercoil spacing.
(4) The transmitter operator reads apparent conductivity in
millimhos/m.
(5) Takes 10-20 sec per reading.
(6) Normally survey in horizontal dipole mode ( coils
vertical) which is less subject to coil misalignment.
(7) you can also use vertical dipole ( coils horizontal).

EM 31 and 34 relation of H to
Instruments are designed to operate at:
Specific fixed frequencies,
Fixed inter-coil spacings and at
Fixed Hp
Given above instrument constraints:
directly proportional to Hs/Hp
Depth of penetration primarily function of instrument
configuration

The basic GEM-3 Package consists

of: a 64-cm diameter sensing head,
handle boom, console and display
unit, and battery charger. Standard
software includes WinGEMv3,
Windows-based operation software.
The optional 96-cm head, due to its
size, must be mounted on a cart.

Programmable Operation
Bandwidth 30 Hz to 24 kHz
Frequency domain Single, multiple,
or stepping frequencies
Maximum sampling rate Approx. 15
Hz at one frequency or 8 Hz at 10
frequencies

Airborne Surveying

GEOTEM
T and R separations 20-135 m

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Unsurpassed Horizontal and Vertical RESOLUTION
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RESOLVE -a unique six frequency system with horizontal coplanar coils capable of measuring the
EM response at 400Hz, 1500Hz, 6400Hz, 25kHz, 100kHz, and one coaxial coil pair at 3300Hz.
Designed for the calculation of 3D earth resitivity models, overburden thickness, layered
inversions, EM-derived susceptibility and other advanced products.
Horizontal coplanar coil pairs combined with a coaxial coil pair are excellent for interpreting
conductors.
RESOLVE is fully digital, offering lower noise and real-time signal processing as well as internal
calibration coils for automatic phase and gain calibration in the air - out of ground effect - resulting in
higher accuracy and reduced drift.
RESOLVE offers the exploration professional horizontal and vertical resolution unparalleled in an
airborne EM system.
Multiple coplanar coils are exceptional for mapping horizontal layers.

http://www.fugroairborne.com/Services/airborne/EM/resolve/index.shtml

Saltwater intrusion
along the Baton Rouge
Fault (Kuecher, 2004)

Time-domain Electromagnetic Methods

(TDEM)

TIME DOMAIN ELECTROMAGNETICS

Time-Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) methods are based on
the principle of using electromagnetic induction to generate
measurable responses from sub-surface features.
When a steady current in a cable loop is terminated a time
varying magnetic field is generated. As a result of this
magnetic field, eddy currents are induced in underground
conductive materials.
The decay of the eddy currents in these materials is directly
related to their conductive properties, and may be measured by
a suitable receiver coil on the surface.

Physical Principle of TDEM

Maxwells two curl equations

Faradays law

Amperes law

=
t

= Jc +
t

Where, : conductivity
: magnetic permeability
: permittivi ty
J c : conductive current , J c = E


=
t

= Jc +
t

= (
)
t

= ( )
t

E
)
= ( E +
t
t
2
E
E
=
2
t
t

E
E
=
2
t
t

0
2
E
E
2
( ) =
2
t
t
2
E
E
2
=
2
t
t
2
E
E
2
=
+ 2
t
t
2

+ 2
=
t
t
2

Similarly,

+ 2
=
t
t
2

For example, lets think about H-field

H ( r, t )
H(r, t )
H ( r, t ) =
+
2
t
t
Where, r = r ( x, y , z )
2

Do Fourier transform to both side for E(r, t) with respect to t

H ( r, ) = jH ( r, ) H ( r, )
2

Diffusion component

Wave propagation

Diffusion equation (Frequency domain)

2 H ( r, ) jH (r , )
Inverse Fourier transform

Diffusion equation (Time domain)

H ( r, t )
H ( r, t )
t
2

2 E(r, t )

H (r , t )
,

t

: em impedence

 2 E(r, t )

H ( r , t )

,
t

j
=

+ j

H ( r, t )
E ( r, t )
t
2

H ( r, t )
0.707 (1 + j )
t
3

So:

H
E [ , ,
]
t

Condition:
In order to identify a specific feature, it is necessary
that its inherent electrical conductivity contrast
significantly with the conductivity of surrounding
materials.
In most successful TDEM applications, the targets
sought possess enhanced conductivities relative to
their host material.

Penetration of EM wave
Skin depth : the amplitude of EM radiation as a
Function of of depth (z) relative to its original amplitude
A0 is given by:

Az = A0 / e .3679 A0 , e = 2.7183
Skin depth (m) is given by

503

Protem receiver box

(EM 47/57/67)

With true 23 bit resolution (at a single gain), system bandwidth

of 270 kHz, microsecond sampling gates and simultaneous three
component (XYZ) measurements.
The PROTEM receiver enables the selection of either 20 gates per base
frequency covering two decades of time, or 30 gates for a three
decade range.

TEM47 TRANSMITTER

BASE FREQUENCY:
30, 75, or 285 Hz where powerline frequency is 60 Hz
25, 62.5 or 237.5 Hz where powerline frequency is 50 Hz
TRANSMITTER LOOP:
up to
100
m or 5 x 5 m 8-turn loop
5 x 5 to 100Penetration
x 100 m single
turn
loop,
OUTPUT VOLTAGE0 to 9 V, continuously variable

TEM57 TRANSMITTER

BASE FREQUENCY:
3, 7.5, or 30 Hz where powerline frequency is 60 Hz
2.5, 6.25, or 25 Hz where powerline frequency is 50 Hz
Rates below 1 Hz available from PROTEM receiver through reference
cable
TRANSMITTER LOOP
Single turn: any dimension; minimum resistance is 0.7 ohms, up to
300 x 600 m. 8-turn: 5
x 5 or 10 x up
10 to
m 500 m
Penetration

TEM67 TRANSMITTER

Base frequency:
0.3, 0.75, 3, 7.5 or 30 Hz where power line frequency is 60 Hz
0.25, 0.625, 2.5 or 25 Hz where power line frequency 50 Hz
TRANSMITTER LOOP
Up to 2,000 x 2,000 m single turn
OUTPUT CURRENT25Penetration
A maximum up

to 1000 m

BH43-3 Borehole TDEM Probe

The BH43-3 provides three dimensional time domain EM exploration

from boreholes, in conjunction with a PROTEM system.
SENSOR
Three orthogonal coils (one axial and two radial)
SENSOR AREA-TURNS PRODUCT
5000 m2 for axial and 1250 m2 for radial sensors (with amplification)
SENSOR-PREAMPLIFIER RESONANT FREQUENCY
10 kHz for all sensors
Logging depth to 2 kilometers

GEONICS EM 61
The EM61, one of the newest instruments from GEONICS, is a time-domain metal
detector which detects both ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

Marine EM

Illustration of Controlled source EM (CSEM) and

magnetotelluric (MT) surveys.

Data interpretation

TX-RX
Configurations

Transmitter Current

Measurement Sample gates

Dipole Configuration: TX and RX

Induction eddy currents

Receiver Output Voltage Curve

Output voltage
e(t)= output voltage from a single-turn receiver coil of area 1 m2
k1 = a constant
M = magnetic moment: product of Tx current and area (a-m2)
= terrain conductivity (siemens/m = S/m = 1/m)
t = time (s)

Output apparent resistivity

k2 = a constant

Three typical EM response curves

TDEM response corrupted by noise due to Power line

Summary
EM is capable to get subsurface information from
greater depth;
EM can reveal material changes other than the
mechanic ones (elastic modulus and density);
EM is becoming a widely used tool for geoelectrical
sounding, on land, in the air and in the ocean.