The effect of a conductive half‐space on the transient electromagnetic response of a three‐dimensional body

Geophysics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 1144-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. SanFilipo ◽  
Perry A. Eaton ◽  
Gerald W. Hohmann

The transient electromagnetic (TEM) response of a three‐dimensional (3-D) prism in a conductive half‐space is not always approximated well by three‐dimensional free‐space or two‐dimensional (2-D) conductive host models. The 3-D conductive host model is characterized by a complex interaction between inductive and current channeling effects. We numerically computed 3-D TEM responses using a time‐domain integral‐equation solution. Models consist of a vertical or horizontal prismatic conductor in conductive half‐space, energized by a rapid linear turn‐off of current in a rectangular loop. Current channeling, characterized by currents that flow through the body, is produced by charges which accumulate on the surface of the 3-D body and results in response profiles that can be much different in amplitude and shape than the corresponding response for the same body in free space, even after subtracting the half‐space response. Responses characterized by inductive (vortex) currents circulating within the body are similar to the response of the body in free space after subtracting the half‐space contribution. The difference between responses dominated by either channeled or vortex currents is subtle for vertical bodies but dramatic for horizontal bodies. Changing the conductivity of the host effects the relative importance of current channeling, the velocity and rate of decay of the primary (half‐space) electric field, and the build‐up of eddy currents in the body. As host conductivity increases, current channeling enhances the amplitude of the response of a vertical body and broadens the anomaly along the profile. For a horizontal body the shape of the anomaly is distorted from the free‐space anomaly by current channeling and is highly sensitive to the resistivity of the host. In the latter case, a 2-D response is similar to the 3-D response only if current channeling effects dominate over inductive effects. For models that are not greatly elongated, TEM responses are more sensitive to the conductivity of the body than galvanic (dc) responses, which saturate at a moderate resistivity contrast. Multicomponent data are preferable to vertical component data because in some cases the presence and location of the target are more easily resolved in the horizontal response and because the horizontal half‐space response decays more quickly than does the corresponding vertical response.

Geophysics ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 918-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. McNeill ◽  
R. N. Edwards ◽  
G. M. Levy

The transient electromagnetic (TEM) response from a conductive plate buried in a conductive half‐space and energized by a large‐loop transmitter is investigated in a heuristic manner. The vortex and galvanic components are each calculated directly in the time domain using an approximate procedure which ignores the electromagnetic coupling present in the complete solution. In modeling the vortex and galvanic current flows, the plate is replaced with a single‐turn wire loop of appropriate parameters and a distribution of current dipoles, respectively. The results of calculations of the transient magnetic field at the surface of the earth are presented for a few selected cases of practical interest. The relative importance of the vortex and galvanic components varies with the half‐space resistivity. The vortex component dominates if the half‐space is resistive, in which case free‐space algorithms suffice for numerical modeling. Furthermore the measured responses give much useful information about the target, and large depths of exploration should be achieved. As the half‐space resistivity decreases, a significant half‐space response is observed, caused by currents induced in the half‐space itself. This response can be very large. Spatial variations in it caused by relatively small changes in resistivity, i.e., geologic noise, obscure the response from deep targets making them difficult to detect. The effect of the half‐space is also to delay, distort, and reduce the vortex component in comparison with the free‐space response. The behavior of the galvanic component is determined by the haft‐space current flow. The presence of this component explains the large enhancement of overall target response seen at early times over relatively resistive ground and the departure from an exponential decay seen over more conductive ground, again with respect to responses predicted by free‐space modeling. In more conductive ground the galvanic component completely dominates the vortex component, resulting in the loss of useful diagnostic information. Although target location and depth can still be determined, target shape and orientation are poorly defined. Because of galvanic current saturation good conductors are difficult to distinguish from poor ones.


Geophysics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 798-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. SanFilipo ◽  
Gerald W. Hohmann

The time‐domain integral equation for the three‐dimensional vector electric field is formulated as a convolution of the scattering current with the tensor Green’s function. The convolution integral is divided into a sum of integrals over successive time steps, so that a numerical scheme can be formulated with a time stepping approximation of the convolution of past values of the solution with the system impulse response. This, together with spatial discretization, leads to a matrix equation in which previous solution vectors are multiplied by a series of matrices and fed back into the system by adding to the primary field source vector. The spatial discretization, based on a modification of the usual pulse basis formulation in the frequency domain, includes an additional subset of divergence‐free basis functions generated by integrating the Green’s function around concentric closed rectangular paths. The inductive response of the body is more accurately modeled with these additional basis functions, and a meaningful solution can be obtained for a body in free space. The resulting algorithm produces good results even for large conductivity contrasts. Internal checks, including convergence with respect to spatial and temporal discretization, and reciprocity, demonstrate self‐consistency of the numerical scheme. Independent checks include (a) comparison with results computed for a prism in free space, (b) comparison with results computed for a thin plate, (c) comparison of our conductive half‐space algorithm with an asymptotic solution for a sphere, and (d) comparison with results from inverse Fourier transformation of values computed using a frequency‐domain integral equation algorithm. Qualitative features of the results show that the relative importance of current channeling and confined eddy currents induced in the body depends upon both conductivity contrast and geometry. If the free‐space time constant is less than the time window during which currents in the host have not yet propagated well beyond the body, current channeling dominates the response. In such cases, simple superposition of free‐space results and the background is a poor approximation. In cases where the host currents diffuse beyond the body in a time less than the free‐space time constant of the body, the total response is approximately the sum of the free‐space and background (half‐space) responses.


Geophysics ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 2117-2130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Gunderson ◽  
Gregory A. Newman ◽  
Gerald W. Hohmann

When the current in a grounded wire is terminated abruptly, currents immediately flow in the Earth to preserve the magnetic field. Initially the current is concentrated near the wire, with a broad zone of return currents below. The electric field maximum broadens and moves downward with time. Currents are channeled into a conductive three‐dimensional body, resulting in anomalous magnetic fields. At early times, when the return currents are channeled into the body, the vertical magnetic field is less than the half‐space field on the far side of the body but is greater than the half‐space field between the source and the body. Later the current in the body reverses; the vertical field is enhanced on the far side of the body and decreased between the source and the body. The horizontal magnetic field has a well‐defined maximum directly over the body at late times, and is a better indicator of the position of the body. The vertical magnetic field and its time derivative change sign with time at receiver locations near the source if a three‐dimensional body is present. These sign reversals present serious problems for one‐dimensional inversion, because decay curves for a layered earth do not change sign. At positions away from the source, the decay curves exhibit no sign reversals—only decreases and enhancements relative to one‐dimensional decay curves. In such cases one‐dimensional inversions may provide useful information, but they are likely to result in fictitious layers and erroneous interpretations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shotaro Harada ◽  
Takao Imai ◽  
Yasumitsu Takimoto ◽  
Yumi Ohta ◽  
Takashi Sato ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the interaural direction, translational linear acceleration is loaded during lateral translational movement and gravitational acceleration is loaded during lateral tilting movement. These two types of acceleration induce eye movements via two kinds of otolith-ocular reflexes to compensate for movement and maintain clear vision: horizontal eye movement during translational movement, and torsional eye movement (torsion) during tilting movement. Although the two types of acceleration cannot be discriminated, the two otolith-ocular reflexes can distinguish them effectively. In the current study, we tested whether lateral-eyed mice exhibit both of these otolith-ocular reflexes. In addition, we propose a new index for assessing the otolith-ocular reflex in mice. During lateral translational movement, mice did not show appropriate horizontal eye movement, but exhibited unnecessary vertical torsion-like eye movement that compensated for the angle between the body axis and gravito-inertial acceleration (GIA; i.e., the sum of gravity and inertial force due to movement) by interpreting GIA as gravity. Using the new index (amplitude of vertical component of eye movement)/(angle between body axis and GIA), the mouse otolith-ocular reflex can be assessed without determining whether the otolith-ocular reflex is induced during translational movement or during tilting movement.


Geophysics ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 1469-1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. West ◽  
Stanley H. Ward

Borehole geophysical methods can be useful in detecting subsurface fracture zones and mineral deposits which are nearby, but not intersected by boreholes. One electrical borehole technique which can be applied to this problem is the surface‐to‐borehole transient electromagnetic (TEM) method. In this method a transmitting loop is deployed on the surface while a receiving coil is moved down a borehole. A conductive, horizontal, tabular body in a homogeneous half space was chosen to simulate a 3-D fracture zone or mineral deposit within the earth. Theoretical borehole TEM responses for several models of practical interest were computed using a direct integral‐equation formulation. The anomalous TEM response (secondary response) is the result of a complex interaction between vortex and galvanic currents within the body. Distortion of the secondary response by the conductive host does not affect the estimate of the depth to the horizontal body but it does lead to erroneous estimates of the conductivity and size of the body. Increasing the resistivity of the host decreases the host effects and increases the peak response of the body. Decreasing the separation between the body and borehole or decreasing the depth of the body increases the secondary response. The decrease in the vortex response due to the decreased coupling when a transmitting loop is offset from the body is nearly countered by an increase in the galvanic response at late times; however, this phenomenon is model‐dependent. This study indicates promise for the borehole TEM method, but the application of the technique is limited by the hardware and modest modeling capabilities presently available.


Geophysics ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald W. Hohmann

A theoretical solution is developed for the electromagnetic response of a two‐dimensional inhomogeneity in a conductive half‐space, in the field of a line source of current. The solution is in the form of an integral equation, which is reduced to a matrix equation, and solved numerically for the electric field in the body. The electric and magnetic fields at the surface of the half‐space are found by integrating the half‐space Green’s functions over the scattering currents. One advantage of this particular numerical technique is that it is necessary to solve for scattering currents only in the conductor and not throughout the half‐space. The response of a thin, vertical conductor is studied in some detail. Because the only interpretational aids available previously were scale model results for conductors in free space, the results presented here should be useful in interpreting data and in designing new EM systems. As expected, anomalies decay rapidly as depth of burial is increased, due to attenuation in the conductive half‐space. Depth of exploration appears to be greatest for measurements of horizontal magnetic field phase, while vertical field phase is diagnostic of conductivity. Horizontal location and depth of burial are best determined through measurements of vertical or horizontal magnetic field amplitude.


Geophysics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 1116-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Hanneson

An algorithm for computing the transient electromagnetic (TEM) response of a dipping plate in a conductive half‐space has been developed. For a stationary [Formula: see text] current loop source, calculated profiles simulate the response of the University of Toronto electromagnetic system (UTEM) over a plate in a 1000 Ω ⋅ m half‐space. The objective is to add to knowledge of the galvanic process (causing poloidal plate currents) and the local induction process (causing toroidal currents) by studying host and plate currents with respect to surface profiles. Both processes can occur during TEM surveys. Plates are all [Formula: see text] thick with various depths, dips, and conductances. Calculated host and plate currents provide quantitative examples of several effects. For sufficiently conductive plates, the late time currents are toroidal as for a free‐space host. At earlier times, or at all times for poorly conducting plates, the plate currents are poloidal, and the transitions to toroidal currents, if they occur, are gradual. At very late times, poloidal currents again dominate any toroidal currents but this effect is rarely observed. Stripped, point‐normalized profiles, which reflect secondary fields caused by the anomalous plate currents, illustrate effects such as early time blanking (caused by noninstantaneous diffusion of fields into the target), mid‐time anomaly enhancement (caused by galvanic currents), and late time plate‐in‐free‐space asymptotic behavior.


Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 783-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shashi P. Sharma ◽  
Pertti Kaikkonen

A platelike conducting body in free space is used as a model to invert transient electromagnetic data using the very fast simulated annealing procedure as a global optimization tool. When the host rock conductivity is non‐zero, acceptable fits between the observed and computed responses are difficult to obtain. In general, the conducting body is assigned a lower conductance, larger dimensions (strike length and depth extent) and a smaller depth than the true values. We approximate the response of a conducting host to yield reliable estimates of model parameters as well as a good fit between the observed and computed responses. Our procedure is based on the assumption that the observed electromagnetic response is the sum of the response due to the conductive target and the response due to conducting surroundings (host and overburden). It is also assumed that the host response is laterally invariant, implying a layered earth and fixed source‐receiver geometry. The validity of the superposition assumption is tested against the full solution for a conductive plate in a finite conducting host. The efficacy of our approach is demonstrated using noise‐free and noisy synthetic data and two field examples measured in different geological conditions.


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