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MAGNETIC METHOD
Kevin MickusDepartment of Geosciences, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65804;mickus@cart1.smsu.edu
OVERVIEW
The magnetic method is a geophysical technique that measures variations in the earth’s magnetic field todetermine the location of subsurface features. This nondestructive technique has numerous applications inengineering and environmental studies, including the location of voids, near-surface faults, igneous dikes, andburied ferromagnetic objects (storage drums, pipes). Magnetic field variations can be interpreted to determinean anomaly’s depth, geometry and magnetic susceptibility.Magnetic data, measured in gammas and either collected as total field or gradient measurements, mustbe collected in a grid or along a profile with stations spacing between 1 and 10 meters. Relatively little dataprocessing is required for total field measurements as only time varying changes (diurnal variations) are removedfrom the field data. No data processing is required for gradient data.The interpretation of magnetic data commonly involves the construction of profiles or maps and determiningthe location of obvious magnetic anomalies. If additional interpretation is required, a residual magnetic anomalydue to an object of interest can be determined from the total magnetic field. The interpretation of the residualmagnetic anomalies involves creating models of the subsurface magnetic susceptibility variations to infer ageological cross-section. These models are generally built using a variety of methods ranging from analyticalsolutions to simple geometries to more complex three-dimensional computer algorithms.
INTRODUCTION
The magnetic method of exploring the subsurface is used to either map or locate rock types that containvarying amounts of magnetic susceptible minerals or to locate man-made ferromagnetic (e.g., iron) substances.Thus, the magnetic method has found a broad spectrum of applications in engineering and environmental studiesranging from locating voids and metal containers containing contaminants to mapping dikes that act as barriersto groundwater flow. Table 1 lists the main uses of the magnetic method in shallow geophysical applications.The magnetic method is relatively easy to perform and inexpensive as it requires little data processing ormanipulation. The technique has good depth penetration compared to other geophysical techniques such asground penetrating radar, high frequency electromagnetics and DC-resistivity. The main disadvantages are thatsubsurface information is obtained only if there are buried ferromagnetic materials and the interpretation ofmagnetic anomalies is nonunique. This nonuniqueness means complementary data (e.g., other geophysicaldata or drill hole data) are required to determine the sources of the magnetic anomalies.The magnetic method as applied to engineering and environmental studies is relatively straightforward. Asummary of the fundamental aspects including overviews of theory, data collection, processing, andinterpretation is discussed below. For more detailed information on the magnetic technique, numerous paperscovering engineering and environmental aspects are available in the following journals: Geophysics, GeophysicalProspecting, Exploration Geophysics, Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, and the Journalof Applied Geophysics (formerly Geoexploration). For more detailed investigation on the theoretical backgroundof the magnetic method, the reader is referred to books by Grant and West (1965) and Blakely (1995). Foroverviews of the applied magnetic method, the reader is referred to books by Telford et al. (1990) and Robinsonand Caruh (1988). Recent books by Burger (1992), Vorelsang (1995), Milson (1996), Sharma (1997) andReynolds (1998) contain a chapter on the magnetic method with an emphasis on engineering and environmentalapplications, while the overview paper by Hinze (1990) specifically focuses on engineering and environmentalmagnetic applications.
 
Table 1. Applications of the Magnetic Method.
Locating
Drums, pipes, cable and metallic objectsBuried military ordnance (e.g., shells)
 
Buried well casingsUnderground coal burnsUnderground voids including mine shafts and adits
Mapping 
Archaeological remains (fire pits, cemeteries, garbage pits)
 
LandfillsConcealed dikes and faultsSteel diin eoloical contacts
PRINCIPLES OF THE MAGNETIC METHODTheory
The theoretical basis of the magnetic method is to a first approximation the same as the gravity method(Mickus, this volume). The main differences between the two techniques are that in the magnetic method, thetotal magnetic field (x, y and z components) is measured, whereas in the gravity method commonly only thez-component is measured. Additionally, the magnetic properties of rocks can vary by several orders ofmagnitude, while the densities of rocks usually only vary by a few percent.The theory behind the applied magnetic method can be explained by a magnetic dipole in which the basicelements can be seen in a simple bar magnetic (Figure 1). The bar magnetic consists of two poles (dipolar),a positive north-seeking pole and a negative south-seeking pole, and these poles always exist as pairs. Thesetwo poles produce a magnetic field called the magnetic field intensity (
H
). If a magnetizable body (e.g., iron ormagnetite) is placed in an external magnetic field (e.g., the earth’s magnetic field), it will become magnetizedand produce a secondary magnetic field, determined by the material’s magnetic polarization (
M
). For lowexternal magnetic fields (e.g., the earth’s), the degree in which the body is magnetized is determined by itsmagnetic susceptibility, k, and is defined as
M
= k
H
.
 
(1)Magnetic susceptibility is a nondimensional quantity and is the fundamental physical property used inthe magnetic method. The measurement of the total magnetic field, (which includes the external magneticfield and the magnetization) is called the magnetic induction (
B
) and is written as
B
=
µ 
o
(1 + k)
H
(2)where,
µ 
o
is the magnetic permeability of free space. The units of
B
are teslas, which is generally too large anumber for applied magnetic work, so gammas (10
-9
teslas) are more commonly used. Also, note that
B
is avector quantity and in most magnetic work today, the amplitude of
B
is measured and it is called the totalmagnetic field.
 
Figure 1. Magnetic field due to a simple bar magnetic (adapted from Reynolds, 1998).
Earth’s magnetic field
The earth’s magnetic field consists of three components: 1) the main field, 2) the external field and 3)magnetizable materials within the earth’s crust. The main field which accounts for over 99% of the earth’s totalmagnetic field is internal in origin and is thought to be caused by convection currents of conducting material(mainly iron and nickel) within the liquid outer core. The earth’s main magnetic field approximates to a firstdegree a magnetic dipole and is the inducing field for magnetizable objects within the earth’s crust. The mainfield consists of several magnetic elements, which are important in understanding the measured magneticanomaly patterns. These elements include: 1) magnitude of the field (F), 2) magnetic inclination (I) which is thedip of a magnetic compass needle from horizontal (e.g., magnetic south pole is -90
o
, magnetic north pole is 90
o
,and magnetic equator is 0
o
), and 3) magnetic declination (D) which is the angle between geographic andmagnetic north. Figure 2 shows the relationship between these values. These values are collectively known asthe International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF).Additionally, the earth’s main magnetic field changes with time due to variations in the motion of theconvection currents within the outer core. These changes (called westward drift or secular variations) cause themagnitude, inclination and declination to change with time. As a consequence, the IGRF is updated every tenyears or so and is revised to give the DGRF (Definitive), which is current reference model of the earth’s magneticfield. The current DGRF can be obtained from the national geophysical data center of the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Agency (NOAA). The use of the DGRF in the magnetic method is explained below in the dataprocessing and interpretation sections.The external magnetic field (also called diurnal variations) is due to electric currents within the earth’sionosphere. These currents are mainly caused by interactions with plasmas connected with solar winds. Thesediurnal variations fluctuate rapidly but smoothly with time (minutes to hours) with maximum amplitudes varyingfrom 50 to 200 gammas. On some days, these fluctuations are more random with amplitudes of several hundredgammas and are called magnetic storms. These storms are associated with solar flares and sunspot activity,and may persist for hours or several days. During such storms, magnetic surveying should be stopped. Theremoval of diurnal variations from field data is discussed below under data collection and processing.The magnetizable materials within the earth’s crust create small amplitude magnetic fields that causespatial variations of the earth’s main magnetic field. These materials are the targets of the magnetic method.
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