GEOP 446L ? Exploration Geophysics II ?

Spring 2003

Lab 7: Magnetic Surveying

Introduction: Magnetization
The magnetic method is very similiar to the gravity method as it is used to detect lateral
variations in the properties of rocks. Magnetic susceptibility is the property of a material
which determines how much magnetization will be present due to an external magnetic field.
The intensity of magnetization in a material is proportional to the strength of the extermal
magnetic field

I = kH
where I is the magnetization, H is the external magnetic field and k is the magnetic suscep-
tibility.
Minerals are classified as either diamagnetic or paramagnetic. Diamagnetic materials
have negative and very low susceptibilities. Most paramagnetic materials have positive
susceptibilities but also with very low values, so they are not of interest in geophysical
surveys. Some paramagnetic materials are ferromagnetic which have alignments of magnetic
moments in small areas called magnetic domains. These materials are not naturally occuring
on earth, so again they are not of interest in exploration.
Ferrimagnetic minerals, on the other hand, are common and naturally occuring. These
minerals (e.g. magnetite, pyrrhotite) have a net magnetic moment and thus relatively high
susceptibilities. In general, igneous and metamorphic rocks have higher susceptibilities than
sedimentary rocks.

Magnetic Surveying
A magnetometer is used for geophysical exploration and is very basically a device which
measures the magnetic field due to the presence of magnetic materials in the subsurface.
More detail on the different types of instruments can be found in Reynolds (1997) or Burger
(1992).
As with a gravity survey, magnetic surveys require a base station where measurements
are repeated in order to correct for systematic variations in the data. Unlike gravity surveys,
magnetic objects worn by the surveyor can affect the data and need to be removed before
collecting data. Corrections also need to be applied in order to account for diurnal variations
in the external field. The processing of magnetic data is also much more complex than for
gravity data due to the nature of the dipolar magnetic field. Burger (1992) provides a
relatively simple discussion on the processing and modeling of magnetic data.

1
Literature review: Magnetic surveying
The assignment for this weeks lab is to read an article relating to magnetic surveying of
archaeological sites. After reading the article, write a short summary of the articles. Specif-
ically, summarize the purpose of the survey, the data collection techniques, data processing
and their conclusions. In addition, please consider the following questions and answer them
in your review

• do you agree with their conclusions - did they find what they had intended to with a
reasonable amount of certainity?

• was the appropriate geophysical methid used or do you suggest another method which
would provide better results?

• what could be done to improve their surveys - (for example : better background re-
search, larger survey area, higher resolution sampling, different equipment, etc.)

Articles:
Gibson, T., 1986, Magnetic prospection on prehistoric sites in Western Canada: Geophysics,
51, 561-567.

Young, C., D. Droege, 1986, Archaeological applications of resistivity and magnetic methods
at Fort Wilkins State Park, Michigan: Geophysics 51, 568-575.

Review due: Monday, April 14th in lab