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Broadest sense: physics of the Solar System
General sense: physics of the Earth
Geophysical analysis
• you can’t get direct access to the rocks
• you want to “model” a large area quickly
• you know what you are looking for
Geophysical analysis
• every geophysical technique only “estimates”
geology
• Measure the intensity of waves and force fields as
they pass through geological material
• Looking for unpredicted variations or deviations
from normal (anomalies)
• Geological interpretations are made on the basis of
these anomalies
Geophysics Branches
• Global geophysics (study of the whole earth)
• Engineering geophysics (sub‐surface material and structures)
• Environmental geophysics (near‐surface physico‐chemical
phenomena to assess sites for environmental remediation)
• Exploration geophysics (mineral and petroleum exploration)
• Archaeo‐geophysics (find archaeological remains)
• Hydro‐geophysics (groundwater investigations)
• Glacio‐geophysics (geophysics in glaciology)
Geophysical Methods
Passive methods: measure naturally occurring
phenomena
• Gravity fields
• Magnetic fields
• Seismic arrivals‐earthquakes
•The force that pulls two mass towards each other,
and in case of earth, pulls mass towards the centre of earth
•as an object’s mass increases, the gravitational attraction
of that object increases
•decreases as a function of (distance)2
Can be measure with gravimeter (attraction of spring to mass)
Magnetic field
• Analysis of variations in earth’s magnetic field
• Earth’s magnetic filed has north and south magnetic poles
• Recorded in rocks and as they cool
• Generated in the Earth’s liquid outer core it spins and
produces electrical current
Seismic arrivals-earthquakes
• Earthquake: Ground shaking caused by the sudden release of energy
stored in the rocks beneath the earth surface
• Seismic waves: when a rock breaks, waves of energy are released and
sent out through the earth. These are seismic waves, the waves of
energy produced by an earthquake. These seismic waves shake ground.
• Body waves: travel through the earth’s interior, spreading outward from
the focus in all directions
• Surface waves: travel on the earth’s surface away from the epicentre
• Seismometer: instrument to detect seismic waves
• Seismograph: recording device that produces a permanent record of
earth motion detected by seismometer
• Seismogram: the paper record of earth vibration is called a seismogram
• Location of an earthquake: a travel time curve is
used to determine the distance to an earthquake
• Difference between P and S waves because they
travel at different speeds
• Measuring the size of an earthquake: intensity and
magnitude
Seismic arrivals‐ explosions
• Seismic surveys utilize artificial energy sources, such as
explosives, weight dropping and hammers, etc, to shake the
ground.
• the seismic surveys are mainly used for oil and gas
exploration, mining, environment and engineering
applications, etc, and the investigation depth is typically less
than 10km.
• Velocity is needed to convert the time‐sections into depth‐
sections i.e. geological cross‐sections
Seismic surveys
Recording truck
geophones
Energy source
Reflecting boundary
Reflecting boundary
Electrical current
• Resistance of the earth
Ohm’s Law
Empirical relationship between the current (I) flowing through
a wire, of resistance R and the voltage potential (V) required
to propagate the current.
V = IR
Further R is inversely proportional to L is the length and
directly related to A the cross sectional area of wire.
the resistivity, ρ of a material
• ρ = RA/L or ρ = VA/IL
• By measuring voltage potentials at locations in the survey
area, the electrical conductivity/resistivity of the earth
materials can be estimated.
Terrameter SAS-4000 LUND
Imaging System (continued)
Electromagnetic method (EM)
• IN EM method, there are a primary EM field and a secondary
EM field. The primary field, or the source of the EM energy,
induces electrical current in the earth media, which in turn,
causes the secondary EM field. The secondary EM field is
generally measured through the changing rate of the
magnetic flux within a circuit loop without direct contact with
the earth media. The primary EM field can be natural as in the
very low frequency (VLF) method, or artificial as in many EM
surveys with EM transmitters.
VLF method
• VLF methods of geophysics utilize Very Low Frequency radio
communication signals to determine electrical properties of near surface
soils and shallow bedrock
• The technique is especially useful for mapping steeply dipping structures
such as faults, fracture zones and areas of mineralization.
• It may be used wherever a electrical conductivity contrast is present
between geological units.
• fault mapping,
• groundwater investigations,
• contaminant mapping,
• mineral exploration
• VLF instruments are operated by one person.
Hydro-Logger
• Borehole logging is a simple cost‐effective method of
characterising the construction and performance of water
wells. Logging has a vital role not only in initial drilling but also
in regular performance monitoring to identify developing well
problems before they lead to costly failures. RG's
Micrologger2 digital logging and television equipment is
small, easy‐to‐use and highly reliable. After 5 years and 250
units sold worldwide, the unit has a proven track record for
reliability and technology. In addition to well known logging
service companies, users include water‐well drillers, hydro‐
geologists, environmental consultants, aid agencies, the
military and universities.
Hydro-Logger
Services Offered:
• Locate water table and perched water bodies
• Characterize aquifers and aquitards
• Estimate potential reservoir yield
• Measure hydraulic conductivity
• Identify regions of contamination
• Check position of casing, grout and screens
• Measure borehole size, depth and verticality
• Create permanent record for monitoring programs
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
• GPR also utilizes EM waves, but its frequencies are much
higher (in MHz and GHz) than those of traditional geophysical
EM instruments. The EM field in the GPR method is described
as the wave propagation instead of the EM induction. The
high frequency EM waves are transmitted by the GPR
antenna, bounced back by the targets and recorded by the
GPR.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
Radiometric Surveys
• Different rocks and soils have different components and
concentrations of radioactive isotopes. The measurements of
natural radiation from spontaneous radioactive decays, such
as gamma rays, can be used to analyze the characteristics of
the earth materials. Radiometric surveys are used extensively
in the borehole logging
Thermal imaging
• Almost all objects emit infrared radiation and the radiation
strength varies with the temperature. The spatial
temperature variations of the objects can be obtained
through the measurements of the infrared radiation –
thermal imaging. Thermal imaging can be used in detecting
subsurface targets since their presences could affect the
ground surface temperatures.
Induced Polarization (IP) and
Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP)
• IP method is similar to DC electrical resistivity method, only
the voltage potentials are measured after the electrical
current is switched off. It’s good method to delineate
electrically conductive targets.
• Recently developed spectral induced polarization (SIP) utilizes
electrical current with a range of frequencies, providing more
information than the traditional DC electrical resistivity and
induced polarization methods. The reason is that different
materials could have different responses at different
frequencies, even when they have the same response in the
DC condition.