Magnetotellurics

About: Magnetotellurics is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2045 publications have been published within this topic receiving 35958 citations.

Electrical Methods in Geophysical Prospecting

Abstract: Textbook on eleclrical methods in geophysical prospecting. Chapter subjects include elecirical properties of earth materials, electrical well logging, galvanic resistivity methods, magnetotelluric resistivity methods, telluric current methods, induction methods, radio wave methods, and induced polarization. -- AATA

Basic theory of the magneto-telluric method of geophysical prospecting

Abstract: From Ampere’s Law (for a homogeneous earth) and from Maxwell’s equations using the concept of Hertz vectors (for a multilayered earth), solutions are obtained for the horizontal components of the electric and magnetic fields at the surface due to telluric currents in the earth. The ratio of these horizontal components, together with their relative phases, is diagnostic of the structure and true resistivities of subsurface strata. The ratios of certain other pairs of electromagnetic elements are similarly diagnostic. Normally, a magneto‐telluric sounding is represented by curves of the apparent resistivity and the phase difference at a given station plotted as functions of the period of the various telluric current components. Specific formulae are derived for the resistivities, depths to interfaces, etc. in both the two‐ and three‐layer problems. For two sections which are geometrically similar and whose corresponding resistivities differ only by a linear factor, the phase relationships are the same and t...

The Magnetotelluric Method in the Exploration of Sedimentary Basins

Abstract: The paper describes the theory of the magnetotelluric (MT) method, and some of the experimental, analytical, and interpretive techniques developed for its use in petroleum exploration in the past five years. Particular emphasis is placed on interpretation, since it is the area least amenable to routine treatment. Whereas present interpretation techniques are adequate, interpretation is the area of both the greatest progress and the greatest need for improvement. Field results are presented from traverses in South Texas bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and the Anadarko Basin of southwestern Oklahoma. Wide station spacings were used, such as might typify basin evaluations. The South Texas results are compared directly with smoothed induction logs. No useable logs could be found for Oklahoma. Comparisons with known and inferred geology show that the surveys mapped resistivity successfully in the known parts of these basins as well as in portions inaccessible seismically. The capabilities and economics of the...

Crustal deformation of the eastern Tibetan plateau revealed by magnetotelluric imaging

Abstract: The ongoing collision of the Indian and Asian continents has created the Himalaya and Tibetan plateau through a range of deformation processes. These include crustal thickening, detachment of the lower lithosphere from the plate (delamination) and flow in a weakened lower crust 1‐6 . Debate continues as to which of these processes are most significant 7 . In eastern Tibet, large-scale motion of the surface occurs, but the nature of deformation at depth remains unresolved. A large-scale crustal flow channel has been proposed as an explanation for regional uplift in eastern Tibet 6,8,9 , but existing geophysical data 10,11 do not constrain the pattern of flow. Magnetotellurics uses naturally occurring electromagnetic waves to image the Earth’s subsurface. Here we present magnetotelluric data that image two major zones or channels of high electrical conductivity at a depth of 20-40 km. The channels extend horizontally more than 800 km from the Tibetan plateau into southwest China. The electrical properties of the channels imply an elevated fluid content consistent with a weak crust 12,13 that permits flow on a geological timescale. These findings support the hypothesis that crustal flow can occur in orogenic belts and contribute to uplift of plateaux. Our results reveal the previously unknown complexities of these patterns of crustal flow. Many previous studies of the IndiaAsia

Crustal rheology of the Himalaya and Southern Tibet inferred from magnetotelluric data

Abstract: The Cenozoic collision between the Indian and Asian continents formed the Tibetan plateau, beginning about 70 million years ago. Since this time, at least 1,400 km of convergence has been accommodated by a combination of underthrusting of Indian and Asian lithosphere, crustal shortening, horizontal extrusion and lithospheric delamination. Rocks exposed in the Himalaya show evidence of crustal melting and are thought to have been exhumed by rapid erosion and climatically forced crustal flow. Magnetotelluric data can be used to image subsurface electrical resistivity, a parameter sensitive to the presence of interconnected fluids in the host rock matrix, even at low volume fractions. Here we present magnetotelluric data from the Tibetan-Himalayan orogen from 77 degrees E to 92 degrees E, which show that low resistivity, interpreted as a partially molten layer, is present along at least 1,000 km of the southern margin of the Tibetan plateau. The inferred low viscosity of this layer is consistent with the development of climatically forced crustal flow in Southern Tibet.