Transient electromagnetic modelling of an isolated wire loop over a conductive medium

A large closed wire loop is generally used in field experiments for testing airborne electrical exploration equipment. Thus, methods are required for the precise calculation of an electromagnetic response in the presence of a closed wire loop. We develop a fast and precise scheme for calculating the transient response for such a closed loop laid out at the surface of a horizontally layered conductive ground. Our scheme is based on the relationship between the magnetic flux flowing through a closed loop and the current induced in it. The developed scheme is compared with 2D and 3D finite‐element modelling for several positions of an airborne electromagnetic system flying over a closed loop. We also study the coupling effect between the current flowing in the closed loop and the current flowing in the horizontally layered conductive medium. The result shows that for the central position of the transmitter, the difference between axisymmetrical finite‐element modelling and our scheme is less than 1%. Moreover, for the non‐coaxial transmitter–receiver–loop system, the solution obtained by our scheme is in good agreement with full 3D finite‐element modelling, and our total simulation time is substantially lower: 1 minute versus 120 hours.     

Turning off low and high currents in a transmitter loop used in the transient electromagnetic method

In near-surface transient electromagnetic studies, it is desirable to measure the transient response starting from the earliest possible time. This requires the current in the transmitter loop to be switched off quickly, which necessitates working with a low transmitter current. As for deep-target transient electromagnetic studies, the transmitter current is as high as possible. The transmitter current's turn-off waveform and total duration affect the transient voltage response, especially at early times, which is to be accounted for when interpreting transient electromagnetic data. This article discusses the difference in switching off low and high current in a horizontal loop used as the source of the primary magnetic field in the transient electromagnetic method. Low and high currents are turned off in fundamentally different ways. When the current to be switched off is low, the loop can be represented as a symmetric combination of two transmission lines grounded at the middle of the loop perimeter. Such a representation of a loop allows calculating the current turn-off waveform at any point of the loop. The waveform and total duration of switching off a low current does not depend on its magnitude, but is determined by the period of natural oscillations of the current in the loop and the resistance of a shunting resistor. Switching off a low current in a loop can be represented as the sum of stepped current waves travelling along the loop wire. As a consequence, the current at different points of the loop perimeter is turned off at different times. In contrast to a low current, a high current is switched off linearly in time and synchronously at all points of the loop perimeter. The wave phenomena appear only at the very beginning of the current shutdown for a time interval that is much less than the total current turn-off duration. Presentation of the loop using a simple lumped-circuit model predicts the waveform and duration of the high current turn-off that coincide with the measured ones. There are two reasons why the article may be of interest to those engaged in the theory and/or practice of electromagnetic geophysical methods. First, it contributes to a general understanding of how the current in the transmitter loop is turned off. Second, the article shows how the parameters of a transmitter loop determine the current turn-off duration and thus the minimum depth of the transient electromagnetic sounding method.     

固定翼航空电磁系统的线圈姿态及吊舱摆动影响研究与校正

固定翼时间域航空电磁探测系统在实际飞行测量过程中,发射线圈、接收线圈姿态和吊舱摆动状态不断变化,在测量数据中引入如发射磁矩方向、接收分量方向以及系统收发距等参数的误差,影响数据反演成像效果.本文基于固定翼时间域航空电磁正演理论,利用姿态变换,引入发射线圈、接收线圈双旋转矩阵;根据发射、接收线圈相对位置的几何关系,求得摆动格林张量;推导了任意姿态角度以及任意摆动角度情况下的固定翼航空电磁响应三分量计算表达式.通过层状大地模型的仿真计算,分别研究了发射、接收线圈各姿态以及吊舱摆动状态对航空电磁响应的影响,得出发射线圈、接收线圈俯仰旋转和吊舱同向摆动对系统电磁响应影响最强;仿真分析了实际测量中,三种角度同时存在情况下,航空电磁响应的定量变化规律.在此基础上,讨论了响应系数与大地电导率的关系,同时给出基于响应系数的固定翼航空电磁系统线圈姿态和摆动状态校正方法,准二维层状大地模型反演结果表明,校正后数据的反演精度提高了33.1%.     

全波形时间域航空电磁响应三维有限差分数值计算

全波形时域航空电磁测量具有解释精度高、分辨率高等优点,已成为新一代时域航空电磁探测发展的趋势.为此,本文基于无源有限差分法,将发射电流离散为若干梯形脉冲元,将脉冲元在时间上产生的电磁场转换为空间初始场,在差分迭代过程中分时引入差分方程,逐步将有源有限差分方程转换为无源有限差分方程,最终实现了发射电流为任意波形时,全波形时间域航空电磁响应的三维数值计算.计算结果表明:在梯形波发射时,对于典型地电模型的航空时间域电磁响应,计算稳定时间大于10 ms;与积分方程法相比,发射线圈中心点二次场响应平均误差小于1%.任意源三维全波形数值计算的实现为全波形三维反演和仪器设计奠定了基础.     

Float‐transient electromagnetic method: in‐loop transient electromagnetic measurements on Lake Holzmaar,Germany

Lake sediments may serve as archives on paleoclimatic fluctuations, geomagnetic field variations and volcanic activities. Lake Holzmaar in Eifel/Germany is a maar lake and its lacustrine sediments provide paleoclimatic proxy data. Therefore, knowledge about the geometry and, especially, about the thickness of the sediments is very important for determining an optimum drilling location for paleoclimatic studies. We have developed a floating in‐loop transient electromagnetic method field set up (Float‐transient electromagnetic method) with a transmitter and receiver size of 18 × 18 m² and 6 × 6 m² respectively. This special set up enables in‐loop transient electromagnetic method measurements on the surface of freshwater lakes that define the geometry and the thickness of sediments beneath such lakes thus helping to determine optimum drilling locations. Due to the modular design of the new Float‐transient electromagnetic method field set up, this system can be handled by two operators and can easily be transported. Sixteen in‐loop soundings were carried out on the surface of Lake Holzmaar. The transient electromagnetic method data could not be interpreted by conventional 1D inversions because of the 3D distribution of subsurface conductivity caused by the lake's geometry. Three‐dimensional finite element modelling was applied to explain the observed transients and the 3D conductivity distribution beneath the lake was recovered by taking its geometry into account. The 3D interpretation revealed approximately 55 m thick sediments beneath 20 m deep water in the central part of the lake.     

The electromagnetic response of a horizontal electric dipole buried in a multi‐layered earth

The electromagnetic response of a horizontal electric dipole transmitter in the presence of a conductive, layered earth is important in a number of geophysical applications, ranging from controlled‐source audio‐frequency magnetotellurics to borehole geophysics to marine electromagnetics. The problem has been thoroughly studied for more than a century, starting from a dipole resting on the surface of a half‐space and subsequently advancing all the way to a transmitter buried within a stack of anisotropic layers. The solution is still relevant today. For example, it is useful for one‐dimensional modelling and interpretation, as well as to provide background fields for two‐ and three‐dimensional modelling methods such as integral equation or primary–secondary field formulations. This tutorial borrows elements from the many texts and papers on the topic and combines them into what we believe is a helpful guide to performing layered earth electromagnetic field calculations. It is not intended to replace any of the existing work on the subject. However, we have found that this combination of elements is particularly effective in teaching electromagnetic theory and providing a basis for algorithmic development. Readers will be able to calculate electric and magnetic fields at any point in or above the earth, produced by a transmitter at any location. As an illustrative example, we calculate the fields of a dipole buried in a multi‐layered anisotropic earth to demonstrate how the theory that developed in this tutorial can be implemented in practice; we then use the example to examine the diffusion of volume charge density within anisotropic media—a rarely visualised process. The algorithm is internally validated by comparing the response of many thin layers with alternating high and low conductivity values to the theoretically equivalent (yet algorithmically simpler) anisotropic solution, as well as externally validated against an independent algorithm.     

基于PCA-RBF神经网络的航空飞行几何参数拟合

采用地面异常线圈对直升机时域航空电磁探测系统进行标定时,发射-接收线圈姿态的变化将导致实测数据产生误差,影响标定的精度.本文基于时间域航空电磁系统,计算了发射-接收线圈姿态任意变化时异常线圈的电磁响应,提出了主成分分析-径向基神经网络(PCA-RBF)的拟合算法,采用主成分分析法提取飞行几何参数的贡献率,利用径向基神经网络法对电磁响应进行了测线剖面的批量数据拟合,并对理论仿真和河南桐柏直升机飞行试验数据进行拟合分析,单一异常体理论数据的绝对误差平均值小于20nV·m-2,双异常体理论数据绝对误差平均值为160nV·m-2.野外实测数据在异常线圈中心位置的拟合相对误差小于1%,整条剖面测线的拟合相对误差小于±6%,平均值为2.5%.结果表明PCA-RBF拟合算法能够较好地实现航空电磁系统飞行参数的拟合,为航空电磁系统海量实测数据的快速处理提供了新方法.     

Distortions of EM transients in coincident loops at short time‐delays

Transient electromagnetic measurements with short time‐delays of transients are used for solving different problems within the upper part of a geoelectric section. However, it is necessary to take into consideration distortions connected with self‐transients within the transmitter–receiver system. From the practical point of view, it is important to estimate the minimum time‐delay after which these distortions may be neglected. We present such an estimation which uses a simple approximation method for a single‐loop (or coincident‐loop) configuration. For common values of the loop size (10 m × 10 m to 40 m × 40 m) and of the resistivity of a homogeneous half‐space (1–100 Ωm), the minimum time‐delay beyond which we can use a standard interpretation is in the range of 2–10 µs. This is equivalent to a minimum depth of investigation in the range of 1–30 m.     

Two‐dimensional controlled‐source electromagnetic interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution: spatial sampling aspects

We use numerically modelled data sets to investigate the sensitivity of electromagnetic interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution to spatial receiver sampling. Interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution retrieves the reflection response below the receivers after decomposition of the fields into upward and downward decaying fields and deconvolving the upward decaying field by the downward decaying field. Thereby the medium above the receiver level is replaced with a homogeneous half‐space, the sources are redatumed to the receiver level and the direct field is removed. Consequently, in a marine setting the retrieved reflection response is independent of any effect of the water layer and the air above. A drawback of interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution is a possibly unstable matrix inversion, which is necessary to retrieve the reflection response. Additionally, in order to correctly separate the upward and the downward decaying fields, the electromagnetic fields need to be sampled properly. We show that the largest possible receiver spacing depends on two parameters: the vertical distance between the source and the receivers and the length of the source. The receiver spacing should not exceed the larger of these two parameters. Besides these two parameters, the presence of inhomogeneities close to the receivers may also require a dense receiver sampling. We show that by using the synthetic aperture concept, an elongated source can be created from conventionally acquired data in order to overcome these strict sampling criteria. Finally, we show that interferometry may work under real‐world conditions with random noise and receiver orientation and positioning errors.     

On removing the primary field from fixed-wing time-domain airborne electromagnetic data: some consequences for quantitative modelling, estimating bird position and detecting perfect conductors

In the process of removing the primary field from fixed‐wing time‐domain airborne EM data, the response is decomposed into two parts, which are referred to here as the time‐domain ‘in‐phase’ and ‘quadrature’ components. The time‐domain in‐phase component is dominated by the primary field, which varies significantly as the transmitter–receiver separation changes. The time‐domain quadrature component comes solely from the secondary response associated with currents induced in the ground and this is the component that has traditionally been used in the interpretation of data from fixed‐wing towed‐bird time‐domain EM systems. In the off‐time, the quadrature response is very similar to the total secondary response. However, there are large differences in the on‐time and even some small differences in the off‐time.One consequence of these differences is that when airborne EM data are to be interpreted using a synthetic mathematical model, the synthetic data calculated should also be the quadrature component. A second consequence relates to the time‐domain in‐phase component which is sometimes used to estimate the receiver‐sensor (bird) position. The bird‐position estimation process assumes there is no secondary field in the in‐phase component. If the ground is resistive, the secondary contained in the in‐phase component is small, so the bird‐position estimate is accurate to about 30 cm, but in highly conductive areas the secondary contribution can be large and the position estimate can be out by as much as 5 m. A third consequence arises for highly conductive bodies, the response of which is predominantly in‐phase. This means that any response from these types of body is lost in the component that has been removed in the primary‐field extraction procedure. However, if the bird position is measured very accurately, the actual free‐space primary field can be estimated. If this is then subtracted from the estimated primary (actually free‐space primary plus secondary in‐phase response), then the residual is the secondary in‐phase response of the ground. Using this methodology, very conductive ore bodies could be detected. However, a sensitivity analysis shows that detection of a large vertically dipping very conductive body at 150 m depth would require that the bird position be measured to an accuracy of about 1.4 cm and the aircraft attitude to within about 0.01°. Such tolerances are very stringent and not easily attainable with current technology.     

Time domain electromagnetic‐induced polarisation: extracting more induced polarisation information from grounded source time domain electromagnetic data

Electrical induced polarisation surveys are used to detect chargeable materials in the earth. For interpretation of time domain electrical‐induced polarisation data a common procedure is to first invert the direct current data (electric current on time) to recover conductivity and then invert the induced polarisation data (current off‐time) to recover chargeability. This direct current‐induced polarisation inversion procedure assumes that the off time data are free of secondary electromagnetic induction effects. To comply with this, early time data are often discarded or not recorded. For mid‐time data, an electromagnetic decoupling technique, which removes electromagnetic induction in the observations, needs to be implemented. Usually, responses from a half‐space or a layered earth are subtracted. Recent capability in three‐dimensional time domain electromagnetic forward modelling and inversion allows to revisit these procedures. In a Time domain electromagnetic‐induced polarisation survey, a high sampling rate allows early time channels of the electromagnetic data to be recorded. The recovery of chargeability then follows a three‐step workflow: (i) invert early time channel time domain electromagnetic data to recover the three‐dimensional conductivity; (ii) use that conductivity to compute the time domain electromagnetic response at later time channels and subtract this fundamental response from the observations to extract the induced polarisation responses, and (iii) invert the induced polarisation responses to recover a three‐dimensional chargeability. This workflow effectively removes electromagnetic induction effects in the observations and produces better chargeability and conductivity models compared with conventional approaches. In a synthetic example involving a gradient array, we show that the conductivity structure obtained from the early time channel data, which are usually discarded, is superior to that obtained from the steady state direct current voltages. This adds a further reason to collect these electromagnetic data.     

瞬变电磁波测井边界远探测方法研究

随钻地质导向钻井的关键在于对边界的探测,为提高仪器探测深度,时谐源激励的电磁波测井方法通常采用降低频率、增大源距的方式.瞬变电磁波测井信号源的突然关断产生会产生感应涡流,涡流随时间向地层深部扩散,与时谐源激励方式相比,其探测深度更大且测量过程不受信号源的干扰.因此,本文提出一种时间域瞬变电磁波测井边界远探测方法,采用余弦变换的数值滤波算法,模拟层状地层同轴发射接收线圈的瞬变电磁波测井响应,结果显示,地层电导率越大,电磁波传播速度越慢,测量晚期感应电动势与地层电导率线性相关;通过定义层状介质总场与线圈系所在当前层背景场的差值可方便提取界面信息,对界面的探测距离可达数十米;瞬变电磁波测井响应受源距的影响很小,为利用短源距实现远探测提供了可能.瞬变电磁波测井与时谐源电磁波测井相比优势明显,在电磁波测井领域中应用前景广阔.     

Analysing two‐dimensional effects in central loop transient electromagnetic sounding data using a semi‐synthetic tipper approach

We present a simple and feasible approach to analyse and identify two‐dimensional effects in central loop transient electromagnetic sounding data and the correspondingly derived quasi two‐dimensional conductivity models. The proposed strategy is particularly useful in minimising interpretation errors. It is based on the calculation of a semi‐synthetic transient electromagnetic tipper at each sounding and for each observational transient time point. The semi‐synthetic transient electromagnetic tipper is derived from the measured vertical component of the induced voltage and the synthetically calculated horizontal component. The approach is computationally inexpensive and involves one two‐dimensional forward calculation of an obtained quasi two‐dimensional conductivity section. Based on a synthetic example, we demonstrate that the transient electromagnetic tipper approach is applicable in identifying which transient data points and which corresponding zones in a derived quasi two‐dimensional subsurface model are affected by two‐dimensional inhomogeneities. The one‐dimensional inversion of such data leads to false models. An application of the semi‐synthetic transient electromagnetic tipper to field data from the Azraq basin in Jordan reveals that, in total, eight of 80 investigated soundings are affected by two‐dimensional structures although the field data can be fitted optimally using one‐dimensional inversion techniques. The largest semi‐synthetic tipper response occurs in a 300 m‐wide region around a strong lateral resistivity contrast. The approach is useful for analysing structural features in derived quasi two‐dimensional sections and for qualitatively investigating how these features affect the transient response. To avoid misinterpretation, these identified zones corresponding to large tipper values are excluded from the interpretation of a quasi two‐dimensional conductivity model. Based on the semi‐synthetic study, we also demonstrate that a quantitative interpretation of the horizontal voltage response (e.g. by inversion) is usually not feasible as it requires the exact sensor position to be known. Although a tipper derived purely from field data is useful as a qualitative tool for identifying two‐dimensional distortion effects, it is only feasible if the sensor setup is sufficiently accurate. Our proposed semi‐synthetic transient electromagnetic tipper approach is particularly feasible as an a posteriori approach if no horizontal components are recorded or if the sensor setup in the field is not sufficiently accurate.     

基于等值反磁通原理的浅层瞬变电磁法

基于等值反磁通原理的瞬变电磁法是一种新的探测地下纯二次场的方法.该方法采用上下平行共轴的两个相同线圈通以反向电流作为发射源,且在该双线圈源合成的一次场零磁通平面上,测量对地中心耦合的纯二次场.理论计算和物理实验论证了该方法能够有效消除接收线圈本身的感应电动势,从而获得地下纯二次场的响应.理论推导和数值计算证明了该方法采用的双线圈源比传统瞬变电磁法采用的单线圈源对地中心耦合场能量更集中,因而有利于减少旁侧影响、提高探测的横向分辨率.实测试验表明该方法是浅层探测的一种有效方法.     

Three‐dimensional controlled‐source electromagnetic modelling with a well casing as a grounded source: a hybrid method of moments and finite element scheme

Steel well casings in or near a hydrocarbon reservoir can be used as source electrodes in time‐lapse monitoring using grounded line electromagnetic methods. A requisite component of carrying out such monitoring is the capability to numerically model the electromagnetic response of a set of source electrodes of finite length. We present a modelling algorithm using the finite‐element method for calculating the electromagnetic response of a three‐dimensional conductivity model excited using a vertical steel‐cased borehole as a source. The method is based on a combination of the method of moments and the Coulomb‐gauged primary–secondary potential formulation. Using the method of moments, we obtain the primary field in a half‐space due to an energized vertical steel casing by dividing the casing into a set of segments, each assumed to carry a piecewise constant alternating current density. The primary field is then substituted into the primary–secondary potential finite‐element formulation of the three‐dimensional problem to obtain the secondary field. To validate the algorithm, we compare our numerical results with: (i) the analytical solution for an infinite length casing in a whole space, excited by a line source, and (ii) a three‐layered Earth model without a casing. The agreement between the numerical and analytical solutions demonstrates the effectiveness of our algorithm. As an illustration, we also present the time‐lapse electromagnetic response of a synthetic model representing a gas reservoir undergoing water flooding.     

同心补偿式直升机时间域航空电磁法吊舱校准装置研究

直升机间域航空电磁法(Helicopter-borne time-domain electromagnetic method,HTEM)的多次空中仪器校准可消除飞行过程中仪器系统受外界环境的时变影响.吊舱校准装置可解决地面环线方式无法实现的空中飞行过程中仪器校准问题.本文从研究同心补偿吊舱装置模型出发,提出了吊舱装置空...     

Transient process and optimal design of receiver coil for small‐loop transient electromagnetics

Distributed parameters of the receiver coils greatly affect transient electromagnetic signals over short time periods, causing a delay in the signal's effective sampling time and the loss of shallow exploration information. This paper investigates the influence of transient process on apparent resistivity calculation and analyses the relations between the error of apparent resistivity and receiver coil design. We find that, under the same effective area, different radii of the receiver coils lead to different levels of impact on the estimation of the apparent resistivity. An optimization model is proposed to determine the optimal receiver coil size that gives rise to the smallest estimation error of the apparent resistivity. The relationship between the optimal radius and the effective areas is developed, which serves as a guideline for the optimal receiver coil design. The results may provide a useful means for improving the accuracy of the small loop transient electromagnetic instrumentation for shallow‐depth mapping.     

考虑关断时间的回线源激发TEM三维时域有限差分正演

从麦克斯韦旋度方程出发可以直接导出瞬变电磁场扩散方程,然而扩散方程不含电场对时间的一阶导数,不能构成显式的时域有限差分方程,借鉴du Fort-Frankel有限差分离散方法引入虚拟位移电流项构建显式时域有限差分方程.对Wang和Hohmann的经典时域算法进行了两点改进:第一,通过将矩形回线源电流密度加入麦克斯韦方程组的安培环路定理方程,实现回线源瞬变电磁激发源加入;第二,在计算中考虑关断时间.第一点改进使时域有限差分方程考虑了一次场的计算,并且源的计算不再依赖均匀半空间模型响应作为初始条件,使算法能够适应表层电阻率不均匀时的三维复杂模型.由于实际观测中不可能出现阶跃电流的关断形式,第二点改进可以方便设置发射电流下降沿.采用改进的三维时域有限差分正演算法对均匀半空间模型、四类三层模型、均匀半空间中含有低阻块体模型进行了计算并分别与解析解、线性数字滤波解、积分方程解和Wang的三维时域有限差分解进行了对比验证.以H模型为例,采用建立的三维时域有限差分正演算法计算了不同关断时间的斜阶跃脉冲回线源瞬变电磁中心点感应电动势衰减曲线.以实际地质资料为基础,构建包含两层采空区的三维复杂模型,以1 μs的极短关断时间进行了复杂模型定回线源瞬变电磁响应计算,并计算了该复杂模型的视电阻率曲线.     

Multi‐transient electromagnetic repeatability experiment over the North Sea Harding field‡

We present results of synthetic time‐lapse and real repeatability multi‐transient electromagnetic surveys over the North Sea Harding field. Using Archie's law to convert porosity and fluid saturation to resistivity we created 3D isotropic models of the reservoir resistivity at different stages of production from the initial state in 1996 through to complete hydrocarbon production by 2016 and, for each stage, we simulated an east‐west transient electromagnetic survey line across Harding. Unconstrained 1D full‐waveform Occam inversions of these synthetic data show that Harding should be detectable and its lateral extent reasonably well‐defined. Resistivity changes caused by hydrocarbon production from initial pre‐production state to production of the oil rim in 2011 are discernible as are significant changes from 2011–2016 during the modelled gas blowdown phase. The 2D repeatability surveys of 2007 and 2008 tied two wells: one on and the other off the structure. Between the two surveys the segment of the field under investigation produced 3.9 million barrels of oil – not enough to generate an observable time‐lapse electromagnetic anomaly with a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 40 dB. Processing of the 2007 and 2008 data included deconvolution for the measured source current and removal of spatially‐correlated noise, which increased the signal‐to‐noise ratio of the recovered impulse responses by about 20 dB and resulted in a normalized root‐mean‐square difference of 3.9% between the data sets. 1D full‐waveform Occam inversions of the real data showed that Harding was detectable and its lateral extent was also reasonably well‐defined. The results indicate that the multi‐transient electromagnetic method is suitable for exploration, appraisal and monitoring hydrocarbon production.     

Hydro‐frac monitoring using ground time‐domain electromagnetics

As motivation for considering new electromagnetic techniques for hydraulic fracture monitoring, we develop a simple financial model for the net present value offered by geophysical characterization to reduce the error in stimulated reservoir volume calculations. This model shows that even a 5% improvement in stimulated reservoir volume for a 1 billion barrel (bbl.) field results in over 1 billion U.S. dollars (US$) in net present value over 24 years for US$100/bbl. oil and US$0.5 billion for US$50/bbl. oil. The application of conductivity upscaling, often used in electromagnetic modeling to reduce mesh size and thus simulation runtimes, is shown to be inaccurate for the high electrical contrasts needed to represent steel‐cased wells in the earth. Fine‐scale finite‐difference modeling with 12.22‐mm cells to capture the steel casing and fractures shows that the steel casing provides a direct current pathway to a created fracture that significantly enhances the response compared with neglecting the steel casing. We consider conductively enhanced proppant, such as coke‐breeze‐coated sand, and a highly saline brine solution to produce electrically conductive fractures. For a relatively small frac job at a depth of 3 km, involving 5,000 bbl. of slurry and a source midpoint to receiver separation of 50 m, the models show that the conductively enhanced proppant produces a 15% increase in the electric field strength (in‐line with the transmitter) in a 10‐Ωm background. In a 100‐Ωm background, the response due to the proppant increases to 213%. Replacing the conductive proppant by brine with a concentration of 100,000‐ppm NaCl, the field strength is increased by 23% in the 100‐Ωm background and by 2.3% in the 10‐Ωm background. All but the 100,000‐ppm NaCl brine in a 10‐Ωm background produce calculated fracture‐induced electric field increases that are significantly above 2%, a value that has been demonstrated to be observable in field measurements.