A triaxial coil receiver system for the study of subsurface electromagnetic propagation

A triaxial set of underwater receiving coils was developed and tested. The receiving system was used jointly with an underwater, calibrated, horizontal, electric dipole source in studies of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic propagation. This paper discusses the electromechanical design of the receiver and tethering system and addresses system sensitivity and noise levels. The receiving system was used successfully in a series of measurements, in spite of serious motion noise contamination. A stationary system sensitivity of5 times 10^{-4} gamma/sqrt{Hz}was achieved.