Interpretation of long-offset transient electromagnetic data from the Odenwald area, Germany, using two-dimensional modelling

The standard 1-D inversion approach for the interpretation of transient electromagnetic (TEM) data usually fails in the presence of near-surface conductivity anomalies. Since multidimensional inversion codes are not routinely available, the only alternative to discarding the data may be trial-and-error forward modelling. We interpret data from a long-offset transient electromagnetic (LOTEM) survey which was carried out in 1995 in the Odenwald area, using 2-D finite-difference modelling. We focus on a subsegment of the LOTEM profile, which was shot with two different electric dipole transmitters. A model is found which consistently explains the electric and magnetic field data at eight locations for both transmitters. First, we introduce a conductive dyke under the receiver spread to explain sign reversals in the magnetic field transients. A conductive slab under one of the transmitters is required to obtain a reasonable quantitative fit for that transmitter. Consideration of the electric field data then requires a modification of the layered earth background. Finally, we study the response of a crustal conductor, which was the original target of the survey. The data are sensitive to the conductor, and for the investigated subset of the data the fits are slightly better without the conductive layer.     

Long-period (30 days1 year) electromagnetic sounding and the electrical conductivity of the lower mantle beneath Europe

The C -response connects the magnetic vertical component and the horizontal gradient of the horizontal components of electromagnetic variations and forms the basis for deriving the conductivitydepth profile of the Earth. Time-series of daily mean values at 42 observatories typically with 50 years of data are used to estimate C -responses for periods between 1 month and 1  yr. The Z : Y method is applied, which means that the vertical component is taken locally whereas the horizontal components are used globally by expansion in a series of spherical harmonics.
In combination with results from previous analyses, the method yields consistent results for European observatories in the entire period range from a few hours to 1  yr, corresponding to penetration depths between 300 and 1800  km.
1-D conductivity models derived from these results show an increase in conductivity with depth z to about 2  S  m^-1 at z =800  km, and almost constant conductivity between z =800 and z =2000  km with values of 310  S  m^-1, in good agreement with laboratory measurements of mantle material. Below 2000  km the conductivity is poorly resolved. However, the best-fitting models indicate a further increase in conductivity to values between 50 and 150  S  m^-1.     

Two-dimensional non-linear inversion of VLF-R data using simulated annealing

The VLF-R (very low frequency-resistivity) data, i.e. the apparent resistivity ( ρ _a ) and phase ( φ ) data, were inverted individually and jointly using the VFSA (very fast simulated annealing) global inversion approach. Global inversion results for synthetic data without and with various amounts of random and normally distributed Gaussian noise reveal that the inversion of neither the ρ _a nor φ data alone yields the true parameters of the structures. However, the joint inversion of the ρ _a and φ data yields very good estimates of the model parameters. Five models, representing typical subsurface structures in the shield areas, are studied here. Various models achieved after 10 VFSA runs were used to compute the mean model and the corresponding covariance and correlation matrices, which were used to estimate the uncertainties in the mean model parameters and correlations between the model parameters. We observe that these correlations follow the physics associated with the problem. VLF-R field data due to a nearly vertical contact structure and a very thick dyke-like structure were also inverted to demonstrate the efficacy of the approach in the delineation of the parameters of 2-D structures.