Results of magnetotelluric and gravimetric measurements in western Nicaragua, Central America

Magnetotelluric and gravity data have been collected within a ca. 170 km long traverse running from the Pacific coast of Nicaragua in the west to the Nicaraguan Highland in the east. This part of Nicaragua is characterized by sedimentary rocks of the Pacific Coastal Plain, separated from the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the Highland by the NW-SE-trending Nicaraguan Depression. 2-D interpretation of the magnetotelluric (MT) data, collected at 13 stations, indicates four regions of high electrical conductivity in addition to the conductive coastal region. Two of these are associated with conducting sediments and pyroclastics in the upper part of the crust. Two other conductive structures have been defined at depth around 20 km and the one best defined is located below the depression. From the distribution of seismic events, volcanic activity in the depression and the similarity in geophysical characteristics with areas such as the Rio Grande Rift, this conductor is interpreted as a melt layer or a complex of magma chambers. Models of the upper lithosphere, constrained by the MT model, vertical electrical sounding (VES) data, seismic data and densities, have been tested using gravity data. A model that passes this test shows a gradual thickening of the crust eastwards from the Pacific coast. An anomaly centred over the depression is interpreted to have its origin in a thinning of the crust. In this model the melt layer is situated on top of the bulge of the lower lithosphere. A change in the composition of the crust, from the Pacific Coastal Plain to the Highland, is indicated from the change in character of the MT response and from the density distribution in the gravity model. This may support the hypothesis that the Pacific region is an accreted terrane. MT and gravity data indicate a depth to a resistive and high-density basement in the depression of ca. 2 km. On the basis of this, the vertical setting in the depression is estimated to be of the order of 2.5 km.     

Deep Schlumberger sounding and the crustal resistivity structure of central Australia

Summary. Three 200 km Schlumberger resistivity soundings have been conducted over the central Australian shield, using telephone lines to obtain the large electrode spacings. These represent the first crustal scale controlled source electrical study to be carried out in this continent. A computer controlled data acquisition system was used which allowed precise measurements to be made with only modest emission currents (0.1–0.5 A).
The three soundings, centred on the towns of Renner Springs, Wauchope and Aileron, showed the southern part of the study area (the Arunta Block) to be an order of magnitude more resistive than the more northerly section (the Tennant Creek Block). This difference correlates with the higher heat flow of the Tennant Creek Block. A lowering of apparent resistivity at large electrode spacings for one sounding (Wauchope) is taken to indicate the presence of a low resistivity layer in the middle crust, at a depth less than 20 km. However, the effect of the highly conductive overburden characteristic of inland Australia, combined with the large transverse resistance of the crust, prevented the other two soundings from detecting such a layer. Without support from these two soundings, it is impossible to be sure that the lowered resistivity at Wauchope is not caused merely by lateral variations in near-surface resistivity.
The data also show that crustal resistivities are much lower than the expected values for dry rock, whether or not a low resistivity layer is included in the model. This implies a widespread occurrence of free water in the crust, with greater amounts occurring at depth if the low resistivity zone exists.     

Conductivity anomalies in the Baltic Shield in Finland

In 1981–84 six arrays of 30 or 31 magnetometers were operated on the Baitic Shield in central and southern Finland to deduce information about the electrical conductivity within the Earth's crust. The magnetometer sites cover the area with 20–60 km spacing allowing the identification of large-scale electrical structures within the crust. Each array recorded the three orthogonal magnetic field components on analogue film for about two months simultaneously at all the stations. Altogether 17 magnetic variation events of 2–6hr length have been digitized and analysed.
This paper includes results of the last array in south-western Finland, a comparison of two methods of induction vector estimation and combination of results from all the arrays. Four zones of anomalously high electrical conductivity have been observed. They are all interpreted as lying at depths greater than 5 km. The 'Oulu Anomaly' is wider than the others and rather short, about 100 km. The 'Southern Finland Anomaly' is probably a 500 km-long narrow zone. This and the 'Ostrobothnian Anomaly' surround three sides of the large Central Finland Granite area. The 'Outokumpu Anomaly' is probably deeper lying than the others. Blocks separated by these anomalies are presented. The blocks have different average resistivities.     

Modelling of solar quiet magnetic field variations near a conductivity anomaly

Summary. A simplified model of the solar quiet-time ionospheric current system is used to calculate the induced currents in a model earth. The conductivity is assumed to be constant below a depth of about 400 km and zero above that depth. The current induced in the north—south conductivity anomaly under the Rocky Mountains is then estimated from the time-varying potential difference between points at 30 and 45° latitude at the surface of the conducting sphere. The purpose of these calculations is to investigate whether variations in the latitude of the northern hemisphere current system vortex will substantially alter the relationship between the observed magnetic field components at the Earth's surface and the local magnetic field gradient caused by the conductivity anomaly. We find that a 10° shift in the latitude of the ionospheric current focus causes a change of 6 per cent or less in the transfer function from the field components to the gradient in the total field. Thus such latitude shifts cannot explain much of the magnetic field gradient variation at periods near 24 hr that has been observed near Boulder, Colorado.     

Very high electrical conductivity beneath the Münchberg Gneiss area in Southern Germany: implications for horizontal transport along shear planes

New magnetotelluric data from the Münchberg Gneiss complex in Southern Germany reveal a zone of extremely high electrical conductivity. 1-D modelling of the data is justified in the period range 0.01 to 10  s. At least three layers are required to explain the steepness of the apparent resistivity curves, and the best-fitting models comprise four layers with successively higher conductivities. The layers of highest conductivity at depths between 2.2 and 3.6  km correlate with pronounced bands of high seismic reflectivity (profile DEKORP 85-4N). The Münchberg complex is today widely recognized as a tectonic klippe, consisting of rocks whose metamorphic and stratigraphic order is inverted rather than overturned. The material was transported into its present position by predominantly horizontal tectonic forces along shear zones. We interpret the high conductivity and high reflectivity as remnants of this transport process.     

Recovering magnetic susceptibility from electromagnetic data over a one-dimensional earth

While the inversion of electromagnetic data to recover electrical conductivity has received much attention, the inversion of those data to recover magnetic susceptibility has not been fully studied. In this paper we invert frequency-domain electromagnetic (EM) data from a horizontal coplanar system to recover a 1-D distribution of magnetic susceptibility under the assumption that the electrical conductivity is known. The inversion is carried out by dividing the earth into layers of constant susceptibility and minimizing an objective function of the susceptibility subject to fitting the data. An adjoint Green's function solution is used in the calculation of sensitivities, and it is apparent that the sensitivity problem is driven by three sources. One of the sources is the scaled electric field in the layer of interest, and the other two, related to effective magnetic charges, are located at the upper and lower boundaries of the layer. These charges give rise to a frequency-independent term in the sensitivities. Because different frequencies penetrate to different depths in the earth, the EM data contain inherent information about the depth distribution of susceptibility. This contrasts with static field measurements, which can be reproduced by a surface layer of magnetization. We illustrate the effectiveness of the inversion algorithm on synthetic and field data and show also the importance of knowing the background conductivity. In practical circumstances, where there is no a priori information about conductivity distribution, a simultaneous inversion of EM data to recover both electrical conductivity and susceptibility will be required.     

Magnetometer array study in a tectonically active region of Quebec, Canada

Summary. An array of 26 magnetometers deployed in a tectonically active area of Quebec has mapped a boundary in terrestrial electrical conductivity for 200 km along strike. The contrast in conductivity across the boundary, from previous magnetotelluric soundings, is about one order of magnitude. Anomalous variation fields associated with electric currents flowing along the boundary are readily detected at pulsation periods only when the horizontal field is polarized transverse to the structure (the E -polarization case). The anomaly is hardly visible in transfer functions from substorms, for a number of reasons: a predominant H -polarization orientation of the substorm fields, the single order-of-magnitude contrast in conductivity, and the probably small depth extent of the structure. Attempts were made to estimate the response of a one-dimensional earth via the inductive scale length with gradients evaluated from polynomial surfaces fitted to the smoothly varying substorm fields. The results were inconsistent, owing to vertical fields with strong external components and to horizontal fields with scale lengths too small relative to their penetration distances.     

Electromagnetic induction fields in the deep ocean north-east of Hawaii: implications for mantle conductivity and source fields

Summary. We have analysed a thirty-six day recording of the natural electric and magnetic field variations obtained on the deep ocean floor north-east of Hawaii. The electromagnetic fields are dominated by tides which have an appreciable oceanic component, especially in the east electric and north magnetic components. The techniques of data analysis included singular value decomposition (SVD) to remove uncorrelated noise. There are three degrees of freedom in the data set for periods longer than five hours, indicating a correlation of the vertical magnetic field and the horizontal components, suggesting source field inhomogeneity. Tensor response functions were calculated using spectral band averaging with both SVD and least squares techniques and rotated to the principal direction. One diagonal component, determined mainly by the north electric and east magnetic fields, is not interpretable as a one-dimensional induction phenomenon. The other diagonal term of the response function indicates a rapid rise in conductivity to 0.05 mho m⁻¹ near 160 km. No decrease in conductivity below this depth is resolvable. Polarization analysis of the magnetic field indicates moving source fields with a wavelength near 5000 km. Model studies suggest that the two dimensionality in the response function may be caused by motion in the ionospheric current system.     

Thinning of the Goban Spur continental margin and formation of early oceanic crust: constraints from forward modelling and inversion of marine magnetic anomalies

The deep seismic reflection profile Western Approaches Margin (WAM) cuts across the Goban Spur continental margin, located southwest of Ireland- This non-volcanic margin is characterized by a few tilted blocks parallel to the margin. A volcanic sill has been emplaced on the westernmost tilted block. The shape of the eastern part of this sill is known from seismic data, but neither seismic nor gravity data allow a precise determination of the extent and shape of the volcanic body at depth. Forward modelling and inversion of magnetic data constrain the shape of this volcanic sill and the location of the ocean-continent transition. The volcanic body thickens towards the ocean, and seems to be in direct contact with the oceanic crust. In the contact zone, the volcanic body and the oceanic magnetic layer display approximately the same thickness. The oceanic magnetic layer is anomalously thick immediately west of the volcanic body, and gradually thins to reach more typical values 40 km further to the west. The volcanic sill would therefore represent the very first formation of oceanic crust, just before or at the continental break-up. The ocean-continent transition is limited to a zone 15 km wide. The continental magnetic layer seems to thin gradually oceanwards, as does the continental crust, but no simple relation is observed between their respective thinnings.     

Geomagnetic induction and conductive structures in north-west India

Summary Magnetic disturbance events and quiet daily variation as recorded by the 1979 magnetometer array study in north-west India are analysed for evidence of electrical conductivity structures in the region. Contour maps of Fourier transform parameters are presented, and the disturbance event data are also reduced to sets of real and quadrature Parkinson arrows over a range of periods. A variety of conductive structures in the area are mapped, including some relatively shallow ones thought to be caused by sediments, as in the Ganga basin. More information is obtained on a major conductivity structure which strikes perpendicular to the Ganga basin into the foothills of the Himalayas; a second major conductivity structure is detected to lie to the west of the array area, and may be associated there with some aspect of the suture zone of India and Asia.     

Temporal and three-dimensional spatial analyses of the frequency–magnitude distribution near Long Valley Caldera, California

The 3-D distribution of the b value of the frequency–magnitude distribution is analysed in the seismically active parts of the crust near Long Valley Caldera, California. The seismicity is sampled in spherical volumes, containing N =150 earthquakes and centred at nodes of a grid separated by 0.3  km. Significant variations in the b value are detected, with b ranging from b ≈0.6 to b ≈2.0. High b -value volumes are located near the resurgent dome, and at depths below 5  km at Mammoth Mountain. b values are found to be much lower south of the Long Valley Caldera. We interpret this to indicate that an active magma body has advanced from depths below 8  km to depths of 4 to 5  km beneath Mammoth Mountain in 1989, and that anomalous crust, either highly fractured or containing unusually high pore pressure, such as is the case in the vicinity of active magma bodies, exists north of the seismically active area beneath the resurgent dome at all depths. We also investigate the spatial distribution of temporal variations of the frequency–magnitude distribution by introducing differential b -value maps. b values increased from b ≈0.8 to b ≈1.5 underneath Mammoth Mountain at the onset of the 1989 earthquake swarm and remained high thereafter. This suggests that an intrusion permanently altered the average distribution of cracks at 5–10  km depth, or that the pore pressure permanently increased. We propose that high b values are a necessary (but not sufficient) condition near a magmatic body, and therefore spatial b -value mapping can be used to aid in the identification of active magma bodies.     

Calibration of the Yellowknife Seismic Array with First Zone Explosions

Summary Recordings from a crustal seismic experiment, which was conducted in the Yellowknife area in 1966, were used for calibration of the Yellow-knife seismic array. In the immediate vicinity of the array the crust is found to be very uniform. A superficial layer with an intercept time of 0–172 ± 0–012s and unknown velocity is underlain by a crust with a P wave velocity of 6.04 ± 0–01 km s^-1 near the top: assuming this velocity constant throughout the second layer, the total thickness of the crust is about 34 ± 2 km. The Mohorovicic discontinuity is horizontal under the array within the resolution of this experiment and the apparent P_n velocity is 8.15 km s^-1. At a distance of a few tens of kilometres the crustal uniformity breaks down. The distances are such that, for most teleseismic signals, the effect of these in homogeneities should be negligible.     

1999年夏季白令海陆坡区海流动力分析

利用中国首次北极科学考察白令海调查资料计算了白令海东部陆坡区 58- 60°N范围内海流的流幅、流速和流量 ,并获得如下结论 :(1 )白令海东陆坡区陆坡流由东南向西北变化 ,流速由东南向西北逐渐增加 ,在 58°N处 ,最大流速达到 1 0cm/s,到 60°N处 ,最大流速达到 30cm/s,是历年调查中最高的 ;流幅由东南向西北不断增宽 ,在 58°N处 ,最大流幅约 1 0 0km ,到 60°N处 ,最大流幅达到 2 1 0km ,流量由东南向西北也不断增加 ,在 58°N处 ,最大流量 5 .3Sv ,到 60°N处 ,最大流量达到 1 0 .2Sv ;(2 )陆坡流的近陆架一侧陆坡逆流的北界位置在 58°N处 ,其表层流幅宽度为 70km ,流速达到 5cm/s以上 ,在 59°N处其影响深度可以直达海底 ,,陆坡逆流的流速降低 ,流幅增宽到 1 1 0km ,60°N附近为陆坡逆流的北界 ,未观测到陆坡逆流 ;(3)陆架坡折锋强化了陆坡流。     

基于电磁感应数据的膜下滴灌土壤水分动态变化研究

快速、无损监测农田土壤水分含量,是智慧农业的重要研究内容.以新疆南疆阿拉尔国家农业科技园区膜下滴灌棉田为研究对象,运用EM38-MK2大地电导率仪快速、高效的获取了4组不同时期的棉田土壤表观电导率数据,并同步采集表层土壤(0～20 cm)样品,通过构建表观电导率数据与室内测定含水量数据间的反演模型获取了测点的含水量数据...     

2-D or 3-D interpretation of conductivity anomalies: example of the Rhine-Graben conductivity anomaly

Summary. Evidence of a conductivity anomaly in the Rhine-Graben was first given about 15 years ago and consequently led to the definition of various models of induction in the region for periods ranging from a few minutes to a few hours. These models reflect two antagonistic ways of explaining the observed anomalous variations of the magnetic field: direct induction in a two-dimensional (2-D) structure or static distortion of telluric currents by the resistive crystalline Vosges (France) and Schwarzwalde (Germany) massifs. We discuss the two approaches using a simple formalism. In particular, we show that the self-induction related to the anomalous currents flowing in the Rhine-Graben is negligible for periods larger than 1000 s, and that, even though the static distortion of telluric currents does account for the observed anomaly, 2-D models can explain some of its features. We also show how the channelled currents are induced in the large sedimentary basins surrounding the area under study.
An experimental verification of this result is given.     

Magnetotelluric image of the crust and upper mantle in the backarc of the northwestern Argentinean Andes

Magnetotelluric data from the backarc of the Central Andes in NW Argentinawere re-examined by employing impedance tensor decomposition and 2-D inversion and modelling techniques. The data in the period range of 50–15 000 s were collected on a profile of 220 km length reaching from the Eastern Cordillera across the Santa Barbara System to the Andean foreland of the Argentinean Chaco.
After a dimensionality analysis, data from most sites were treated as regional 2-D. The exception was the eastern section of the profile, where the magnetotelluric transfer functions for periods ≤ 1000 s reflect a 3-D earth. Application of two tensor decomposition schemes yielded a regional strike direction of N–S, which is the azimuth of the Central Andean mountain chains. Several 2-D models were obtained by pseudo- and full 2-D Occam inversion schemes. Special emphasis was placed on the inversion of phase data to reduce the influence of static shifts in the apparent resistivity data. The smooth inversion models all show a good conductor at depth. A final model was then calculated using a finite element forward algorithm.
The most prominent feature of the resulting model is a conductor which rises from depths of 180 km below the Chaco region to 80 km beneath the Santa Barbara System and the Eastern Cordillera. Its interpretation as a rise of the electrical asthenosphere is supported by seismic attenuation studies. Magnetotelluric results, surface heat-flow distribution in the area, and the electrical properties of crustal and mantle rocks suggest that the upper mantle is predominantly ductile beneath the Eastern Cordillera and the western Santa Barbara System. This generally agrees with anelastic seismic attenuation models of the area and is useful in discriminating between models of Q quality factor distribution.     

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.     

B-polarization induction in two generalized thin sheets at the surface of a conducting half-space

Summary. A new closed-form solution is obtained analytically for a B- polarization induction problem of geophysical interest, in which a local region of the Earth is represented by a generalized thin sheet at the surface of and in electrical contact with a uniformly conducting half-space. The generalized sheet, first introduced by Ranganayaki & Madden, is a mathematical idealization of a double layer which consists, in this problem, of two adjacent half-planes with distinct conductances representing a surface conductivity discontinuity such as an ocean—coast boundary, underlain by a uniform sheet of finite integrated resistivity representing the lower crust. The resistive sheet exerts a considerable mathematical influence on the solution causing, under certain conditions, an additional pole to appear in one of the forms of contour integral by which the solution can be expressed; it also weakens or eliminates field singularities that would otherwise occur at the conductance discontinuity. A numerical calculation is made for model parameters typifying an ocean—coast boundary underlain by a highly resistive crust. It is found that the residue of the pole associated with the resistive sheet dominates the solution for this example, the main consequence of which is a huge increase in the horizontal range over which the induced currents adjust themselves between the different 'skin-effect' distributions at infinity on either side of the model. Moreover the solution shows that this 'adjustment distance' has a more complicated dependence on the conductance and integrated resistivity of the sheet than that given simply by the square root of their product which was the length parameter proposed by Ranganayaki & Madden.     

Lithospheric thickness beneath the Dabie Shan, central eastern China from S receiver functions

P and S receiver functions obtained from a portable array of 34 broad-band stations in east central China provide a detailed image of the crust–mantle and lithosphere–asthenosphere boundaries (LAB) in the Dabie Shan and its adjacent areas. Clear S -to- P converted waves produced at the LAB show a thin lithosphere beneath the whole study area. Based on our results, the thickest lithosphere of 72 km is observed beneath the southern part of the area within the Yangtze craton, whereas beneath the North-China platform, the lithosphere is only 60 km thick. S receiver functions also reveal, in good agreement with P receiver functions, a maximum depth of the Moho beneath the Dabie Shan orogen at approximately 40 km. Furthermore, we interpret the structural difference at 32° latitude as the probable location of the mantle suture formed between the Yangtze and the Sino-Korean cratons.     

南极区和北极区高空电流体系的比较研究

本文用ＩＧＹ／ＩＧＣ期间全球地磁台网的资料计算出地磁太阳日变化（Ｓ）和太阴日变化（Ｌ）的电流体系，对比分析了南极区与北极区电流体系的特点。分析表明：（１）两极区的外源电流体系存在明显差别，这反映了产生该电流系的发电机过程（对Ｓ和Ｌ）和场向电流（对Ｓ）的不同。两极区磁场结构的特征可能是导致这一差异的根本原因。（２）两极区内源电流存在明显差异，这一方面归因于外源施感场（电流）的差异，另一方面也反映了两极区地下电导率的不同。分析表明，从总体来看，南极区地下电导率高于北极区