Excitation of a half-space by a radial current sheet source

Some advantages and problems of the new geoelectrical prospecting method, i.e., vertical electric current soundings (VECS) are discussed. This method is based on using a new source, namely a circular electric dipole (CED). The source is installed by one of the transmitter poles grounded in the central point and the other pole uniformly grounded around with a radius determined by the depth of investigation desired. It can be defined as a noninductive source. The previous research was based on the diffusion approach. In this paper the author uses the solution with due regards for displacement currents in the frequency and time domain. A major disadvantage of the CED scheme is the need to provide a symmetrical grounding of the outer ring electrode. A possible way to avoid this requirement is to adopt an ungrounded CED array.