Monday, December 5, 2016

Knowing About The Methods Involved In Ground Magnetic Surveys

By Frank Fox


A magnetic survey is a type of method which is being used for archeological geophysics. The survey is going to record the spatial variation of magnetic field of the Earth. In the field of archeology, the survey will be utilized for detecting and mapping the archeological features and artifacts. This is also being used for both the marine and terrestrial archeology.

One most common tool that is used here is the magnetometer. This tool contains a sensor used in measuring the total strength of an Earth field. Sometimes, it may contain two sensors that are spatially separated and are used for measuring the gradient of the fields. The ground magnetic surveys are aiming to have an investigation on the subsurface geology based on anomalies of magnetic fields.

Underlying rock will have magnetic properties and these properties result to having some anomalies. Generally, rocks contain some magnetic contents and the contents are said to be extremely variable, but these will depend on the environment and rock type. Faults, dykes, and lava flows are the most common causes of having anomalies. For the geothermal environments, the result would be a decreased amount of susceptibility because of higher temperatures.

The survey method would also involve the measurement of the intensity and also for the vertical, horizontal, and total components and gradients. A magnetism is considered to have the same features as gravity and one is potential field. Usually, the anomalies can be caused by some residues of a magnetism which is induced. The anomaly that is induced will be the result of the secondary magnetization that is induced in a ferrous body.

The induction of these anomalies result to having dimensions, shape, and amplitude and these three will then be considered as functions in orientation, geometry, susceptibility, depth, and size. These three will also become functions in the intensity and the inclination of a field when surveys are done in a certain area. There are 4 important purposes of the method and these are stated below.

First, locating the buried tanks, metallic debris, abandoned casings of steel well, and pipes. Second, mapping the landfill boundaries and sites of old waste. Third, mapping the basic igneous intrusives and basement faults. And lastly, investigating the archeological sites.

To be able to explore the geothermal energy, both the data for aero magnets and grounds is being used for the investigation of geothermal resource presence with the combination of gravity. Usually in the data of aero magnets, anomalies are often in correlation with the surfaces of volcanism expressions. These would include cones or domes, plugs or localized basaltic lavas, and craters.

The measurements of ground magnetism are made usually using the portable instruments with regular intervals and also along with parallel and straight lines that cover the area of survey. Usually, the intervals between locations are lesser than the spaces in between lines. However, the most common problems of these surveys are the intense fields coming from electromagnetic sources.

The maintenance of accuracy in the mapping of anomalies can be done only when temporal changes are considered. Another term for normal changes is diurnal drift. The diurnal drift corrections will be done by the repeating instruments in base station with frequent intervals. Station measurements have corrections as well for a temporal variation. A survey must be done if there is severe storm.




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