Three-dimensional inversion of transient-electromagnetic data: A comparative study

Inversion of transient-electromagnetic (TEM) data arising from galvanic types of sources is approached by two different methods. Both methods reconstruct the subsurface three-dimensional (3D) electrical conductivity properties directly in the time-domain. A principal difference is given by the scale of the inversion problems to be solved. The first approach represents a small-scale 3D inversion and is based upon well-known tools. It uses a stabilized unconstrained least-squares inversion algorithm in combination with an existing 3D forward modeling solver and is customized to invert for 3D earth models with a limited model complexity. The limitation to only as many model unknowns as typical for classical least-squares problems involves arbitrary and rather unconventional types of model parameters. The inversion scheme has mainly been developed for the purpose of refining a priori known 3D underground structures by means of an inversion. Therefore, a priori information is an important requirement to design a model such that its limited degrees of freedom describe the structures of interest. The inversion is successfully applied to data from a long-offset TEM survey at the active volcano Merapi in Central Java (Indonesia). Despite the restriction of a low model complexity, the scheme offers some versatility as it can be adapted easily to various kinds of model structures. The interpretation of the resistivity images obtained by the inversion have substantially advanced the structural knowledge about the volcano. The second part of this work presents a theoretically more elaborate scheme. It employs imaging techniques originally developed for seismic wavefields. Large-scale 3D problems arising from the inversion for finely parameterized and arbitrarily complicated earth models are addressed by the method. The algorithm uses a conjugate-gradient search for the minimum of an error functional, where the gradient information is obtained via migration or backpropagation of the differences between the data observations and predictions back into the model in reverse time. Treatment for electric field and time derivative of the magnetic field data is given for the specification of the cost functional gradients. The inversion algorithm is successfully applied to a synthetic TEM data set over a conductive anomaly embedded in a half-space. The example involves a total number of more than 376000 model unknowns. The realization of migration techniques for diffusive EM fields involves the backpropagation of a residual field. The residual field excitation originates from the actual receiver positions and is continued during the simulated time range of the measurements. An explicit finite-difference time-stepping scheme is developed in advance of the imaging scheme in order to accomplish both the forward simulation and backpropagation of 3D EM fields. The solution uses a staggered grid and a modified version of the DuFort-Frankel stabilization method and is capable of simulating non-causal fields due to galvanic types of sources. Its parallel implementation allows for reasonable computation times, which are inherently high for explicit time-stepping schemes

Probing the Southern African Lithosphere With Magnetotellurics-Part I: Model Construction

The Southern African Magnetotelluric Experiment (SAMTEX) involved the collection of data at over 700 sites in Archean to Proterozoic southern Africa, spanning features including the Kalahari Craton, Bushveld Complex, and voluminous kimberlites. Here, we present the first 3D inversions of the full SAMTEX data set. In this paper, we focus on assessing the robustness of the 3D models by comparing two different inversion codes, jif3D and ModEM, and two different subsets of the data, one containing all acceptable data and the other containing a smaller selection of undistorted, high-quality data. Results show that the main conductive and resistive features are imaged by all inversions, including deep resistive features in the central Kaapvaal Craton and southern Congo Craton and a lithospheric-scale conductor beneath the Bushveld Complex. Despite this, differences exist between the jif3D and ModEM inverse models that derive mainly from the differences in regularization between the models, with jif3D producing models that are very smooth laterally and with depth, while ModEM produces models with more discrete conductive and resistive features. Analysis of the differences between these two inversions can provide a good indication of the model resolution. More minor differences are apparent between models run with different subsets of data, with the models containing all acceptable data featuring higher wavelength conductivity variations than those run with fewer stations but also demonstrating poorer data fit

Eletrodo de aterramento HVDC do Rio Madeira - Bipolo 1 : modelagem geoelétrica da crosta terrestre para projeto do eletrodo

Orientador: Sueli Yoshinaga PereiraTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de GeociênciasResumo: Um sistema de transmissão HVDC é composto por duas Subestações Conversoras, interligadas pela linha HVDC, cada uma com um eletrodo de aterramento separado do seu pátio CC, geralmente localizado de 15 km a 150 km de distância e conectado por meio da linha do eletrodo. Os eletrodos HVDC proporcionam redução de custos e agregam confiabilidade ao sistema de transmissão de energia. Os eletrodos geralmente dissipam na terra a corrente de desequilíbrio do bipolo, entre 20 A a 40 A. No caso de perda de um polo da linha HVDC, a energia pode ser transmitida pelo polo remanescente com retorno pela terra, utilizando os eletrodos de aterramento para a injeção de correntes que chegar a quase 4 kA, o que pode resultar em interferências em uma área ampla, dependendo da estrutura geológica. A seleção dos locais de construção dos eletrodos deve ser realizada dentro de um raio de algumas dezenas de quilômetros ao redor das subestações, nas duas extremidades da linha HVDC. O melhor local em cada extremidade é aquele que apresenta a estrutura geoelétrica com resistividades mais baixas, desde a superfície do solo até pelo menos o meio da crosta. Esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento do modelo geoelétrico 1D para o eletrodo sul do sistema HVDC do Rio Madeira, bipolo 1, localizado em Araraquara, na Bacia Sedimentar do Paraná, sul do Brasil. O eletrodo é constituído por um anel aproximadamente retangular de poços (cerca de 820 m x 560 m), cada um revestido por tubos de aço com profundidades variáveis, entre 20 m e 40 m de profundidade. O modelo geoelétrico deve ser representativo da média do solo raso, até a profundidade dos poços, combinada com um modelo profundo. A modelagem do solo raso foi desenvolvida a partir de uma campanha de sondagens Schlumberger e da perfilagem por indução de poços de monitoramento perfurados no local. O modelo profundo foi construído a partir de uma campanha magnetotelúrica (MT). Os modelos geoelétricos são aprimorados ao longo do projeto, à medida que mais dados geofísicos e geotécnicos são levantados. O modelo de projeto tem um ajuste final após o comissionamento do eletrodo, pois o desempenho elétrico medido permite um ajuste complementar do desvio estático da curva de resistividades aparentes MT. Uma medição independente do potencial tubo-solo foi feita no gasoduto Bolívia-Brasil, a 26 km do eletrodo, sendo o valor medido comparado com o potencial calculado a partir da simulação do eletrodo com o modelo geoelétrico final, com ambos os valores apresentando boa compatibilidadeAbstract: A HVDC transmission system comprises two Converter Substations, interconnected by the HVDC line, each one requiring a separate grounding electrode for its DC switchyard, which usually is located from 15 km to 150 km away and connected by means of the electrode line. HVDC electrodes allow for cost reduction and add reliability to the energy transmission system. The electrodes usually dissipate into the ground the unbalance current of the bipole, about 20 A to 40 A. In case of the loss of one pole of the HVDC line, the energy can be transmitted by the remaining pole with ground return, using grounding electrodes for the injection into the ground currents that may reach almost 4 kA, which may produce interferences within a wide area, depending on the tectonic setting. The electrodes Site Selection shall be carried up within a radius of some tens of kilometers around the substations at the two ends of the HVDC line. The best site at each end is the one with the geoelectric structure that presents lower resistivities, from soil surface down to at least mid-crust. This thesis presents the development of the 1D geoelectric model for the South electrode of Rio Madeira HVDC system, bipole 1, located at Araraquara, in the Paraná Sedimentary Basin, South of Brazil. The electrode is constituted by an approximately rectangular ring of wells (about 820 m x 560 m), each one lined with steel pipes with varying depths, between 20 m to 40 m deep. The geoelectric model shall represent the average of the shallow ground, down to the depth of the wells, combined with a deep model, down to the mid-crust. The modeling of the shallow ground was developed from a Schlumberger survey and from the induction profiling of monitoring wells drilled in the site. The deep model was built from a magnetotelluric (MT) survey. The models are improved along the project, as more geophysical and geotechnical data are surveyed. The design model has a final adjustment after the electrode commissioning, because the measured electrical performance allows for a complementary adjustment of the MT static deviation. An independent measurement of pipe-to-ground potential was done at the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline, 26 km away from the electrode, which was compared with the potential calculated from the electrode simulation using the final geoelectric model, with both values presenting good compatibilityDoutoradoGeologia e Recursos NaturaisDoutor em Geociência

Magnetotelluric study of the Mérida Andes and surrounding basins, Venezuela

The Caribbean and South American tectonic plates bound the north-eastwards expulsion of the North Andean Block in western Venezuela. This complicated geodynamic setting resulted in the formation of major strike-slip fault systems and sizeable mountain chains. The 100 km wide Mérida Andes extend from the Colombian/Venezuelan border to the Coastal Cordillera. To the north and south, the Mérida Andes are bound by hydrocarbon-rich sedimentary basins. Knowledge of lithospheric structures, related to the formation of the Mérida Andes, is limited though, due to a lack of deep geophysical data. This thesis presents the results of the first broadband magnetotelluric profile crossing the Mérida Andes and the Maracaibo and Barinas-Apure foreland basins spanning a distance of 240 km. The MT dataset consists of 72 stations installed during March and April 2015 with a minimum recording period of 3 days per station. Geoelectrical strike and dimensionality analyses are consistent with one- or two- dimensional subsurface structures for the sedimentary basins yet also indicate a strong three- dimensional setting for the Mérida Andes. Even more significantly, these analyses showed the presence of off-profile features that influenced the data considerably, particularly at long periods. Therefore, a combination of 2D and 3D modelling was necessary for analysing the geoelectrical structures associated with this dataset. Off-profile structures can significantly affect the outcome of a 2D inversion. Thus, the systematic examination of the influence of 3D structures on 2D inversions was necessary to support the obtained result. Synthetic data sets derived from 3D modelling allowed identification and quantification of spurious off-profile features as well as smoothing artefacts due to limited areal station coverage of data collected along a profile. In general, structures in the 2D inversion are affected by the projection and rotation of the data resulting in sub-horizontal anomalies to reproduce the oblique extent of the fault systems and sedimentary basins. Moreover, a profile distributed dataset can limit the lateral resolution of a 3D inversion considerably. Hence, the effect of data distribution on a 3D inversion was carefully studied to determine the areas of the models that can be confidently explained by the data. To this end, several synthetic datasets were derived from 3D models with varying levels of complexity. The analysis of the synthetic datasets allows determination of the lateral resolution of the 3D models and identification of spurious shallow and deep features considered artefacts related to off-profile features. Furthermore, the inversion of synthetic models provided support to the geological interpretation of the recovered anomalies for the 2D and 3D modelling. The 2D and 3D inversion models were similar above the sedimentary basins and showed marked differences above the Mérida Andes, due to the 3D nature of this section. The inversion models show electrically conductive basins with depths of 2 to 5 km for the Barinas-Apure and 2 to 9 km for the Maracaibo basins. Many resistive bodies within the Maracaibo basin could be related to active deformation causing juxtaposition of older geological formations and younger basin sediments. A conductive zone under the Maracaibo Basin correlates spatially with the location of a Bouguer anomaly low and seem to describe the SE tilt of the Maracaibo Triangular Block under the Mérida Andes. This conductive zone is limited towards the mountain by the north-western thrust system, whose fault plane may function as a detachment surface reaching depth larger than 30 km in the 3D inversion models. The most prominent fault systems of the area, the Boconó and Valera Faults, cross-cut the Mérida Andes in NE-SW direction along its strike with a length 400 km and N-S direction at its centre with a length 60 km, respectively. Both faults are associated with sub-vertical zones of high electrical conductivity and sensitivity tests suggest that the Valera fault reach depths of up to 12 km. The Boconó fault can be considered a crustal structure with a depth up to 35 km. The observed anomalies seem to show a deep connection of the fault planes, possibly related to the formation of the fault systems in a transpressive regime. Conductive anomalies to the south of the Boconó Fault seem to represent a considerable back thrust structure well constrained between 3 and 10 km depth. The high conductivity of these structures is possibly related to weathering water from the surface and the accumulation of clay minerals in the fault gauges. However, fluids related to the flat and shallow subduction of the Caribbean Plate in north-western Venezuela could better explain the low resistivity of the deep structures (> 15 km). A sizeable conductor at 50 km depth, which appears consistently in the 2D sections, could be identified as an inversion artefact caused by a conductor east of the profile. The 3D inversion places this structure 10 km to the east at 15 km deep. This model also shows depth connection (12 km depth) of the anomalies related to the Valera and Boconó faults with the off-profile conductor. The observed anomalies in the 2D and 3D inversion related to these conductors were tested and reproduced employing synthetic datasets, leading to the speculation that the high conductivity associated with the off-profile conductor may be related to the detachment of the Trujillo Block. The models obtained confirm the shape and distribution of the known geological structures related to the complicated geodynamic settings responsible for the formation of the Mérida Andes. These results partially support the "floating orogen hypothesis" developed to explain the geodynamic evolution of western Venezuela, and they highlight the relevance of the Trujillo Block in this process. However, they also show that features of known structures such as the Boconó fault system maximum depth, the back-thrusting in the Mérida Andes, and the relevance of the escape of the Trujillo Block in the tectonic processes need to be adjusted to the current knowledge.Die Karibische und Südamerikanische tektonischen Platten begrenzten die nordöstliche Abschiebung des Nord-Anden-Blocks im Westen Venezuelas. Diese komplizierte geodynamische Umgebung führte zur Bildung großer Blattverschiebungen-Verwerfungssysteme und beträchtlicher Gebirgsketten. Die 100 km breiten Mérida-Andes erstrecken sich von der Grenze zwischen Kolumbien und Venezuela bis zum Coastal Cordillera. Im Norden und Süden sind die Mérida-Anden von kohlenwasserstoffreichen Sedimentbecken umgeben. Das Wissen über lithosphärische Strukturen im Zusammenhang mit der Bildung der Mérida-Anden ist jedoch aufgrund des Mangels an tiefen geophysikalischen Daten begrenzt. Diese Arbeit präsentiert die Ergebnisse des ersten breitbandigen magnetotellurischen Profils, das die Mérida-Anden und die Vorlandbecken Maracaibo und Barinas-Apure über eine Entfernung von 240 km quert. Der MT-Datensatz besteht aus 72 Stationen, die im März und April 2015 mit einer Mindestaufzeichnungsdauer von 3 Tagen pro Station installiert wurden. Geoelektrische Streich- und Dimensionalitätsanalysen stimmen mit ein- oder zweidimensionalen Untergrundstrukturen für die Sedimentbecken überein, weisen jedoch auch auf eine starke dreidimensionale Strukturen in der Umgebung der Mérida-Andes hin.. Noch wichtiger ist, dass diese Analysen das Vorhandensein von Merkmalen außerhalb des Profils zeigten, die die Daten insbesondere für lange Perioden erheblich beeinflussen. Daher war eine Kombination aus 2D- und 3D-Modellierung erforderlich, um Störungssysteme und Sedimentbecken quer zum Profil zu reproduzieren. Off-Profile-Strukturen können das Ergebnis einer 2D-Inversion erheblich beeinflussen. Daher war die systematische Untersuchung des Einflusses von 3D-Strukturen auf 2D-Inversionen erforderlich, um das erhaltene Ergebnis zu verifizieren. Synthetische Datensätze, die aus der 3D-Modellierung abgeleitet wurden, ermöglichten die Identifizierung und Quantifizierung von störenden Strukturen außerhalb des Profils sowie die Glättung von Artefakten aufgrund der begrenzten Stationsüberdeckung der entlang eines Profils gesammelten Daten. Im Allgemeinen werden Strukturen in der 2D-Inversion durch die Projektion und Rotation der Daten beeinflusst, was zu flach stehenden Anomalien führt, um die schräge Ausdehnung der Verwerfungssysteme und Sedimentbecken zu reproduzieren. Darüber hinaus kann ein Datensatz entlang eines Profils die laterale Auflösung einer 3D-Inversion erheblich einschränken. Daher wurde die Auswirkung der Datenverteilung auf eine 3D-Inversion sorgfältig untersucht, um die Bereiche der Modelle zu bestimmen, die durch die Daten sicher erklärt werden können. Zu diesem Zweck wurden mehrere synthetische Datensätze aus 3D-Modellen mit unterschiedlicher Komplexität abgeleitet. Die Analyse der synthetischen Datensätze ermöglicht die Bestimmung der lateralen Auflösung der 3D-Modelle und die Identifizierung von störenden oberflächennahen und tiefen Merkmalen, die als Artefakte im Zusammenhang mit Strukturen außerhalb des Profils betrachtet werden. Darüber hinaus unterstützte die Inversion synthetischer Modelle die geologische Interpretation der reproduzierten Anomalien für die 2D- und 3D-Modellierung. Die 2D- und 3D-Inversionsmodelle stimmen über den Sedimentbecken überein. Aufgrund der 3D Strukturen über den MA ergaben sich jedoch deutliche unterschiede. Die Inversionsmodelle zeigen elektrisch leitende Becken mit Tiefen von 2 bis 5 km für das Barinas-Apure und 2 bis 9 km für das Maracaibo-Becken. Viele Gebiete höheren Widerstands im Maracaibo-Becken könnten mit einer aktiven Deformation zusammenhängen, die ein Nebeneinander älterer geologischer Formationen und jüngerer Beckensedimente verursacht. Eine besserleitende Zone unter dem Maracaibo-Becken korreliert räumlich mit der Lage einer Bouguer-Anomalie und scheint die SE-Neigung des Maracaibo-Dreiecksblocks unter den Mérida-Anden zu markieren. Diese leitende Zone ist in Richtung des Gebirges durch das nordwestliche Schubsystem begrenzt, dessen Störungsebene als Ablösefläche fungieren kann, die in den 3D-Inversionsmodellen eine Tiefe von mehr als 30 km erreicht. Die bekanntesten Störungssysteme des Gebiets, die Verwerfungen Boconó und Valera, kreuzen die Mérida-Anden in Nordost-Südwest-Richtung entlang ihres Streichens mit einer Länge von 400 km und die N-S-Richtung in ihrer Mitte mit einer Länge von 60 km. Beide Störungen sind durch steil stehende Zonen hoher elektrischer Leitfähigkeit verbunden. Sensitivitätsstudien legen nahe, dass die Valera-Störung Tiefen von bis zu 12 km erreicht. Die Boconó-Verwerfung kann als Krustenstruktur mit einer Tiefe von bis zu 35 km angesehen werden. Die beobachteten Anomalien scheinen eine tiefe Verbindung der Verwerfungsebenen zu zeigen, möglicherweise im Zusammenhang mit der Bildung der Verwerfungssysteme in einem transpressiven Regime. Leitfähige Anomalien südlich der Boconó-Verwerfung scheinen eine beträchtliche Rückschubstruktur darzustellen, die zwischen 3 und 10 km Tiefe gut lokalisiert ist. Die hohe Leitfähigkeit dieser Strukturen hängt möglicherweise mitWasser aus Verwitterungsprozessen nahe der Erdoberfläche und der Ansammlung von Tonmineralien in den Störungszonen zusammen. Alte Fluide im Zusammenhang mit flach stehenden und oberflächenahen Subduktion der Karibikplatte im Nordwesten Venezuelas könnten jedoch den geringen spezifischen Widerstand der tiefen Strukturen (> 15 km) besser erklären. Ein beträchtlicher Leiter in einer Tiefe von 50 km, der in den 2D-Schnitten konsistent erscheint, konnte als Inversionsartefakt identifiziert werden, der durch einen Leiter östlich des Profils verursacht wird. Durch die 3D-Inversion wird diese Struktur 10 km östlich in 15 km Tiefe platziert. Dieses Modell zeigt auch die Tiefenverbindung (12 km Tiefe) der Anomalien im Zusammenhang mit den Störungen von Valera und Boconó mit dem Leiter außerhalb des Profils. Die beobachteten Anomalien in der 2D- und 3D-Inversion in Bezug auf diese Leiter wurden unter Verwendung synthetischer Datensätze getestet und reproduziert. Daher kann man annehmen das die mit dem Leiter abseits des Profils verbundene Leitfähigkeit mit der Ablösung des Trujilo Blocks zusammenhängt. Die erhaltenen Modelle bestätigen die Form und Verteilung der bekannten geologischen Strukturen im Zusammenhang mit dem komplizierten geodynamischen Millieu, welches für die Bildung der Mérida-Andes verantwortlich ist. Diese Ergebnisse stützen teilweise die "schwimmende Orogenhypothese", die entwickelt wurde, um die geodynamische Entwicklung West-Venezuelas zu erklären, und sie unterstreichen die Relevanz des Trujillo-Blocks in diesem Prozess. Sie zeigen jedoch auch, dass Merkmale bekannter Strukturen wie die maximale Tiefe des Boconó-Verwerfungssystems, das Zurückschieben in den Mérida-Anden und die Relevanz des Entweichens des Trujillo-Blocks in den tektonischen Prozessen an den aktuellen Kenntnisstand angepasst werden müssen

Integrated geophysical approach using electrical resistivity tomography and multichannel analysis of surface wave in assessing Wilson Spring development

This research investigated fractured zones leading to preferential flow paths of Wilson Spring. In this context, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data and multi-channel analyses of surface waves (MASW) data were acquired at studied site with the purpose of mapping a variable depth to top of bedrock and geological structures. Interpretation of the boreholes, MASW, and ERT data indicated that a depth to top of rock does vary significantly at the studied site due to many solution-widened fractures. Multiple near-vertical solution-widened fractures were mapped in the studied site based on the interpretation of the ERT data. The mapped solution-widened fractures appear to be trending north-south, almost perpendicular to the ERT traverses (west-east), and however it is possible they extend at oblique angle to the ERT traverses. The conducted geophysical survey is the first attempt to map geological structures and karst features that might be possible access of underground water. The underground water expose on land surface through fractures to develop Wilson Spring. Thus the seepage pathway near or beneath Wilson Creek is interpreted as through a solution-widened fractures. ERT method has proven to be effective in mapping variable depth to bedrock and solution-widened fractures. The MASW method and boreholes data were able to map variable depth to top of bedrock --Abstract, page iii