The resistivity structure of the North Alex Mud Volcano as derived from the interpretation of CSEM data

EGU2010-9841 Active mud volcanoes, where changing salinities of pore fluids, large temperature gradients and occurrences of free gas are frequently observed, should potentially exhibit significant variability in their internal resistivity structure. This is due to the fact that the bulk resistivity is mainly determined by the porosity of sediments and the electrical resistivity of the pore filling contained therein. The resistivity variations may be derived from controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) measurements. CSEM systems consist of an electric dipole transmitter producing a time varying source field and electric dipole receivers, which measure the earth´s response to this signal. For a RWE Dea funded investigation of fluid and gas leakages at the North Alex Mud Volcano (NAMV) - a comparatively small target with an area of about 1km2 - we have developed a new high resolution CSEM system. The system consists of several autonomous electric dipole receivers and a lightweight electric dipole transmitter, which can be mounted on a small remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). The use of a ROV allows for a precise placement of the transmitter, which is a necessary prerequisite for the investigation of such a small target. Furthermore, electromagnetic signals may be transmitted from different directions with respect to the stationary receivers, allowing for a 3D-style tomographic experiment. In this experiment, ten receivers were deployed over the surface of NAMV at a total of 16 receiver locations. During three successful dives with a Cherokee ROV (Ghent University, Belgium), the transmitter was deployed at a total of 80 locations. Here we present first quantitative results consisting of apparent resistivity estimations from the CSEM time domain data for each transmitter-receiver pair. The apparent resistivity map shows that the NAMV indeed has a heterogeneous resistivity structure with apparent resistivities varying by at least a factor of two: low apparent resistivities (~ 0.8Ωm) are found towards the center of the MV, whereas higher apparent resistivities (~ 1.6Ωm) prevail away from the center. In a second step, we interpret the time-domain data based on 1D inversions. Good data fits can be achieved by models containing 2-3 layers. Generally, the models indicate low resistivities at the surface, which can be associated with penetrating salt water and/or high temperatures. Toward greater depths, increasing resistivities presumably are due to a combination of compaction of sediments (i.e. reduced pore space), an increased presence of fresh water and possible occurrences of free gas. For some 1D models, the increase in resistivity exceeds a factor of 10 or more and layer interfaces are indicated down to depths of up to 70m. The derived resistivity variations observed at the NAMV will be interpreted in conjunction with temperature (Feseker, this session), fluid flow (Brückmann et al., this session) and seismic data (Bialas et al., this session) acquired. Temperature variations measured in the upper few meters are related to fluid flow, where high temperatures are indicative of upwelling fluids of low salinity and low temperature of either a downward flow of saline fluids or no flow activity. This type of surface measurement constitutes an integrative fluid flow gauge, which we can resolve vertically with our resistivity models. Seismic data yield a background structure to our resistivity model. New analysis of seismic data shows that seismic activity may also be linked to fluid flow activity, which we aim to match with resistivity variations and oscillations, which were observed in the electric and magnetic fields (Lefeldt et al., this session)

Five years of marine research using EM methods at the IFM-GEOMAR

Even though first experiments for the characterization of the seafloor using marine electromagnetic (EM) methods were already carried out in the mid 1960’s, they have only played a minute role in marine academic investigation for several decades. Only in the past decade, the strongly increasing interest of oil companies for alternative investigation methods for marine oil and gas exploration brought the use of EM methods into the focus of attention. Traditional founders of marine EM methods (Scripps, U of Toronto, U of Southampton) are now accompanied by newly established commercial (e.g. Exxon, AOA Geophysics, OHM surveys, EMGS, Statoil) as well as academic groups. The marine EM group at the IFM GEOMAR, which was established in 2006, initially focused on the development and testing of EM receivers (RX) for magnetotelluric (MT) measurements. Successful measurements were taken during a cruise to the Costa Rican trench (2007/08, see Worzewski, this session). However, these measurements revealed some problems with this first generation of instruments (e.g. stability of stations on the ocean-floor). A subsequent, much improved generation of MT receivers developed in 2008 was successfully deployed during cruises to the Alboran Sea (2009) and the Cyprus Arc (2010) and is currently used in investigations of the Walvis Ridge (Namibia, 2011) and the New Zealand Subduction Zone (2011). For a RWE Dea funded project at the North Alex Mud Volcano (NAMV), a second line of development at the IFM-GEOMAR focused on development of controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) equipment. For this first project, safety concerns (slop stability) as well as the comparatively small size of the investigated target ([ca.] 1km2) required a new approach to allow for a secure, high resolution CSEM experiment. For this type of experiment, the existing MT receivers were extended to include a high frequency CSEM mode (10kHz) for the electric fields. Additionally, a lightweight electric dipole transmitter (TX), which can be mounted on a small remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) was developed. In a 3D-style tomographic experiment (Nov. 2008), ten receivers were deployed over the surface of NAMV at a total of 16 receiver locations and in three successful dives with a Cherokee ROV (Ghent University, Belgium), the transmitter was deployed at a total of 80 locations. Since both RXs and TX were stationary during measurements, a small dipole moment of 200Am (20A current, 10m dipole length) was sufficient to collect transient data up to RX-TX distances of more than 1km. Generally, navigational inaccuracy limits the accuracy and thus also the resolution of CSEM measurements, which is mainly due to the constantly moving sources used in most commercial systems. The good quality of data recorded during the initial experiment at the NAMV raises the question, if this issue may for some types of CSEM experiments may be remedied by using stationary transmitters instead of flying sources. During the upcoming experiment in New Zealand (April 2011), we will find some answers to this question with our new CSEM transmitter system, which has a higher dipole moment ([ca.] 1kAm) and the capability to perform the navigation between TX and the RXs directly on the ocean floor

2. Wochenbericht POS524

GrimseyEM – Grimsey Vent Field, Island – 25.6.201

1. Wochenbericht POS509

POS509 – EM Pal 2 – Palinuro Seamoun

2. Wochenbericht POS509

POS509 – EM Pal 2 – Palinuro Seamoun

3. Wochenbericht POS535

Loki2GrimseyEM – Grimsey Vent Field, Island – 2.7.201

Rapid resistivity imaging for marine CSEM surveys with two transmitter polarizations: An application to the North Alex mud volcano

To image the internal resistivity structure of the North Alex mud volcano offshore Egypt, the marine electromagnetics group at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) developed and conducted a novel transient marine controlled-source electromagnetic experiment. The system, which was specifically developed to image the mud volcano, is also generally suitable for surveys of other small seafloor targets, such as gas-hydrate reservoirs, fluid-flow features, and submarine massive-sulfide deposits. An electric bipole antenna is set down by a remotely operated vehicle on the seafloor sequentially in two perpendicular polarizations at each transmission station. Two orthogonal horizontal electric field components are recorded on the seabed by an array of independently deployed nodal receivers (RXs). With two transmitter polarizations, the unique acquisition geometry of the system provides a very rich data set. However, for this geometric setup, conventional marine electromagnetic interpretation schemes (such as normalized magnitude variation with offset plots) have been difficult to implement. We have developed a simple imaging technique, which can be used for a first-step mapping of seafloor apparent resistivity with the GEOMAR system. Images can be produced in just a few minutes on a regular laptop computer, and the robustness of the approach was demonstrated using two synthetic data sets from simple seafloor models. The method was then applied to the real data acquired at the North Alex mud volcano in 2008. Results found increased apparent sediment resistivities of up to 4 Omega m near the center of the mud volcano occurring at source-RX offsets greater than 500 m, which mapped to apparent depths of greater than 150 m. This may be caused by large quantities of free gas or freshwater in the sediment pore space

1. Wochenbericht POS524

GrimseyEM – Grimsey Vent Field, Island – 15.6.201

Adaption and GPU based parallelization of the code TEMDDD for the 3D modelling of CSEM data

The finite difference time domain code TEMDDD was modified for the 3D forward modeling of marine CSEM data. After changes in the code, which make it possible to create model geometries typically encountered in marine CSEM experiments, parts of the code have been parallelized using massive parallelization on graphic cards. Parts of the singular value decomposition, which is the most time consuming part of the code, have been successfully ported with massive speed-ups (8-12x faster) observed as compared to the standard code. The full parallelization of the code is still work in progress

On electric fields produced by inductive sources on the seafloor

The transient electromagnetic (TEM) method has recently been proposed as a tool for mineral exploration on the seafloor. Similar to airborne TEM surveys conducted on land, marine TEM systems can use a concentric or coincident wire-loop transmitter and receiver towed behind a ship. Such towed-loop TEM surveys can be further augmented by placing additional stationary receivers on the seafloor throughout the survey area. We examine the electric fields measured by remote receivers from an inductive source transmitter within a 1D layered earth model. At sea, it is conceivable to deploy either a horizontal transmitter (such as the analogous standard airborne configuration) or a more exotic vertical transmitter. Therefore, we study and compare the sensitivity of the vertical and horizontal towed-loop systems with a variety of seafloor conductivity structures. Our results indicate that the horizontal loop system is more sensitive to the thickness of a buried conductive layer and would be advantageous over the vertical loop system in characterizing the size of a shallowly buried mineralized zone. The vertical loop system is more sensitive to a resistive layer than the horizontal loop system. The vertical electric field produced by the vertical loop transmitter is sensitive to greater depths than the horizontal fields, and measuring the vertical field at the receivers would therefore be advantageous. We also conducted a novel test of a towed horizontal loop system with remote dipole receivers in a marine setting. The system was tested at the Palinuro volcanic complex in the Tyrrhenian Sea, a site of known massive sulfide mineralization. Preliminary results are consistent with shallowly buried material in the seafloor of conductivities >1  S/m