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Emanuele Forte
Lesson 1Introduction to geophysical methods
3rd September 2016 – Naxos, Greece
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Outline
- What is “Geophysics”
- Base concepts: (Geo)Physical parameters
Sensitivity
Resolution
- Active and Passive methods (+ & -)
- Potential and wave field methods (+ & -)
- Review of most common and useful methods
Applicability (especially to rock mass characterization)
- Conclusions and Questions
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Geophysics: GEO (geo) – PHYSICS (fusika)”is a branch of experimental physics dealing with the earth” (SEG)i.e. Exploration of the Earth analysing the physical properties of the materials
What is “Geophysics”
PHYSICAL PARAMETERS
GEOLOGY
PHYSICS MATH
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• Conductivity geoelectrical methods
• Magnetic susceptivity Magnetometry
• Mass/density Gravity;
• Acoustic impedance (vr) Seismic methods
• Combined electrical parameters (e,s) Ground Penetrating Radar –GPR
• T, P, r,... well Logging
TemperatureLenghtColour
PHYSICAL PARAMETERS
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Basic Concepts
Sensibility/Sensitivity“Two different materials can be discriminate only if the applied geophysical method is SENSITIVE to a physical
parameter DIFFERENT for the two materials”
(Geo)Physical Contrast - Anomaly APPLICABILITY of the methods
Resistivity range Wm
E.g.: ElectricalResistivity
Seismic methods
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Resolution
Maximum achievable degree of detail
or: minimum distance allowing to describe as separated two distinct
targets
Basic Concepts
Telford, 1989Sørensen, 2004
Surface hydrogeological
units 50m
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(Synthetic)Seismic Section
0
100
150
Tim
e (m
s)
50
Real geology
0
100
Th
ick
ne
ss
(m)
50
Resolution
Basic Concepts
Usually high resolution geophysical methods are the most expensive (but not always)
ThereforeMust be a TRADEOFF between
OVERALL COSTS and ACHIVEABLE RESULTS
A crucial problem is that any inappropriate method (also low-cost) cannot give any information and
represents a nonsense cost
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51 101 151 201 251 301 351 401
40ns
80ns
120ns
160ns
200ns
Tracce
Base Concepts
Sensitivity Resolution Applicability
GPR (electromagnetic waves)Ultra High Resolution Section (150-350MHz)MAX Penetration Depth 2-20mResolution 0.1-0.5m
Plio-Quaternary
MohoLower Crust
Tertiary
Mesozoic
Batolite
Mantle
0km
32Km
Deep reflection Seismic (elastic waves)Low Resolution Section (5-50Hz)MAX Penetration Depth 40KmResolution 10-100m
ResolutionALWAYS DECREASE with
depth
It’s impossible to obtain an high detail level for increasing depths Target definition
APPLICABILITY
0m
2m
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Active and Passive methods
Geophysical methods can be classified into one of two types: Passive and Active
Passive geophysical methods Measurements of naturally occurring fields or properties of the earth Spatial variations of these fields or properties and attempt to infer something about the subsurface material distibution (geology).Gravitational field, Magnetic field, Electric field (Self Potential), Electromagnetic field (Magneto Telluric), Eartquakes/natural ground movement,Temperature/Heat flow, Pressure, Radiometric decay products, ...
Gravity Survey
Active geophysical methods a “perturbation/signal” is injected into the earth tomeasure how the subsurface responds to this signal Extract subsurface physical parameter/imaging.Electrical current Many electrical methods (ERT, VES, IP, ...);Electromagnetic currents/waves Ground Penetrating Radar, Several Inductive methods (FDEM, TDEM,...); Groung displacement Seismic methods (reflection, Refraction, MASW,...); Active radiometric sources, ...
Seismic Survey with explosive
http://www.teara.govt.nz/
http://tojovikas.com
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Active Passive
Better control of noise sources through control of injected signal
Complex Field equipmentBoth “Sources” and “Receivers” must be supplied
Surveyor need only record a naturally occurring field no source need
Less control of noise because source of the signal is out of the hands of the surveyor.
Active experiments usually provide better depth control over source of anomalous signal
Field operations and logistics are generally more complex time consuming more expensive than passive experiments
Field operations are generally very time efficient wide areas cost-efficiency
Results in term of “anomalous geological contributions” difficult (impossible) identification of the source
Survey design flexibility in customizing surveys for particular problems. Many possible Source/receivers geometries
Greater survey design costs and potentially leads to increased probability of field mishaps
Only few (standard) field procedures are generally used. Relatively easy survey design
Only few (standard) field procedures are generally used. This limits the amount of customisation that can be done for specific problems.
Large quantities of data can be acquired to interpret subtle details of the earth's subsurface
The large quantity of data obtained in many active experiments can become overwhelming to process and interpret
Limited datasets (not always) can be accomplished with modest computational requirements
The data sets collected are (usually) smaller than those collected in active experiments and do not allow for as detailed an interpretation.
Active and Passive methods: Advantages and Disadvantages
+ - + -
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Active Passive
Sometimes invasive methods: sources are required (explosives, high voltages)
Not invasive systems: only sensors are required
Source type/energy can be tailored on the survey objectives. It can be perfectly repetitive with precise time and position knowledge
No source control time drifting, changes, obstacles.
Active and Passive methods: Advantages and Disadvantages
+ - + -
“Potential field” and “wave field” methods
Another very important classification refers to the following:
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“Potential field” and “wave field” methods
Potential methods measure potential fieldsNOTE: A force fields can be described as a potential field if the field is conservative (work path independent). Conservative forces can be represented mathematically by simple scalar expressions known as POTENTIALS
To recover the PHYSICAL PARAMETER DISTRIBUTION the dataset must be INVERTED
NON-LINEAR PROBLEM i.e. no by univocal correspondence between:MEASURED FIELD PROPERTIES and PHYSICAL PARAMETERS (MODELS) IN THEORY, INFINITE MODELS COULD MATCH A MEASURED FIELD
DISTIBUTION TYPICAL UNDERCONSTRAINED PROBLEM
Additional information are required (direct data, other geophysical data, ...)
The Potential fields used for geophysical exploration are:1) Gravitational 2) Magnetic 3) Electric
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“Potential field” method: conceptual EXAMPLES
The direct problem is to compute gravity potential and force when the density is known.
FORWARD modeling
The inverse problem is to determine the density using the force (the potential) on a given surface.
INVERSE modeling
Measured gravity field Mass/density distribution
Regional/global effects large scale anomalies
Measured gravity field Mass/density MODEL
Data INTERPRETATION
soilore
Local effects local anomalies
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“Potential field” and “wave field” methods
Wave field methods based on the propagation of a perturbation (wave) within the earth
The most common are Seismic (elastic waves) and Electromagnetic waves
The perturbation (or signal) travels into the subsurface, is REFLECTED/REFRACTED/SCATTERED/BACKSCATTERED/CONVERTED and therefore can be recorded at the surface (or into a
borehole) by one or more sensors as a function of the time (typically the time zero is the energizing instant)
No data inversion is required (but it is possible) direct IMAGING of the subsurface
SOURCE Record: reflection seismic section
DistanceDistance
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“Potential field” and “wave field” methods
To obtain a real subsurface IMAGING a complex processing is required, but usually final results are very close to the reality
Field experiment recorded data (with interpretation)
SaltDiapir
From: Bahorich et al., 1995
Original data
Processed data(coherency timeslice)
Faults Paleo Channel
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Seismic section after preliminary processing (Stack)
“Potential field” and “wave field” methods
Processing 1D, 2D, 3DD
ept
h [
m]
Dept
h [
m]
Seismic section after Depth migration
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Questions?