EM COUPLING, ITS INTRINSIC VALUE, ITS REMOVAL AND THE CULTURAL COUPLING PROBLEM

Abstract

The induced polarization method of geophysical prospecting has been in use for more than 25 years with varying degrees of success. Until recently, its two principle drawbacks were (1) the inability to distinguish between anomalous rock responses and, (2) inability to distinguish between these rock responses and inductive coupling. The first problem was solved by K. L. Zonge in 1972. Solutions to the coupling problem go back to 1932, and have been expanded and elaborated upon by successive authors since then. In most of these papers, electromagnetic coupling was separated into two functions, here designated as P, a purely inductive term, and Q, a grounding or purely resistive term. This paper extends this work into a study of the reflective coupling contribution and the effects of anisotropy. Two immediate results are: (a) the development of an ultra‐low‐frequency deep sounding technique for highly conductive overburden environments, and (b) a successful iterative technique for the removal of coupling from complex resistivity field data. A study was made of the effect of electrically conductive pipelines on induced polarization and complex resistivity data. It appears that the so‐called “pipeline effect” is a composite of several effects, including current focusing nonlinearities, electromagnetic induction, and complex electrode polarization. The pipeline effect is generally predictable, while the effect of a fence or an irregular conductive inhomogeneity is not as simple.