Magnetotellurics and radio-wave interference sounding

Abstract

The plane harmonic electromagnetic fields are considered in the theory of magnetotelluric methods in the range of frequencies from 0.0001 Hz to 20 kHz. These fields are natural by their origin and contain information on the depths from tens of meters up to 100 km and more. The magnetotelluric soundings, which use the fields of radio stations, expand the frequency band almost up to 1 MHz and make it possible to study the depths from the first few meters. The method of radio-wave interference sounding supplements geoelectric prospecting on plane waves into the range of even higher frequencies (up to 100 MHz). In this case, the conduction and displacement currents become comparable, which makes it possible to distinguish objects both by their electrical conductivity and by their dielectric permittivity. For the two-layered model of a medium, there exist simple kinematic methods of data interpretation of a radio-interferometry sounding. Within multilayer, and especially horizontally heterogeneous, media, methods for solving equations of electrodynamics and inverse problems of geophysics are required. In the present paper, the foundations of the theory of radio-interferometry sounding, the methodology, its role in geoelectric prospecting, and the opportunities for the solution of geological problems are discussed.