Mapping of apparent magnetic susceptibility and the identification of fractures: A case study from the Eye-Dashwa Lakes pluton, Atikokan, Ontario

Abstract

In situ magnetic-susceptibility measurements are only possible on outcrops, which are often limited by overburden and water bodies. An alternative approach is to derive an apparent susceptibility map from total-magnetic-intensity (TMI) surveys, which was done in this study for the Eye-Dashwa Lakes pluton near Atikokan, Ontario. Susceptibility logs of cores directly link alteration to systematic changes in the amount and composition of magnetic minerals. The surficial distribution of alteration zones was originally estimated from a limited number of in situ magnetic-susceptibility measurements. Here, through forward modeling of the TMI data set, susceptibility data are used to validate the apparent susceptibility data set. The modeling accounts for the bathymetric surface of all lakes that cover the area. A two-step process of bulk and local-scale modeling was used to estimate apparent susceptibility patterns. Bulk magnetic susceptibility is used as an indicator of overall alteration content, and local-scale apparent magnetic-susceptibility values are computed using a forward-modeling routine. The new apparent magnetic data set indicates northwest and northeast linears, which are the same as those seen in previous studies.