Seismoacoustic responses to high-power electric pulses from well logging data at the Bishkek geodynamical test area

Abstract

The results of recording seismoacoustic emission (SAE) in the boreholes of the Bishkek geodynamical test area in Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, are presented. The spectral structure of SAE signals and the pattern of variations in SAE intensity during electromagnetic (EM) sounding of the Earth’s crust by the highpower ERGU-600-2 generator unit are studied. The statistical methods for SAE data processing are adjusted for the problem of revealing the correlations between SAE responses and pulsed electrical impacts (i.e., energy input into the medium). The response of the medium to EM soundings, which are conducted for monitoring the apparent resistivity of the rocks, is revealed. The response of the medium manifests itself as the increase in SAE intensity (the responses to the electric current pulses generated during the soundings). The SAE responses belong to the same group of the effects (the signs of external forcing of rock destruction) as the variations in seismicity during the runs of the geophysical magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) generators in 1983–1989 or experimental soundings in 2000–2005. The sources of SAE signals are located at shallow depths, near the geophone installation place. This accounts for the difference between the variations in SAE intensity and microseismicity in response to the same impact.