TELLURIC SOUNDING—A MAGNETOTELLURIC METHOD WITHOUT MAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS

Abstract

The basic theory and objectives of telluric sounding (TS) are about the same as those of the well‐known method of magnetotelluric sounding (MTS) (Cagniard, 1953). Both methods make use of the natural electromagnetic phenomena known as geomagnetic micropulsations to obtain crude “resistivity logs” from the surface down to great depths, without drilling, if the subsurface has mild structures, low dips, and lateral continuity in the electrical resistivity. Let the x-y plane of the Cartesian coordinates represent the surface of the earth. With MTS, the field operation consists of simultaneously recording the time variations of an arbitrary x component of the electric field, [Formula: see text], called a tellurogram, and that of the y component of the magnetic field, [Formula: see text], called a magnetogram, both at the same point where the downward information is desired. The main difficulty is in the measurement of the magnetic field variations with sufficient accuracy. The measurement of the electric field variations is very simple and expeditious. TS bypasses this difficulty, because it does not require the measurement of the magnetic field. With TS, the field operation requires two electric field recording units. One of these units remains at a “base station” where the subsurface is known from a well log, while the second unit is placed at a “field station” where one wishes to explore the subsurface. Thus, for each sounding, one obtains two simultaneous tellurograms. These are Fourier analyzed. The ratios of the electric field amplitudes as a function of frequency, combined with the resistivity log at the base station, furnish the MTS‐type data at the field station that are interpreted in the usual manner to yield a crude resistivity log at the field station. The primary objective of TS is the exploration of sedimentary basins. It may be preferable to MTS in certain cases and vice versa; it is not meant to replace MTS. The theoretical basis and the procedures of TS are discussed in this paper.