Quantifying the Limitations of using Time Domain Airborne Electromagnetic Methods for Characterizing Heterogeneity in the Edmonton-Calgary Corridor
Date
2012-11-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
As part of a regional groundwater mapping project the Alberta Geologic Survey commissioned a time domain airborne electromagnetic survey of the Edmonton-Calgary Corridor. To analyze the suitability of data for groundwater mapping, research was carried out on a subset of the data. An analysis of geophysical logs from twelve boreholes indicates clay has a higher conductivity than sand, but the relationship is non-unique so supplementary data may be required for interpretation. An analysis of TEM data uncertainty shows measurements can be imprecise because they are affected by non-geologic noise, but it is possible to use secondary sources of data, such as resistivity logs, to recalibrate TEM measurements and improve accuracy. Finally, benefits and limitations of TEM inversion were examined, suggesting TEM can only resolve large scale changes in conductivity structure. As a result it is not an appropriate tool for mapping small scale changes in conductivity associated with groundwater mapping.
Description
Keywords
Geophysics
Citation
Ernst, E. (2012). Quantifying the Limitations of using Time Domain Airborne Electromagnetic Methods for Characterizing Heterogeneity in the Edmonton-Calgary Corridor (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27502