Geophysics

Definition
. The term geophysics refers to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and composition; its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation.

Types
1. Solid Earth Geophysics methods deals with the properties of the earth 2. Applied Geophysics methods is restricted top the crust of the earth and is divided into two branches Active Methods Passive Methods

Active Geophysical Methods

Geophysical exploration methods which require an artificial signal to be generated. For example, exploration seismology, some electromagnetic techniques, *electrical resistivity, remote sensing, and induced polarization are said to be active geophysical methods. The term is contrasted with passive geophysical methods Examples Seismic , Electrical

Passive Geophysical Methods

Passive geophysical surveys are ones that incorporate measurements of naturally occurring fields or properties of the earth. In this cases, the naturally occurring fields are the gravitational and magnetic fields

Seismic Surveys

The seismic survey is one form of geophysical survey that aims at measuring the earths (geo-) properties by means of physical (-physics) principles such as magnetic, electric, gravitational, thermal, and elastic theories. It is based on the theory of elasticity and therefore tries to deduce elastic properties of materials by measuring their response to elastic disturbances called seismic (or elastic) waves. A seismic wave can be thought of as shock wave (elastic wave) or vibration traveling through the ground. The rate of travel, or velocity, of the wave is related to the density of the rock

Importance of Seismic Methods

The seismic method is by far the most important geophysical technique in terms of expenditure and number of geophysicists involved. Its predominance is purely because of high accuracy ,high resolution and great penetration Seismic Methods are used for exploring petroleum; the location for exploratory wells are rarely made without seismic information Also used in ground water searches and in civil engineering especially to measure the depth of bedrock in connection with construction of large buildings, dams and highways

Categories of Seismic Surveys

The two main categories of seismic methods are Seismic Reflection Seismic Refraction

Seismic Reflection

The technique is based on analyzing the arrival times of seismic waves (ground motion or energy waves). After the sensor measures the precise arrival time of the wave, the velocity of the wave can be calculated using the hyperbolic equation The wave velocity, which is related to the rock density, can then be used to determine the lithology of Rock

Seismic Refraction

The seismic refraction method is similar to the reflection method in that the same instruments and shock wave sources are used. However, as the name implies, the objective is to measure refraction of shock waves as they pass across formation or structural boundaries Refraction is governed by Snells Law, which relates velocity to the angle of incidence and to the angle of refraction. Measuring refraction requires that the detecting instruments be placed a large horizontal distance away from the shot point, The results are far less accurate than those obtained with the reflection method, but velocity information (and hence lithologic information) is more reliable than that obtained by reflection techniques.

Gravity Method

Gravity Method involves measurement of variations in the gravitational field of the earth. It is to locate local masses of greater or lesser density then the surrounding formations and learn something from the irregularities in the earth's field. Observations are normally made at earth's surface but underground surveys are also carried out occasionally

Importance Of Gravity Methods

Gravity Method is used as a reconnaissance tool in oil exploration; although expensive but it is still considerably cheaper then seismic methods In Mineral explorations gravity method has been employed as a secondary method, although it is used for detailed follow-up of magnetic and electromagnetic anomalies during integral base-metal surveys Also used in Engineering and Archeological Studies

Magnetic Method
This method involves the measurement of direction or intensity of earth's magnetic field and interpretation of variation in these quantities over the area of investigation Magnetic Surveys can be made on the land surface, from a aircraft or from a ship Magnetic and Gravity methods have much in common but magnetic is generally more complex which is primarily due the difference between the dipolar magnetic field and monopolar gravity field

Importance of Magnetic Method

Several types of information can be obtained from magnetic surveys.

The character of a magnetic anomaly is often indicative of the type of rock producing the anomaly, and an experienced interpreter can identify a general rock type on the basis of character of the magnetic anomalies observed The most common use of magnetic data in ground-water studies is to map the depth to the magnetic basement In this method corrections are made more easily then the most geophysical measurements and corrections are practically unnecessary Prior to WW2 magnetic measurements were limited to land surface, however during the war fluxgate magnetometer were used for detecting submarines from an aircraft and later for radar navigation

Electrical Method
Electrical Methods can be divided into following types Resistively Geophysical Survey Induced Polarization Geophysical Survey Self Potential Geophysical Survey Electromagnetic Geophysical Survey

Resistivity Geophysical

Resistivity geophysical surveys measure variations in the electrical resistivity of the ground, by applying small electric currents across arrays of ground electrodes. The survey data is processed to produce graphic depth sections of the thickness and resistivity of subsurface electrical layers. The resistivity sections are correlated with ground interfaces such as soil and fill layers or soil-bedrock interfaces, to provide engineers with detailed information on subsurface ground conditions.

Applications

Measures bedrock & water table depth Detects solution features & voids Locates buried alluvial channels Identifies fracture zones & discontinuities Maps leachate contamination Defines saline groundwater incursions Finds abandoned mineshafts & workings

Induced Polarization Geophysical

induced polarization (IP) surveys are used to detect disseminated mineralization and to simultaneously measure electrical resistivity. Originally developed for porphyry exploration, gold deposits also respond well to this technique since many are hosted within bodies of disseminated sulphides. Dipole-dipole surveys provide the best signal to noise ratio for detecting discrete targets but in cases where the primary voltage at the receiving electrodes is too low, pole-dipole surveys are often employed. Gradient surveys provide much more rapid coverage but this is at the expense of target resolution. The IP decay curve can be analyzed to derive spectral IP parameters tau and C which are influenced by chargeable grain size and the type of chargeable source.

Self Potential Geophysical

Self Potential Surveys are carried out in mineral exploration to locate and delineate conductive mineral deposits Self Potential methods make use of natural current flowing in the ground that are generated by electrochemical processes to locate shallow bodies of anomalous conductivity and water circulation

Application

Exploration of metalliferrous mineral deposits Detection of water circulation in ground

Monitoring dams