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We present a 2D inversion code for frequency-domain HEM data designed for inverting field scale surveys on normal desktop computers. The fundamental algorithm is a 2.5D algorithm with field separation into primary and secondary fields. Due to limited memory, as well as performance concerns, sectioning is introduced for splitting large surveys into smaller sections. Sectioning is only done when calculating the 2D forward and derivatives, and it is done with a sufficient overlap, such that vital 2D information is preserved. The algorithm uses a hybrid scheme which i) starts with 1D forward and inverse calculations, ii) then switches to 2D forward calculations and 1D derivatives, and iii) finally ends with full 2D calculations. The result of this is a code which produces results like a 2D code, but with a substantially shorter computational time.

Summary Knowledge of the sensitivity function of an electromagnetic (EM) system helps to assess the advantages and shortcomings of the system set-up. We have computed 3D sensitivity functions of three different EM systems – one airborne (SkyTEM) and two ground-based systems (tTEM and GCM) – in order to compare the sensitivity distribution of the different transmitter-receiver set-ups. The results show that the GCM has the highest sensitivity to near-surface structures, but also has a very limited footprint depth. The SkyTEM and tTEM systems have comparable sensitivities vertically in the ground with a 90% footprint depth around 5 m for early time measurements. However, the sensitivity of the SkyTEM system is distributed must wider horizontally than the tTEM.

Summary The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam is struggling with intensive use of the groundwater due to intensive irrigation of multicycle rice cultivation and aquaculture in the coastal zone. This has led to groundwater overexploitation and salt water intrusion of the fresh groundwater resources from the coast inwards. However, the picture in this enormous delta is much more complex with many of the groundwater resources still containing residual saline groundwater from previous transgressions. Furthermore, the lowered water table has led to high subsidence rates since the early 1990’s. At present, the condition of the Mekong Delta groundwater system is poorly understood, mainly described by boreholes explaining about geology and salinity, with only few geophysical surveys to connect the geological observations. In this abstract we present the first results from a groundbased TEM survey. We have mapped a large, very conductive area, with depth of investigation reaching down to -200 m. The results can feed into geological and hydrogeological models of the area and provide a better understanding of the connection between groundwater resources.

Some hydrological model predictions are particularly sensitive to the hydrostratigraphy of numerical groundwater models, which are used extensively in the management of groundwater resources. In this paper we present a method to estimate hydrological prediction uncertainty originating from uncertainty in subsurface structure. Densely sampled airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data, which captures the main geological features, along with borehole lithological information are used as input to the hydrostratigraphic models. Geophysical resistivity models obtained from spatially constrained 1-D inversion of the AEM data are translated into clay-fraction values with a spatially variable translator function. Hydrostratigraphic units are identified by k-means clustering on the 2-D space defined by estimated resistivity values and clay-fraction values. Areas with no data are represented stochastically using sequential indicator simulation (SIS) where the spatial model of each hydrostratigraphic unit is characterized by an indicator variogram. This results in an ensemble of equally likely hydrostratigraphic representations of the subsurface. A hydraulic conductivity value of each hydrostratigraphic unit of each realization is estimated in a groundwater model calibration constrained by observations of hydraulic head and stream base flow. Pumping well catchment areas are calculated for each realization. The result is a probabilistic well catchment area, which is checked for bias with a manually constructed geological model. There is a probability of 85% of the catchment extending beyond the manually constructed geology. The method is applied to the 45 km2 large groundwater model of the Kasted site in Denmark. The method presented in the paper has the advantage of being data-driven, making the modeling process entirely reproducible.

Time-domain electromagnetic data are conveniently inverted by using smoothly varying 1D models with fixed vertical discretization. The vertical smoothness of the obtained models stems from the application of Occam-type regularization constraints, which are meant to address the ill-posedness of the problem. An important side effect of such regularization, however, is that horizontal layer boundaries can no longer be accurately reproduced as the model is required to be smooth. This issue can be overcome by inverting for fewer layers with variable thicknesses; nevertheless, to decide on a particular and constant number of layers for the parameterization of a large survey inversion can be equally problematic. Here, we present a focusing regularization technique to obtain the best of both methodologies. The new focusing approach allows for accurate reconstruction of resistivity distributions using a fixed vertical discretization while preserving the capability to reproduce horizontal boundaries. The formulation is flexible and can be coupled with traditional lateral/spatial smoothness constraints in order to resolve interfaces in stratified soils with no additional hypothesis about the number of layers. The method relies on minimizing the number of layers of non-vanishing resistivity gradient, instead of minimizing the norm of the model variation itself. This approach ensures that the results are consistent with the measured data while favouring, at the same time, the retrieval of horizontal abrupt changes. In addition, the focusing regularization can also be applied in the horizontal direction in order to promote the reconstruction of lateral boundaries such as faults. We present the theoretical framework of our regularization methodology and illustrate its capabilities by means of both synthetic and field data sets. We further demonstrate how the concept has been integrated in our existing spatially constrained inversion formalism and show its application to large-scale time-domain electromagnetic data inversions.

Over the past decade the typical size of airborne electromagnetic data sets has been growing rapidly, along with an emerging need for highly accurate modelling. Onedimensional approximate inversions or data transform techniques have previously been employed for very large-scale studies of quasi-layered settings but these techniques fail to provide the consistent accuracy needed by many modern applications such as aquifer and geological mapping, uranium exploration, oil sands and integrated modelling. In these cases the use of more time-consuming 1D forward and inverse modelling provide the only acceptable solution that is also computationally feasible. When target structures are known to be quasi layered and spatially coherent it is beneficial to incorporate this assumption directly into the inversion. This implies inverting multiple soundings at a time in larger constrained problems, which allows for resolving geological layers that are undetectable using simple independent inversions. Ideally, entire surveys should be inverted at a time in huge constrained problems but poor scaling properties of the underlying algorithms typically make this challenging. Here, we document how we optimized an inversion code for very large-scale constrained airborne electromagnetic problems. Most importantly, we describe how we solve linear systems using an iterative method that scales linearly with the size of the data set in terms of both solution time and memory consumption. We also describe how we parallelized the core region of the code, in order to obtain almost ideal strong parallel scaling on current 4-socket shared memory computers. We further show how model parameter uncertainty estimates can be efficiently obtained in linear time and we demonstrate the capabilities of the full implementation by inverting a 3327 line km SkyTEM survey overnight. Performance and scaling properties are discussed based on the timings of the field example and we describe the criteria that must be fulfilled in order to adapt our methodology for similar type problems.

We present an automatic method for parameterization of a 3-D model of the subsurface, integrating lithological information from boreholes with resistivity models through an inverse optimization, with the objective of further detailing of geological models, or as direct input into groundwater models. The parameter of interest is the clay fraction, expressed as the relative length of clay units in a depth interval. The clay fraction is obtained from lithological logs and the clay fraction from the resistivity is obtained by establishing a simple petrophysical relationship, a translator function, between resistivity and the clay fraction. Through inversion we use the lithological data and the resistivity data to determine the optimum spatially distributed translator function. Applying the translator function we get a 3-D clay fraction model, which holds information from the resistivity data set and the borehole data set in one variable. Finally, we use k-means clustering to generate a 3-D model of the subsurface structures. We apply the procedure to the Norsminde survey in Denmark, integrating approximately 700 boreholes and more than 100 000 resistivity models from an airborne survey in the parameterization of the 3-D model covering 156 km2. The final five-cluster 3-D model differentiates between clay materials and different high-resistivity materials from information held in the resistivity model and borehole observations, respectively.

The Okavango Delta is a huge alluvial megafan in northwestern Botswana. Despite numerous geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and hydrologic investigations over the past half-century, the sedimentary units underlying the delta are largely unknown. To address this issue, helicopter transient electromagnetic data (HTEM) have been collected across the entire delta and coincident ground-based electrical resistance tomographic (ERT) and transient electromagnetic (TEM) data have been acquired at two locations, one along the delta’s western margin and one in its north-central region. Inversions of the HTEM data have yielded three-layer resistivity models in which a relatively homogeneous conductive layer is sandwiched between two resistive layers. The three-layer HTEM model is reproduced in models obtained from independently and jointly inverting the ground-based data. The conductive layer’s low resistivities and depths to its upper and lower boundaries are practically equal in the HTEM and ground-based models. Resistivities of the upper resistive layer are similar in the various models, with the ground-based estimates being somewhat higher than those of the HTEM model at one site and somewhat lower at the other site. For the basal resistive layer, it can only be concluded that its resistivity must be substantially higher than that of the overlying conductive layer. An interpretation of the HTEM and ground-based resistivity models in the delta’s north-central region, appropriately constrained by the surface geology, high-resolution seismic refraction-reflection models, and borehole logs suggests the following structure: basement overlain at progressively shallower depths by freshwater-saturated sand and gravel that represent the remnants of a Paleo Okavango Megafan, saline-water-saturated sand, and lacustrine clay originally deposited in Paleo Lake Makgadikgadi, and freshwater-saturated megafan and fluvial sediments of the current Okavango Delta.

We present a concept that combines lithological information from boreholes with resistivity information from geophysical data to produce an accumulated clay thickness (ACT) estimate as a proxy for assessing the vulnerability of the groundwater to contamination from nitrate. The groundwater's vulnerability to nitrate is strongly dependent on the hydraulic conductivity and the thickness of the protective layers. Low permeable clays in the overburden offer good protection to underlying aquifers by increasing the transit time. This means that the accumulated clay thickness is a good indicator for aquifer vulnerability to nitrate. In geophysically derived resistivity models clays are characterized by low electrical resistivity, but non-unique clay–sand resistivity transition prevents direct mapping of resistivity models to clay thickness. Within the ACT concept, a translator model linking the resistivity to the accumulated clay thickness is calibrated by borehole information, ensuring consistency between the resistivity and the borehole data. An accumulated clay thickness map of the aquifer overburden (e.g., top 30 m) is then calculated, based on the calibrated translator model and geophysically derived resistivity models. We demonstrate the concept on a large-scale nitrate vulnerability assessment survey in Denmark. The concept successfully delineates the clay-dominated areas that play a key role in the assessment of the aquifer's vulnerability to nitrate pollution.

A newly developed helicopter transient electromagnetic (TEM) system has the ability to measure very early times within just a few μs after the turn off of the primary current. For such a system, careful calibration and accurate modeling of the electromagnetic (EM) response is critical to get true resistivities of the very shallow geologic layers. We discovered that this leads to resolution of the same level or in some cases even better than what can be obtained from airborne frequency EM systems. This allowed a range of important applications where high and accurate resolution is mandatory, e.g., geotechnical applications such as urban planning, railroad and road investigations, landslides or distribution of raw materials, and assessing aquifer vulnerability. We evaluated the results of a pilot survey covering the Norsminde catchment south of Aarhus, Denmark, where we found that near-surface layers (top 30 m) can be mapped with an accuracy of a few meters in a complicated glacial sedimentary environment. The mapping of the geologic layers was assessed by a detailed analysis in which we developed a general methodology for crosschecking the EM and borehole data. This methodology is general and can easily be adapted to other data types and surveys. After rating the quality of the boreholes based on a list of predefined criteria, we concluded that the EM data matched with about three-quarters of the boreholes located within less than 15 m from the closest EM soundings. The remaining quarter of the boreholes fell into two groups in which half of the boreholes were of very poor quality or had inaccurate coordinates. Only eight of all the boreholes could not be reproduced by the data, and we attributed this to be caused by very strong lateral or vertical geologic variations not resolvable by the TEM technique.

Very early times in the order of 2–3 μs from the end of the turn-off ramp for time-domain electromagnetic systems are crucial for obtaining a detailed resolution of the near-surface geology in the depth interval 0–20 m. For transient electromagnetic systems working in the off time, an electric current is abruptly turned off in a large transmitter loop causing a secondary electromagnetic field to be generated by the eddy currents induced in the ground. Often, however, there is still a residual primary field generated by remaining slowly decaying currents in the transmitter loop. The decay disturbs or biases the earth response data at the very early times. These biased data must be culled, or some specific processing must be applied in order to compensate or remove the residual primary field. As the bias response can be attributed to decaying currents with its time constantly controlled by the geometry of the transmitter loop, we denote it the ‘Coil Response’. The modelling of a helicopter-borne time-domain system by an equivalent electronic circuit shows that the time decay of the coil response remains identical whatever the position of the receiver loop, which is confirmed by field measurements. The modelling also shows that the coil response has a theoretical zero location and positioning the receiver coil at the zero location eliminates the coil response completely. However, spatial variations of the coil response around the zero location are not insignificant and even a few cm deformation of the carrier frame will introduce a small coil response. Here we present an approach for subtracting the coil response from the data by measuring it at high altitudes and then including an extra shift factor into the inversion scheme. The scheme is successfully applied to data from the SkyTEM system and enables the use of very early time gates, as early as 2–3 μs from the end of the ramp, or 5–6 μs from the beginning of the ramp. Applied to a large-scale airborne electromagnetic survey, the coil response compensation provides airborne electromagnetic methods with a hitherto unseen good resolution of shallow geological layers in the depth interval 0–20 m. This is proved by comparing results from the airborne electromagnetic survey to more than 100 km of Electrical Resistivity Tomography measured with 5 m electrode spacing.

article i nfo Contamination of groundwater by leaking CO2 is a potential risk of carbon sequestration. With the help of a field experiment in western Denmark, we investigate to what extent surface electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) can detect and image dissolved CO2 in a shallow aquifer. For this purpose, we injected CO2 at a depth of 5 and 10 m and monitored its migration using 320 electrodes on a 126 m × 25 m surface grid. A fully automated acquisition system continuously collected data and uploaded it into an online database. The large amount of data allows for time-series analysis using geostatistical techniques for noise estimation and data interpolation to compensate for intermittent instrument failure. We estimate a time-dependent noise level for each ERT configuration, taking data variation and measurement frequency into account. A baseline inversion reveals the geology at the site consisting of aeolian and glacial sands near the surface and marine sands below 10 m depth. 3-D time-lapse ERT inversions clearly image the dissolved CO2 plume with de- creased electrical resistivity values. We can image the geochemical changes induced by the dissolved CO2 until the end of the acquisition, 120 days after the injection start. During these 120 days, the CO2 migrates about 25 m in the expected groundwater flow direction. Water electrical conductivity (EC) sampling using small screens in 29 wells allows for very good verification of the ERT results. Water EC and ERT results generally agree very well, with the water sampling showing some fine-scale variations that cannot be resolved by the ERT. The ERT images have their strength in outlining the plume's shape in three dimensions and in being able to image the plume outside the well field. These results highlight the potential for imaging dissolved CO2 using non-intrusive surface electrical resistivity tomography.

The Southern Ocean receives limited liquid surface water input from the Antarctic continent. It has been speculated, however, that significant liquid water may flow from beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and that this subglacial flow carries that water along with dissolved nutrients to the coast. The delivery of solutes, particularly limiting nutrients like bioavailable iron, to the Southern Ocean may contribute to ecosystem processes including primary productivity. Using a helicopter-borne time domain electromagnetic survey along the coastal margins of the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, we detected subsurface connections between inland lakes, aquifers, and subglacial waters. These waters, which appear as electrically conductive anomalies, are saline and may contain high concentrations of biologically important ions, including iron and silica. Local hydraulic gradients may drive these waters to the coast, where we postulate they emerge as submarine groundwater discharge. This high latitude groundwater system, imaged regionally in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, may be representative of a broader system of Antarctic submarine groundwater discharge that fertilizes the Southern Ocean. In total, it has the potential to deliver tens of gigagrams of bioavailable Fe and Si to the coastal zone.

SUMMARY The applicability of magnetic resonance sounding in mapping the water content and the hydrological properties of the sub-surface in industrialized areas is severely limited by electromagnetic noise. Efficient ways of mitigating the noise must be developed before the technique can become a ubiquitous tool. In this paper we demonstrate an instrument developed for efficient mapping of noise at a given site prior to a magnetic resonance sounding. The instrument consists of two small induction coils connected to a digital oscilloscope controlled by a PC. Using the instrument, measurements of the electromagnetic noise are easily performed at several places within the site. Signal processing of the measurements provide a quantified understanding of the contributions from different noise sources, primarily powerline harmonics and impulsive noise. Further the spatial distributions of the noise components are also obtained. Based on this knowledge the optimum spot for a magnetic resonance sounding with the least distortion by noise can be identified. The instrument is now in routine use at the Hydrogeophysics group at Aarhus University.

The possibility of extracting IP information from AEM data never stopped being of inetrest to the sceintific community and industry. We apply to this old problem the proven approach of the Laterally and Spatially Constrained Inversion. By applying constraints in the model space, we improve the resolvability of model parameters in the ill posed inversion problem. We present a synthetic study where the model the IP response over a layered earth using the Cole Cole model. We simulate both an environmental and an exploration target. Results show that, as expected, in some cases, some of the Cole Cole parameters can be resolved better using the LCI-SCI than by using stitched together inversions. They also provide useful insight into different ranges/combinations of resolvable parameters. Limitations of the approach are those of the SCI-LCI; In presence of strong 3D varitaions, the dimensionality of the forward response produces inaccuracies in the recovered models. Nonetheless, we argue that this approach can be applied satisfactorily to a number of real cases.We aim at presenting at the conference results also from real dataset.

The near juxtaposition of the Makgadikgadi Basin (Botswana), the world’s largest saltpan complex, with the Okavango Delta, one of the planet’s largest inland deltas (technically an alluvial megafan), has intrigued explorers and scientists since the middle of the 19th century. It was clear from early observations that the Makgadikgadi Basin once contained a huge lake, paleo–Lake Makgadikgadi. Several authors have since speculated that this lake also covered wide regions to the north and west of the Makgadikgadi Basin. Our interpretation of unusually high-quality helicopter time-domain electromagnetic (HTEM) data indicates that paleo–Lake Makgadikgadi extended northwestward at least into the region presently occupied by the Okavango Delta. The total area of paleo–Lake Makgadikgadi exceeded 90,000 km2, larger than Earth’s most extensive freshwater body today, Lake Superior (North America). Our HTEM data, constrained by ground-based geophysical and borehole information, also provide evidence for a paleo-megafan underlying paleo–Lake Makgadikgadi sediments.

Validation and calibration of airborne and ground-based time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) systems are important to obtain high-quality data and thereby reliable and reproducible results. Validation and calibration become even more important when the TEM systems are to be used for low-anomaly groundwater and environmental applications. The recent extension of the Danish TEM test site has made it possible to perform detailed validation of airborne TEM systems and calibrate airborne TEM systems that cannot make hovering measurements. We evaluated the Danish TEM test site and used a test site calibration scheme recommended for ground-based as well as airborne TEM systems. Furthermore, we discovered an extended data set from the airborne TEM system, SkyTEM, from the test site, used for an extensive validation of the SkyTEM system. This validation included repeatability tests at different heights and comparisons with the reference sections obtained with ground-based measurements. The validation and comparison were performed directly on the inversion results and in data space, down to the single data gate values. The extensive validation of the SkyTEM system at the TEM test site revealed a very stable and reliable system. The data repeatability of the SkyTEM system at different heights and directions was, in general, well within the standard deviation (STD) of the data. The agreement between the ground-based reference model sections and the SkyTEM model section from different recording heights was very good. Likewise, the match between the ground-based reference data and the SkyTEM data was good and, in general, within 1.5 times the STD on the data. The positive outcome of the extensive validation also confirmed that data processing and modeling were performed at the highest standard.

Summary The SkyTEM data provides a comprehensive three-dimensional picture of the subsurface. The low moment data ensured the high resolution mapping of the near surface and the high moment data to the deeper level. The dual moment AEM data provided high resolution mapping of subsurface from top to ∼ 250 m depths. The results revealed significant contrast between the B-G layers that has a resistivity range of 10–15 Ωm and generally has groundwater yields of 6–8 lps. It is also noted that the groundwater yield (> 6 lps) increases for deeper (

The purpose of this review is to report the major advancements that have been made within the area of airborne electromagnetics (AEM) between 2007 and 2017, with a focus on geotechnical and hydrological applications. Older articles will be listed in order to provide context for recent advancement, or when describing the underlying methodology. The review is structured such that each section can be read independently, and each section starts out with a brief introduction to establish a common ground. References are inserted where relevant, and as such some articles are cited multiple times, since they are relevant in multiple sections.

Time-domain induced polarisation and magnetic data were acquired to map and characterise the decommissioned and un-engineered municipal solid waste disposal site of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, located in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. In this survey, 13 induced polarisation profiles 500–800 m long and 26 magnetic profiles 400–800 m long were acquired. In addition, two boreholes were drilled to help in the interpretation of the geophysical data. The study was carried out with the aim of determining the risk posed by the waste deposit to the quality of the soil and the ground water system, which is the main potable water supply for the Secondary School, the University Teaching Hospital and the Veterinary School, situated within the catchment area of the site. Full-decay 2-D time-domain induced polarisation inversions in terms of Cole–Cole parameters were used for interpreting the induced polarisation data. The chargeability, resistivity and normalised chargeability distributions, together with the magnetic results, aided in a full characterisation of the site geology, the waste and the associated pollution plume. In particular, clear contrasts in resistivity and the polarisation parameters were found between the saprolite layer and the granitic bedrock, which are the main lithological units of the area. Furthermore, it was found that the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology waste deposit is characterised by a low-chargeability and low-resistivity signature and that the low-resistivity area spreads out from the waste deposit into the permeable saprolite layer, indicating the presence of a leachate plume. A fracture zone in the granitic bedrock beneath the waste deposit, which is a potential conduit for leachate contamination of the ground water system, was also identified. The study thus provides the information needed for assessing the future impact of the waste on the water quality in the area and for designing risk-mitigation actions.

Increasingly, electromagnetic induction methods (EMI) are being used within the area of archaeological prospecting for mapping soil structures or for studying paleo-landscapes. Recent hardware developments have made fast data acquisition, combined with precise positioning, possible, thus providing interesting possibilities for archaeological prospecting. However, it is commonly assumed that the instrument operates in what is referred to as Low Induction Number, or LIN. Here, we detail the problems of the approximations while discussing a best practice for EMI measurements, data processing, and inversion for understanding a paleo-landscape at an Iron Age human bone depositional site (Alken Enge) in Denmark. On synthetic as well as field data we show that soil mapping based on EMI instruments can be improved by applying data processing methodologies from adjacent scientific fields. Data from a 10 hectare study site was collected with a line spacing of 1-4 m, resulting in roughly 13,000 processed soundings, which were inverted with a full non-linear algorithm. The models had higher dynamic range in the retrieved resistivity values, as well as sharper contrasts between structural elements than we could obtain by looking at data alone. We show that the pre-excavation EMI mapping facilitated an archaeological prospecting where traditional trenching could be replaced by a few test pits at selected sites, hereby increasing the chance of finding human bones. In a general context we show that (1) dedicated processing of EMI data is necessary to remove coupling from anthropogenic structures (fences, phone cables, paved roads, etc.), and (2) that carrying out a dedicated full non-linear inversion with spatial coherency constraints improves the accuracy of resistivities and structures over using the data as they are or using the Low Induction Number (LIN) approximation.

In the present study, we have used 3D ERT for detailed mapping of a polluted site at a challenging river site in the southern part of the Denmark. The survey layout involves several crossings of the meander of a river where a leachate plume from an old chemical factory site is expected to reach the river. Both resistivity and time domain induced polarization data were acquired, and full 3D inversion was performed for the resistivity data and 2D inversion of the IP data. Two sets of 3D data were acquired; one at a larger scale covering total area 410x90m2 and one at small scale covering 126x42m2, which enabled both details in the shallow part while covering a large area. 3D DC data were inverted using the inversion package BERT and 2D DC-IP data were inverted using AarhusInv. 3D DC inversion models show the presence of low resistivity anomaly at the northern bank of the stream interpreted as a contaminant plume. The contaminant plume is also seen in a deeper aquifer, which is separated by a low permeable clay layer to the upper aquifer. We could not discriminate the clay-lithology from the contamination using only resistivity model however, including the 2D inversions of the IP data we clearly separate the clay layer from the contaminated aquifer.

With the growing dependence on groundwater, escalating demand, and increasing depletion of aquifers, the Government of India has accorded special emphasis to management of groundwater resources through precise aquifer mapping. We have carried out hydrogeophysical surveys, including airborne electromagnetic (AEM), in six hydrogeologically divergent areas comprising sedimentary basins, basalts, weathered and fractured granite gneisses and schists, desert, and costal alluvium with the objective to establish suitability of AEM for a countrywide aquifer mapping in India. Efficacy of the dual-moment AEM surveys in mapping the shallow and deep aquifers is evaluated in conjunction with geologic, geophysical, and borehole data. It is found that the AEM surveys provide reliable images of the subsurface resistivity distribution defining the 3D geometrical and electrical attributes of aquifers in different areas. The surveys helped identify the suitable zones for managed artificial recharge (MAR), subsurface structures controlling the groundwater conditions, regional continuity of principal aquifers, palaeoriver channels, variations in lithologic character of aquifers, and the quality of water in terms of salinity, etc. In this paper, we present the efficacy of the aquifer-mapping approach illustrated by an example from an alluvium-covered hard-rock terrain (Dausa, Rajasthan), where a weathered-fractured aquifer system with compartmentalization under alluvium cover is mapped. The integrated data set, comprising AEM, aeromagnetic, ground geophysical, and borehole measurements, was utilized to derive lithologic and hydrogeologic maps useful in developing an aquifer-based groundwater-management plan.

This paper presents an advanced signal processing scheme for time-domain induced polarization full waveform data. The scheme includes several steps with an improved induced polarization (IP) response gating design using convolution with tapered windows to suppress high frequency noise, a logarithmic gate width distribution for optimizing IP data quality and an estimate of gating uncertainty. Additional steps include modelling and cancelling of non-linear background drift and harmonic noise and a technique for efficiently identifying and removing spikes. The cancelling of non-linear background drift is based on a Cole-Cole model which effectively handles current induced electrode polarization drift. Themodel-based cancelling of harmonic noise reconstructs the harmonic noise as a sum of harmonic signals with a common fundamental frequency. After segmentation of the signal and determining of noise model parameters foreach segment, a full harmonic noise model is subtracted. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the background drift removal is estimated which together with the gating uncertainty estimate and a uniform uncertainty gives a total, data-driven, error estimate for each IP gate. The processing steps is successfully applied on full field profile data sets. With the model-based cancelling of harmonic noise, the first usable IP gate is moved one decade closer to time zero. Furthermore, with a Cole-Cole background drift model the shape of the response at late times is accurately retrieved. In total, this processing scheme achieves almost four decades in time and thus doubles the available spectral information content of the IP responses compared to the traditional processing.

The forecast of climate change effects on the groundwater system in coastal areas is of key importance for policy makers. The Dutch water system has been deeply studied because of its complex system of low-lying areas, dunes, land won to the sea and dikes, but nowadays large efforts are still being done to find out the best techniques to describe complex fresh-brackish-saline groundwater dynamic systems. In this paper, we describe a methodology consisting of high-resolution airborne electromagnetic (EM) measurements used in a 3-D variable-density transient groundwater model for a coastal area in the Netherlands. We used the airborne EM measurements in combination with borehole-logging data, electrical conductivity cone penetration tests and groundwater samples to create a 3-D fresh-brackish-saline groundwater distribution of the study area. The EM measurements proved to be an improvement compared to older techniques and provided quality input for the model. With the help of the built 3-D variable-density groundwater model, we removed the remaining inaccuracies of the 3-D chloride field and predicted the effects of three climate scenarios on the groundwater and surface water system. Results showed significant changes in the groundwater system, and gave direction for future water policy. Future research should provide more insight in the improvement of data collection for fresh-brackish-saline groundwater systems as it is of high importance to further improve the quality of the model.

This study uses time-domain induced polarization data for the delineation and characterization of the former landfill site at Eskelund, Denmark. With optimized acquisition parameters combined with a new inversion algorithm, we use the full content of the decay curve and retrieve spectral information from time-domain IP data. Thirteen IP/DC profiles were collected in the area, supplemented by el-log drilling for accurate correlation between the geophysics and the lithology. The data were inverted using a laterally constrained 1D inversion considering the full decay curves to retrieve the four Cole-Cole parameters. For all profiles, the results reveal a highly chargeable unit that shows a very good agreement to the findings from 15 boreholes covering the area, where the extent of the waste deposits was measured. The thickness and depth of surface measurements were furthermore validated by el-log measurements giving in situ values, for which the Cole-Cole parameters were computed. The 3D shape of the waste body was pinpointed and well-defined. The inversion of the IP data also shows a strong correlation with the initial stage of the waste dump and its composition combining an aerial map with acquired results.

Helicopter borne time domain EM systems historically measure only the Z-component of the secondary field, whereas fixed wing systems often measure all field components. For the latter systems the X-component is often used to map discrete conductors, whereas it finds little use in the mapping of layered settings. Measuring the horizontal X-component with an offset loop helicopter system probes the earth with a complementary sensitivity function that is very different from that of the Z-component, and could potentially be used for improving resolution of layered structures in one dimensional modeling. This area is largely unexplored in terms of quantitative results in the literature, since measuring and inverting X-component data from a helicopter system is not straightforward: The signal strength is low, the noise level is high, the signal is very sensitive to the instrument pitch and the sensitivity function also has a complex lateral behavior. The basis of our study is a state of the art inversion scheme, using a local 1D forward model description, in combination with experiences gathered from extending the SkyTEM system to measure the X component. By means of a 1D sensitivity analysis we motivate that in principle resolution of layered structures can be improved by including an X-component signal in a 1D inversion, given the prerequisite that a low-pass filter of suitably low cut-off frequency can be employed. In presenting our practical experiences with modifying the SkyTEM system we discuss why this prerequisite unfortunately can be very difficult to fulfill in practice. Having discussed instrumental limitations we show what can be obtained in practice using actual field data. Here, we demonstrate how the issue of high sensitivity towards instrument pitch can be overcome by including the pitch angle as an inversion parameter and how joint inversion of the Z- and X-components produces virtually the same model result as for the Z-component alone. We conclude that adding helicopter system X-component to a 1D inversion can be used to facilitate higher confidence in the layered result, as the requirements for fitting the data into a 1D model envelope becomes more stringent and the model result thus less prone to misinterpretation.

SUMMARY Adaptive noise cancelling of multichannel magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) signals is investigated. An analysis of the noise sources affecting MRS signals show that the applicability of adaptive noise cancelling is primarily limited to cancel powerline harmonics. The problems of handling spikes in MRS signals are discussed and an efficient algorithm for spike detection is presented. The optimum parameters for multichannel adaptive noise cancelling are identified through simulations with synthetic signals added to noise-only recordings from an MRS instrument. We discuss the design and the efficiency of different stacking methods. The results from multichannel adaptive noise cancelling are compared to time-domain multichannel Wiener filtering. Our results show that within the experimental uncertainty the two methods give identical results.

SUMMARY We present a new, efficient and accurate forward modelling and inversion scheme for magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) data. MRS, also called surface-nuclear magnetic resonance (surface-NMR), is the only non-invasive geophysical technique that directly detects free water in the subsurface. Based on the physical principle of NMR, protons of the water molecules in the subsurface are excited at a specific frequency, and the superposition of signals from all protons within the excited earth volume is measured to estimate the subsurface water content and other hydrological parameters. In this paper, a new inversion scheme is presented in which the entire data set is used, and multi-exponential behaviour of the NMR signal is approximated by the simple stretched-exponential approach. Compared to the mono-exponential interpretation of the decaying NMR signal, we introduce a single extra parameter, the stretching exponent, which helps describe the porosity in terms of a single relaxation time parameter, and helps to determine correct initial amplitude and relaxation time of the signal. Moreover, compared to a multi-exponential interpretation of the MRS data, the decay behaviour is approximated with considerably fewer parameters. The forward response is calculated in an efficient numerical manner in terms of magnetic field calculation, discretization and integration schemes, which allows fast computation while maintaining accuracy. A piecewise linear transmitter loop is considered for electromagnetic modelling of conductivities in the layered half-space providing electromagneticmodellingofarbitraryloopshapes.Thedecayingsignalisintegratedovertime windows, called gates, which increases the signal-to-noise ratio, particularly at late times, and the data vector is described with a minimum number of samples, that is, gates. The accuracy of the forward response is investigated by comparing a MRS forward response with responses from three other approaches outlining significant differences between the three approaches. All together, a full MRS forward response is calculated in about 20 s and scales so that on 10 processors the calculation time is reduced to about 3–4 s. The proposed approach is examined through synthetic data and through a field example, which demonstrate the capability of the scheme. The results of the field example agree well the information from an in-site borehole.

Time-domain-induced polarization has significantly broadenedits field of reference during the last decade, from mineralexploration to environmental geophysics, e.g., for clay and peatidentification and landfill characterization. Though, insufficientmodeling tools have hitherto limited the use of time-domaininducedpolarization for wider purposes. For these reasons, anew forward code and inversion algorithm have been developedusing the full-time decay of the induced polarization response,together with an accurate description of the transmitter waveformand of the receiver transfer function, to reconstruct thedistribution of the Cole-Cole parameters of the earth. The accuratemodeling of the transmitter waveform had a strong influenceon the forward response, and we showed that thedifference between a solution using a step response and a solutionusing the accurate modeling often is above 100%. Furthermore,the presence of low-pass filters in time-domain-inducedpolarization instruments affects the early times of the acquireddecays (typically up to 100 ms) and has to be modeled in theforward response to avoid significant loss of resolution. The developedforward code has been implemented in a 1D laterallyconstrained inversion algorithm that extracts the spectral contentof the induced polarization phenomenon in terms of the Cole-Cole parameters. Synthetic examples and field examples fromDenmark showed a significant improvement in the resolution ofthe parameters that control the induced polarization responsewhen compared to traditional integral chargeability inversion.The quality of the inversion results has been assessed by a completeuncertainty analysis of the model parameters; furthermore,borehole information confirm the outcomes of the field interpretations.With this new accurate code in situ time-domaininducedpolarization measurements give access to new applicationsin environmental and hydrogeophysical investigations,e.g., accurate landfill delineation or on the relation betweenCole-Cole and hydraulic parameters.

International audience; We develop a technique allowing 3D gridding of large sets of 1D resistivity models obtained after inversion of extensive airborne EM surveys. The method is based on the assumption of a layered-earth model. 2D kriging is used for interpolation of geophysical model parameters and their corresponding uncertainties. The 3D grid is created from the interpolated data, its structure accurately follows the geophysical model, providing a lightweight file for a good rendering. Propagation of errors is tracked through the quantification of uncertainties from both inversion and interpolation procedures. The 3D grid is exported to a portable standard, which allows flexible visualization and volumetric computations, and improves interpretation. The method is validated and illustrated by a case-study on Santa Cruz Island, in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Understanding the hydrologic seƫ ng of any given area is a challenging task, especially considering that the amount of available informaƟ on is oŌ en very sparse relaƟ ve to the size of the area and the complexity of the problem. We used geophysical transient electromagneƟ c (TEM) data from an airborne SkyTEM instrument to invesƟ gate discharge of freshwater from a river catchment into a coastal lagoon area, in support of large-scale hydrologic mapping of the HOBE hydrology research center. ExisƟ ng hydrologic data indicate possible ouƞ low from the catchment underneath the survey area, a hypothesis that was indeed backed up by our geophysical results. The results revealed a straƟ fi ed geologic seƫ ng frequently incised by buried valleys beneath the lagoon. They also showed that the valleys are saturated with sea water, unlike the layers at the same depth that are probably saturated with brackish water. The salinity decreases with depth in large parts of the lagoon. The salinity distribuƟ on in the seƫ ng indicates the presence of intricate fl ow systems beneath the coastal area and the lagoon, and we propose that it is governed by the heterogeneity in the geologic seƫ ng. We also demonstrated how water depth as well as salinity can be accurately mapped using SkyTEM in combinaƟ on with a robust and fl exible inversion scheme.

Being able to recover accurate and quantitative descriptions of the subsurface electrical conductivity structure from airborne electromagnetic data is becoming more and more crucial in many applications such as hydrogeophysical and environmental mapping, but also for mining exploration. The effect on the inverted models of inaccurate system description in the 1D forward modeling of helicopter time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) data was studied. The most important system parameters needed for accurate description of the subsurface conductivity were quantified using a nominal airborne TEM system and three different reference models to ensure the generality of the conclusions. By calculating forward responses, the effect of changing the system transfer function of the nominal airborne TEM system was studied in detail. The data were inverted and the consequences of inaccurate modeling of the system transfer function were studied inthe model space. Errors in the description of the transfer function influence the inverted model differently. The low-pass filters, current turn-off, and receiver-transmitter (Rx-Tx) timing issues primarily influenced the early time gates. The waveform repetition, gate integration, altitude, and geometry mainly influenced the late time gates. Depth of investigation is highly model dependent, but in general the early times hold information on the shallower parts of the model and the late times hold information on the deeper parts of the model. Amplitude, gain, and current variations affect the entire sounding and therefore the entire model. The results showed that all of these parameters should be measured and modeled accurately during inversion of airborne TEM data. If not, the output model can differ quite dramatically from the true model. Layer boundaries can be inaccurate by tens of meters, and layer resistivities by as much as an order of magnitude. In the worst cases, the measured data simply cannot be fitted within noise level.

Airborne electromagnetic methods (AEM) are used extensively in groundwater investigations, often in combination with high-resolution seismic data. Despite the frequent use of this mapping strategy, only a few cases are found in the literature. In this study, comparisons and interpretations were made based on AEM (SkyTEM) and high-resolution seismic data from an area covering 10 km 2 in the western part of Denmark. As support for the interpretations, an exploration well was drilled to provide lithological and logging information in the form of resistivity and vertical seismic profiling. Based on the resistivity log, synthetic SkyTEM responses were calculated with a varying number of gate-times in order to illustrate the effect of the noise-level. At the exploration well geophysical data were compared to the lithological log; in general there is good agreement. The same tendency was recognised when SkyTEM results from the area were superposed onto seismic sections. Comprehensive geological knowledge is necessary in order to introduce layer boundaries from one method interactively in the data handling of the other. However, in cases where resistivity transitions are positively correlated to reflections, SkyTEM data supports the interpretation of weak reflections, and can also support the correlation of reflections both internally and between seismic lines. Besides contributing lithological information, the AEM survey provides gross three-dimensional structural information, whereas seismic data contributes with more detailed structural information in two dimensions.

(2010). Accurate quasi 3D versus practical full 3D inversion of AEM data – the Bookpurnong case study. Preview: Vol. 2010, No. 149, pp. 23-31.

We have investigated potential rockslides in Western Norway using a time- and cost-efficient airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey approach. The study area comprises phyllite, a low-grade metamorphic rock type that tends to be reworked to clay in disturbed zones. Mapping these electrically conductive clay zones was the aim of the AEM survey. Based on indications that precipitation drives the reported rockslide movements, the local municipality and regional hydroelectricity company are evaluating the option of draining the unstable area to a nearby hydropower reservoir using a drainage tunnel of more than 10 km. We conducted the AEM mapping survey to locate the sliding planes and to investigate the tunnel corridor for areas with potential tunneling hazards. Spatially constrained inversion of the data set (250 km) reveals extended conductive zones interpreted as sliding planes and/or gneiss/phyllite interface. Detailed follow-up of these initial results is planned with targeted percussion drilling and ground resistivity surveys.

For about three decades, airborne electromagnetic (AEM) systems have been used for groundwater exploration purposes. Airborne systems are appropriate for large-scale and efficient groundwater surveying. Due to the dependency of the electrical conductivity on both the clay content of the host material and the mineralization of the water, electromagnetic systems are suitable for providing information about the aquifer structures and water quality, respectively. More helicopter than fixed-wing systems are used in airborne groundwater surveys. Helicopter-borne frequency-domain electromagnetic (HEM) systems use a towed rigid-boom. Helicopter-borne time-domain (HTEM) systems, which use a large transmitter loop and a small receiver within or above the transmitter, are generally designed for mineral exploration purposes but recent developments have made some of these systems usable for groundwater purposes as well. The quantity measured, the secondary magnetic field, depends on the subsurface conductivity distribution. Due to the skin-effect, the penetration depths of the AEM fields depend on the system characteristics used: high-frequency data/early-time channels describe the shallower parts of the conducting subsurface and the low-frequency data/late-time channels the deeper parts. Typical investigation depths range from some ten metres (conductive grounds) to several hundred metres (resistive grounds), where the HEM systems are appropriate for shallow to medium deep (about 1–100 m) and the HTEM systems for medium deep to deep (about 10–400 m) investigations. Generally, the secondary field values are inverted into resistivities and depths using homogeneous or layered half-space models. As the footprint of AEM systems is rather small, one-dimensional interpretation of AEM data is sufficient in most cases and single-site inversion procedures are widely used. Laterally constrained inversion of AEM data often improves the stability of the inversion models, particularly for noisy data. Higher dimensional inversion is still not possible for standard-size surveys. Based on typical field examples the advantages as well as the limitations of AEM surveys compared to long-established ground-based geophysical methods used in groundwater surveys are discussed. In a case history from a German island an airborne frequency-domain system is used to successfully locate freshwater lenses on top of saltwater. An example from Denmark shows how a time-domain system is used to locate large-scale buried structures forming ideal groundwater aquifers.

We present an application of spatially constrained inversion (SCI) of SkyTEM (airborne electromagnetic) data for defining spatial patterns of salinisation in the Bookpurnong irrigation area located in the lower Murray Basin of South Australia. SCI uses Delaunay triangulation to set 3D constraints between neighbouring soundings, taking advantage of the spatial coherencythat maybepresent inthedataset. Conductivityinformation for individualsoundingsislinked throughthe spatialconstraints,fromwelldeterminedparameters tolocallypoorlydeterminedparameters.Forthesurveypresentedhere, SCI generated maps detail the spatial variability of floodplain salinisation, the extent of floodplain sediments influenced by lateral recharge and flushing along stretches of the Murray River, and the variable quality of groundwater in deeper semi- confined aquifers of the Murray Group. Available borehole and other ancillary information, such as vegetation density and healthpatterns,matchtheobservedconductivityvariationsseenintheSCIresults,evenattheverynearsurface(� 2mdepth). TheSCIprovidesmoreaccurateandspatiallyconsistentresultscomparedwiththosefromsinglesiteinversions.Theyarealso moreuniformanddetailedthanmapsobtainedwithsinglepointLayeredEarthInversionsoralaterallyconstrainedinversion. Inthisexample,theSCIprovidedreliablequasi3Dmodelling,thatconfirmedandimprovedthehydrogeologicalknowledge of the area, indicating that the technique would have application with helicopter electromagnetic data in similar settings throughout the lower Murray Basin of Australia.

The combination of in situ geotechnical testing and continuously measured geophysical data can be a powerful tool in geotechnical site investigation. In two cases from Sweden and one case from Denmark electric resistivity surveys are used successfully in geotechnical site investigations. The main contribution of resistivity results is the possibility to interpret continuous geological models. An improved methodology combines two-dimensional (2D) smooth inversion and 2D laterally constrained inversion (2D-LCI) to significantly increase interpretability. The 2D smooth inversion has high horizontal resolution and 2D-LCI high vertical resolution. The possibility to add a priori information from, for example, drill log data to constrain the 2D-LCI increases the confidence in the inverted model and limits ambiguity. In a site investigation for a railway trench in southern Sweden a geotechnical data set is used as a priori data to increase the reliability of the inversion of the resistivity data. From this combined survey a complex Quaternary geology is described in detail. A slope stability study from south of Stockholm, Sweden, employed resistivity data together with refraction seismic and geotechnical drill log data. The result gives necessary geometrical information for the important geological units, for example for stability calculations. Both these surveys were performed with a multielectrode system. In the third case a pulled array resistivity survey was used to map the uppermost 15-20 m to estimate the distribution of the geological formations for freeway construction in Denmark. The result enables a more accurate estimate of the total freeway construction costs.

We present a new methodology, spatially constrained inversion (SCI), that produces quasi-3D conductivity modeling of electromagnetic (EM) data using a 1D forward solution. Spatial constraints are set between the model parameters of nearest neighboring soundings. Data sets, models, and spatial constraints are inverted as one system. The constraints are built using Delaunay triangulation, which ensures automatic adaptation to data density variations. Model parameter information migrates horizontally through spatial constraints, increasing the resolution of layers that would be poorly resolved locally. SCI produces laterally smooth results with sharp layer boundaries that respect the 3D geological variations of sedimentary settings. SCI also suppresses the elongated artifacts commonly seen in interpretation results of profile-oriented data sets. In this study, SCI is applied to airborne time-domain EM data, but it can also be implemented with other ground-based or airborne data types.

Am Beispiel der eiszeitlichen Ellerbeker Rinne werden geophysikalische Verfahren zur Erkundung und Charakterisierung von Grundwasserleitern in Lockersedimenten aufgezeigt. Funf seismische Profile bilden auf einem 25 km langen Abschnitt der bis uber 2 km breiten Rinne deren Form, ihre interne Struktur und ihre Einbettung in das Umgebungsmaterial ab. Mit einer transientelektromagnetischen Messung vom Hubschrauber aus wird eine flachenhafte Verteilung der spezifischen elektrischen Widerstande in bis zu 300 m Tiefe ermittelt. Der Grundwasserleiter in der Rinne lasst sich dabei klar von den tertiaren Tonen abgrenzen. Eine gute Ubersicht uber die Beschaffenheit der Grundwasserdeckschichten liefert bis in 100 m Tiefe schnell und flachendeckend – ebenfalls vom Hubschrauber aus – ein im Frequenzbereich arbeitendes elektromagnetisches Verfahren. Durch die Kombination der Verfahren unter Einbeziehung von Bohrungen und geologischem Fachwissen ergibt sich eine gut abgesicherte Interpretation.

Traditional methods for mapping possible flowpaths of contaminants in sedimentary environments by boreholes may often be insufficient. Additional information may be acquired by geophysical methods. In the present study, cross-borehole and surface measurements were performed using time-domain induced polarization (TDIP). After measurements the entire test site was dug out, and the geology was described. A 2D spectral inversion of the combined dataset is presented, which is in great correspondence with the observed geology.

SUMMARY Surface nuclear magnetic resonance technique, also called magnetic resonance sounding (MRS), is an emerging geophysical method that can detect the presence and spatial variations of the subsurface water content directly. In this paper, we introduce the MRS central loop geometry, in which the receiver loop is smaller than the transmitter loop and placed in its centre. In addition, using a shielded receiver coil we show how this configuration greatly increases signal-to-noise ratio and improves the resolution of the subsurface layers compared to the typically used coincident loop configuration. We compare sensitivity kernels for different loop configurations and describe advantages of the MRS central loop geometry in terms of superior behaviour of the sensitivity function, increased sensitivity values, reduced noise level of the shielded receiver coil, improved resolution matrix and reduced instrument dead time. With no extra time and effort in the field, central-loop MRS makes it possible to reduce measurement time and to measure data in areas with high anthropogenic noise. The results of our field example agree well with the complementary data, namely airborne electromagnetics, borehole data, and the hydrologic model of the area.

Characterization tools for contaminated sites have become advanced with the continued development of geophysical methods. Resistivity methods and time-domain induced polarization methods have proven their capability to delineate the subsurface properties by complementing each other. In the present study a large contaminated site in Denmark was investigated using direct current resistivity and time domain induced polarization (DCIP). For this purpose 14 profiles were collected alongside a stream in order to investigate the contamination and delineate the lithological units. 2D inversion using a cole-cole model of two selected profiles are presented. They show that the resistivity model alone cannot depict the geology as inferred in the borehole. However, when including the models of chargeability and mean relaxation time the geological units are clearly defined, which helps in identifying the possible contaminations.