Quantensysteme

Commonly, geomagnetic prospection is performed via scalar magnetometers which measure values of the total magnetic intensity (TMI). Recent developments of Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) lead to their integration in Full Tensor Magnetic Gradiometry (FTMG) systems consisting in planar-type first-order gradiometers and magnetometers fabricated in thin-film technology. With these systems measuring directly the magnetic gradient tensor and field vector, a significantly higher magnetic and spatial resolution of the magnetic maps is yield than for those produced via conventional magnetometers. In order to preserve the high data-quality in this work we develop a workflow containing all necessary steps for generating the gradient tensor and field vector quantities from the raw measurement data up to their integration into high­resolution, low­noise and artefact­less 2D maps of the magnetic field vector. The gradient tensor components are processed by superposition of the balanced gradiometer signals and rotation into an Earth-centered Earth-fixed coordinate frame. As the magnetometers have sensitivity lower than the gradiometers and the TMI is not directly recorded we employ Hilbert-like transforms, e.g. integration of the gradient tensor components or the conversion of the TMI derived by calibrated magnetometer readings to obtain these values. This can lead to a better interpretation of the measured magnetic anomalies of the Earth’s magnetic field that is possible from scalar TMI measurements. Our conclusions are drawn from the application of these algorithms on a survey acquired in South Africa containing FTMG data.