Efficient and high resolution geomagnetic prospection based on SQUID technology
in: Superconductor Science & Technology (2020)
Geomagnetic prospection is a non-invasive geophysical method for the efficient investigation of large areas. This beneficial and contact-free method acquires Earth’s magnetic field components and their local variations (gradients). Heretofore, these investigations usually were realized with fluxgate or vapor magnetometers.
Related fields of applications necessitate fast and reliable statements about the subsoil situation without soil intervention. The ability of efficient, sensitive and high-resolution magnetic field acquisition by using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) technology conforms to these requirements. The applied sensors are designed as hardware gradiometers which enable realistic field inversions because the investigated
physical circumstances are truthfully reflected. The introduced system puts these technological advantages under Earth’s magnetic field conditions into practice. Hence, the prerequisites to detect, localize and characterize a huge variability of subsoil structures are fulfilled by a presented set of innovative inversion algorithms. Magnetic inversion in this context generates a 3D descriptions about the subsoil resulting from quasi 2D superficially acquired data. Furthermore, the current application reduces the intrinsic ambiguities of magnetic analysis by the simultaneous acquisition of multiple components of the Earth’s magnetic field gradient tensor. Finally, a field study realistically illustrates the applicability of the discussed concept and its inherent innovations during the acquisition, processing, inversion and interpretation of geomagnetic prospection data.
DOI: Array