2nd Lesson.pdf

nd 2

Geophysics lesson :Magnetic instruments By Layalen h. Ali

The geomagnetic field Magnetic anomalies caused by rocks are localized effects superimposed on the normal magnetic field of the Earth (geomagnetic field). Consequently, knowledge of the behavior of the geomagnetic field is necessary both in the reduction of magnetic data to a suitable datum and in the interpretation of the resulting anomalies. The geomagnetic field is geometrically more complex than the gravity field of the Earth and exhibits irregular variation in both orientation and magnitude with latitude, longitude and time. At any point on the Earth’s surface a freely suspended magnetic needle will assume a position in space in the direction of the ambient geomagnetic field. This will generally be at an angle to both the vertical and geographic north. In order to describe the magnetic field vector, use is made of descriptors known as the geomagnetic elements

The geomagnetic elements • Declination

- The angle between north and the horizontal compound H. This value is measured positive through

east and varies from 0 to 360 degrees. • Inclination - The angle between the surface of the earth and B. Inclination varies from -90 to 90 degrees. • Magnetic Equator - The location around the surface of the Earth where the Earth's magnetic field has an inclination of zero (the magnetic field vector B is horizontal). This location does not correspond to the Earth's rotational equator. • Magnetic Poles - The locations on the surface of the Earth where the Earth's magnetic field has an inclination of either plus or minus 90 degrees (the magnetic field vector B is vertical). These locations do not correspond to the Earth's north and south poles. 𝐵2 = 𝐻2 + 𝑍 2 𝑍 sin 𝐼 = 𝐵 𝑍 = 𝐵 sin 𝐼 𝐻 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝐼 = 𝐵 𝐻 = 𝐵 cos 𝐼 𝐵2 = 𝐻2 + 𝑍 2 𝐵2 = (𝐵 sin 𝐼)2 +(𝐵 cos 𝐼)2

H: horizontal compound , Z: vertical compound B:total magnetic intensity

In the northern hemisphere the magnetic field generally dips downward towards the north and becomes vertical at the north magnetic pole. In the southern hemisphere the dip is generally upwards towards the north. The line of zero inclination approximates the geographic equator, and is known as the magnetic equator. About 90% of the Earth’s field can be represented by the field of a theoretical magnetic dipole at the centre of the Earth inclined at about 11.5° to the axis of rotation. The magnetic moment of this fictitious geocentric dipole can be calculated from the observed field.

The variation of the inclination of the total magnetic field with latitude based on a simple dipole approximation of the geomagnetic field.

Magnetic anomalies All magnetic anomalies caused by rocks are superimposed on the geomagnetic field in the same way that gravity anomalies are superimposed on the Earth’s gravitational field. The magnetic case is more complex, however, as the geomagnetic field varies not only in amplitude, but also in direction, whereas the gravitational field is everywhere, by definition, vertical. Describing the normal geomagnetic field by a vector diagram, the geomagnetic elements are related B2 = H2 + Z2 The horizontal field anomaly is a positive/negative couplet and the vertical field anomaly is centered over the pole.

Magnetic surveying instruments Since the early 1900s a variety of surveying instruments have been designed that is capable of measuring the geomagnetic elements Z, H and B. Most modern survey instruments, however, are designed to measure B only. In early magnetic surveys the geomagnetic elements were measured using magnetic variometer. There were several types, including the torsion head magnetometer and the Schmidt vertical balance, but all consisted essentially of bar magnets suspended in the Earth’s field. Such devices required accurate levelling and a stable platform for measurement so that readings were time consuming and limited to sites on land.

Magnetometer is an instrument that measures magnetism either the magnetization of a magnetic material like a ferrimagnet, or the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is a simple type of magnetometer, one that measures the direction of an ambient magnetic field.

Magnetometer can be classified into three types: 1-Fluxgate magnetometer. 2-Proton magnetometer. 3-Optically pumped or alkali vapour magnetometers. 4- Magnetic gradiometers.

1-fluxgate magnetometer: The fluxgate magnetometer was originally designed and developed during World War II. It was built for use from lowflying aircraft as a submarine detection device. Today it is used for making borehole measurements, so that magnetic measurements can be taken on land, at sea and in the air, and the transducers are found in electronic compasses and in laboratory devices for measuring remnant magnetization. Much airborne magnetic surveying was carried out using fluxgate detectors between 1945 and 1985, and hand-held portable devices were used for making vertical-component ground measurements between 1965 and 1985.

The fluxgate magnetometer is based on what is referred to as the magnetic saturation circuit. Two parallel bars of a ferromagnetic material are placed closely together. The susceptibility of the two bars is large enough so that even the Earth's relatively weak magnetic field can produce near magnetic saturation in the bars. Thus, the fluxgate magnetometer is capable of measuring the strength of any component of the Earth's magnetic field by simply reorienting the instrument so that the cores are parallel to the desired component. Fluxgate magnetometers are capable of measuring the strength of the magnetic field to about 0.5 to 1.0 nT.

Proton Magnetometer For land-based magnetic surveys, the most commonly used magnetometer is the proton magnetometer. Unlike the fluxgate magnetometer, the proton magnetometer only measures the total amplitude (size) of the Earth's magnetic field. These types of measurements are usually referred to as total field measurements. The proton precession magnetometer is shown below.

The sensor component of the proton precession magnetometer is a cylindrical container filled with a liquid rich in hydrogen atoms surrounded by a coil. Commonly used liquids include water, kerosene, and alcohol. The sensor is connected by a cable to a small unit in which is housed a power supply, an electronic switch, an amplifier, and a frequency counter. The strength of the total field can be measured down to about 0.1 nT. Like fluxgate magnetometers, proton magnetometers show no appreciable instrument drift with time.

Optically pumped magnetometer

are among the most sensitive technologies for detecting and characterizing magnetic fields, making them ideal for many applications. An atomic magnetometer consists of a glass cell containing a vapor of alkali-metal atoms (such as rubidium, cesium or potassium ), which are optically pumped using a resonant laser beam, yielding polarization on the order of unity. The polarization state of the atoms is also probed using a laser, in order to measure their magnetic resonance frequency, which is in turn directly proportional to the local magnetic field strength.

Magnetic gradiometers The sensing elements of fluxgate, proton and optically pumped magnetometers can be used in pairs to measure either horizontal or vertical magnetic field gradients. Magnetic gradiometers are differential magnetometers in which the spacing between the sensors is fixed and small with respect to the distance of the causative body whose magnetic field gradient is to be measured. Magnetic gradients can be measured, albeit less conveniently, with a magnetometer by taking two successive measurements at close vertical or horizontal spacing. Magnetic gradiometers are employed in surveys of shallow magnetic features as the gradient anomalies tend to resolve complex anomalies into their individual components, which can be used in the determination of the location, shape and depth of the causative bodies. The method has the further advantages that regional and temporal variations in the geomagnetic field are automatically removed.