Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
University of British Columbia
$147,000.00
Inversion of multi-source time domain electromagnetic data
EF 2008-09
Résumé
Electrical conductivity is a key physical property associated with mineral deposits, oil and gas, water, and environmental contaminants. Electromagnetic surveys have been devised to acquire data that are sensitive to the unknown conductivity. Typically, the electric and/or magnetic fields caused by a grounded dipole or a current loop source are recorded, and the practical difficulty is then to recover the 3D conductivity structure that caused these measured data. Previous research at the UBC Geophysical Inversion Facility has resulted in methodologies and software programs for inverting both frequency (FEM) and time domain (TEM) data when only a few transmitter sources are employed. The outcomes are in use at sponsoring companies. However, 3D inversion of TEM data is a computationally challenging task that increases with the number of transmitter locations, and current techniques are not viable for surveys using many transmitter locations. In this research we propose to develop robust and efficient 3D inversion methods for multi-source TEM data sets associated with airborne or ground surveys. An important component of the research is to develop workflows and efficient strategies for handling these large data sets. We propose to develop practical software and work closely with industry sponsors to achieve this goal. Final codes will be distributed to the sponsors. First, Maxwell's equations will be reformulated in terms of electric and magnetic fields and the subsequent forward modeling matrix will be decomposed. The quasi-Newton methodology we developed earlier will be implemented. The beta-version of the code will be tested on synthetic and field data sets provided by sponsors, including ground and airborne surveys with multiple sources. Workflow and utility programs will be developed as testing progresses. A final inversion code (converted from MatLab into Fortran) will be delivered to sponsors, including GUI interfaces to run the codes, documentation, and workflow elements.
Programme
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Bénéficiaire
Emplacement
British Columbia, Canada
Type de bénéficiaire
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
Tel que publié
Application id
340409-2006
Name nom
Oldenburg, Douglas
Department département
Earth and Ocean Sciences
Organization id
2
Institution établissement
University of British Columbia
Province en
British Columbia
Province fr
Colombie-Britannique
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2008
Competition year année de concours
2006
Award amount
147000
Program id
CRDPJ
Program nane en
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Program name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement coopérative
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
202
Area of application group en
Natural resources (economic aspects)
Area of application group fr
Ressources naturelles (aspects économiques)
Area of application en
Mineral resources ( prospecting, exploration, mining, extraction, processing)
Area of application fr
Ressources minérales (prospection, exploration, mines, extraction et préparation)
Research subject code
4304
Research subject group en
Geophysics
Research subject group fr
Géophysique
Research subject en
Applied geophysics
Research subject fr
Géophysique appliquée
Partie
3 & 4
Nb partie
4
Application title
Inversion of multi-source time domain electromagnetic data
Keyword
NA
Application summary
Electrical conductivity is a key physical property associated with mineral deposits, oil and gas, water, and environmental contaminants. Electromagnetic surveys have been devised to acquire data that are sensitive to the unknown conductivity. Typically, the electric and/or magnetic fields caused by a grounded dipole or a current loop source are recorded, and the practical difficulty is then to recover the 3D conductivity structure that caused these measured data. Previous research at the UBC Geophysical Inversion Facility has resulted in methodologies and software programs for inverting both frequency (FEM) and time domain (TEM) data when only a few transmitter sources are employed. The outcomes are in use at sponsoring companies. However, 3D inversion of TEM data is a computationally challenging task that increases with the number of transmitter locations, and current techniques are not viable for surveys using many transmitter locations. In this research we propose to develop robust and efficient 3D inversion methods for multi-source TEM data sets associated with airborne or ground surveys. An important component of the research is to develop workflows and efficient strategies for handling these large data sets. We propose to develop practical software and work closely with industry sponsors to achieve this goal. Final codes will be distributed to the sponsors. First, Maxwell's equations will be reformulated in terms of electric and magnetic fields and the subsequent forward modeling matrix will be decomposed. The quasi-Newton methodology we developed earlier will be implemented. The beta-version of the code will be tested on synthetic and field data sets provided by sponsors, including ground and airborne surveys with multiple sources. Workflow and utility programs will be developed as testing progresses. A final inversion code (converted from MatLab into Fortran) will be delivered to sponsors, including GUI interfaces to run the codes, documentation, and workflow elements.
