Electrical conductivity anomalies study

Abstract

Anomalous currents in a well-conducting body arise due to local electromagnetic induction inside the anomalous body, as well as due to conductive redistribution (and concentration) of currents induced in the host medium on a large territory equal to the external source size. The local induction generates the so-called anomaly of geomagnetic variations of the magnetic or inductive type. Its characteristic property is that the secondary anomalous field cannot be greater than the primary normal field of geomagnetic variations. However, in some places on the earth’s surface, the normalized anomalous fields are greater than 1. Analytical solution of the EM induction problem for circular cylinder yields the physical explanation of two types of anomalous geomagnetic fields. The first term (proportional to the normal electric field E₀) describes the conductive anomaly type, the second term (proportional to the normal magnetic field B₀) describes the inductive anomaly type. The conductive type usually is much greater than the inductive one. The normalized anomalous field of the conductive type is not limited to 1 or any other value. It is proportional to two functions: V(T) — the non-decreasing function of the period T (0≤V≤1, V=1 corresponds to DC) which describes the degree of filling of the conductor by anomalous currents (result of the skin effect inside the anomaly) and the normal impe­dance of inclosing cross-section — the decreasing function of the period. Product of these functions has a maximum at some period T₀. The position T₀ is closely related to the total lengthwise conductance G[S×m] of the anomalous body, that is, the scale of the anomaly. On the period T₀, the anomalous fields and the induction vector become real C=C_u and the imaginary induction vector C_v passes through zero changing sign. Thus, the spectral properties of the geomagnetic response functions were studied for two-dimensional anomalies with a generalization to three-dimensional conductors with varying cross-section. 18 crustal electrical conductivity anomalies were considered and their integral lengthwise conductance G was obtained. At all anomalies, the G values turn out to be in a relatively narrow range G=(1—8)·10⁸ S∙m; this has geophysical significance.