Surface and Borehole Electromagnetic Imaging of Conducting Contaminant Plumes
Electromagnetic induction tomography is a promising new tool for imaging electrical conductivity variations in the earth. The source field is a magnetic field generated by currents in wire coils. This source field is normally produced in one borehole, while the received signals are the measured small changes in magnetic field in another, distant borehole; however, the method may also be used successfully in combination with surface sources and receivers. The goal of this procedure is to image electrical conductivity variations in the earth, much as x-ray tomography is used to image density variations through cross-sections of the body. Although field techniques have been developed and applied to collection of such EM data, the algorithms for inverting the magnetic data to produce the desired images of electrical conductivity have not kept pace. Prior to this project, the state of the art in electromagnetic data inversion was based on the Born approximation (requiring a lo w contrast assumption), or extensions. However, it is known that conductivity variations in fact range over several orders of magnitude and therefore require nonlinear analysis. The goal of this project has therefore been to join theory and experiment to produce enhanced images of electrically conducting fluids underground, allowing better localization of contaminants and improved planning strategies for the subsequent remediation efforts. The resulting field system can, after some more required work on calibration and reliability, be applied directly to EM characterization and remediation problems.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 827294
- Report Number(s):
- EMSP-55011-2000; R&D Project: EMSP 55011; TRN: US200425%%555
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Surface and borehole electromagnetic imaging of conducting contaminant plumes
Surface and borehole electromagnetic imaging of conducting contaminant plumes. 1997 annual progress report