Geophysical tools to explore for mineral and hydrogeological resources

用于勘探矿产和水文地质资源的地球物理工具

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04874
• 负责人: Smith, Richard
• 金额: $ 3.13万
• 依托单位: Laurentian University of Sudbury
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=751202
• 关键词: Geophysical; tools; explore; mineral; hydrogeological

This proposal describes ongoing projects to develop geophysical tools that will allow people to determine what is hidden below the subsurface by measuring fields on the surface of the earth or down the occasional boreholes that are drilled to investigate the subsurface. One set of tools involve measuring electromagnetic fields where the intent is to look for conductive features such as valuable nickel and copper deposits that could be mined to the benefit of the Canadian economy. These deposits have generally been found where the deposits are shallow, so a tool that can look for deeper deposits is required. The innovation that will enable deeper investigation is to use a transmitter that has three transmitter coils oriented in three different directions, rather than the standard single coil pointing in one direction. Student projects will involve developing this system, testing it and processing and interpreting the data collected. The second set of tools involve measuring small perturbations in the magnetic field of the Earth.  In this project, a student will be developing an innovative methodology to create images of the data that have fewer artifacts and look more like the subsurface geology. This will enable people to more easily interpret the source of the perturbations below the subsurface.  This will enable a better understanding of the geology and will assist in resource exploration. The third set of tools measures the nuclear magnetic resonance associated with protons in the subsurface. These protons are primarily associated with water, so the tool is used to look for groundwater in arid areas. The innovation in this project is for a student to develop a tool that can be carried by aircraft and find this water quickly and easily. However, the airborne results are low resolution and the airborne tool will likely have a shallow penetration. Nonetheless, the results should enable hydrogeologists to select locations on the ground where higher resolution and deeper penetration investigations can be undertaken. A final innovation is for a student to develop a computer application that will allow practitioners and students to understand the character of the electromagnetic responses that are measured with tools such as those described in the second paragraph above. This will allow people to determine the subsurface conductive feature that is the source of the electromagnetic fields. In this case, the innovation is that the source can be buried below a conductive surface layer and the computations can be undertaken relatively quickly.

该提案描述了正在进行的开发地球物理工具的项目，这些工具将使人们能够通过测量地球表面上的场或为调查地下而偶尔钻探的钻孔来确定地下隐藏着什么。 其中一套工具涉及测量电磁场，其目的是寻找导电特征，如可以开采以造福加拿大经济的有价值的镍和铜矿床。这些矿床通常在矿床较浅的地方被发现，因此需要一种可以寻找更深矿床的工具。能够进行更深入调查的创新是使用具有三个不同方向的三个发射器线圈的发射器，而不是指向一个方向的标准单个线圈。学生项目将涉及开发这个系统，测试它，处理和解释收集的数据。 第二套工具涉及测量地球磁场中的小扰动。在这个项目中，学生将开发一种创新的方法来创建具有更少伪影且看起来更像地下地质的数据图像。这将使人们能够更容易地解释地下扰动的来源，从而更好地了解地质情况，并有助于资源勘探。第三套工具测量与地下质子相关的核磁共振。这些质子主要与水有关，因此该工具用于在干旱地区寻找地下水。这个项目的创新之处在于让一名学生开发一种可以由飞机携带的工具，快速轻松地找到水。然而，机载结果是低分辨率的，并且机载工具将可能具有浅穿透。尽管如此，这些结果应使水文地质学家能够在地面上选择可以进行更高分辨率和更深穿透调查的地点。 最后一个创新是学生开发一个计算机应用程序，将允许从业者和学生理解的电磁响应，如在上面的第二段中描述的工具测量的字符。这将使人们能够确定地下导电特征，即电磁场的来源。在这种情况下，创新之处在于源可以埋在导电表面层下面，并且可以相对快速地进行计算。