Software design and preliminary ground testing for a new airborne magnetic tensor gradiometer

鲍尔奇勘探咨询公司（BECI）正在开发世界上第一台用于自然资源勘探商业测量的机载磁张量梯度仪。该仪器将悬挂在直升机下方，包括4个磁力计，记录地球磁场的12个不同分量。将对这些数据进行处理，以揭示微妙的地质特征，并确定矿体等具有经济价值的目标的位置。 磁力计目前正在被集成到机身中。2016年初，当整合完成后，BECI计划进行地面测试，在此期间，磁张量梯度仪将被牵引到牵引车后面。拟议项目的目标是开发软件工具，以平衡不同磁力计获得的数据，并纠正姿态变化、定位不准确和其他噪声源的数据。首先，将考虑合成数据，这些数据将为地面试验的设计提供信息。随后，软件工具将用于处理和分析现场数据。 该项目的成果将是更好地了解未来文书的能力和局限性。这些结果将对正在进行的硬件设计产生直接影响。BECI的磁张量梯度仪有可能提供前所未有的分辨率和信息丰富的航磁数据。该项目有助于保持加拿大在地球物理仪器的设计和制造以及航空地球物理测量服务方面的领先地位。

Balch Exploration Consulting Inc. (BECI) is developing the world's first airborne magnetic tensor gradiometer for commercial surveying for natural resources exploration. This instrument, which will be suspended beneath a helicopter, includes 4 magnetometers which record 12 different components of the earth's magnetic field. These data will be processed to reveal subtle geological features and to pinpoint the location of targets of economic interest such as ore bodies. The magnetometers are currently being integrated into the airframe. When integration is completed, early in 2016, BECI is planning ground tests during which the magnetic tensor gradiometer will be towed behind a tractor. The objectives of the proposed project is to develop software tools to balance the data acquired by the different magnetometers and to correct the data for changes in attitude, inaccuracies in positioning, and other sources of noise. First, synthetic data will be considered which will inform the design of the ground tests. Later, the software tools will be used to process and analyze the field data. The outcome of the project will be a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the future instrument. These results will have a direct impact on the ongoing hardware design. BECI's magnetic tensor gradiometer has the potential to deliver aeromagnetic data of unprecedented resolution and information richness. The project contributes to maintaining Canada's leadership in the design and manufacturing of geophysical instruments and in airborne geophysical survey services.