Applications of the Grad601 Magnetic

Gradiometer
Principle of operation
All materials exhibit a property called magnetic
susceptibility, which is a measure of how magnetised
the material becomes under the influence of an external
magnetic field. If an object made from a material with
a high magnetic susceptibility is placed in a uniform
magnetic field then it will become magnetised and the
magnetic flux will be concentrated in the area around the
object. This will cause an increase in the strength of the
magnetic field close to the object and a corresponding
weakening of the field at some distance away from the
object.
The presence of materials in the soil with dissimilar
magnetic susceptibility will, under the influence of the
geomagnetic field, create local variations in the strength
of the magnetic field where this contrast in magnetic
susceptibility occurs.
A kiln or ferrous material may have an associated
remanent field that will also give rise to local distortions
of the magnetic field.
The problem of measuring local distortions with a
resolution of 0.1nT in the magnetic field of say, 50,000nT
over an area of interest is compounded by diurnal variations
of the background geomagnetic field. These are caused by
the solar wind giving rise to an increase in the geomagnetic

field during the day and a corresponding decrease during

the night. The changes are unpredictable and may be of
the order of 100nT in an area with a geomagnetic field
of 50,000nT. In order to record changes in the local field
to the required resolution it is therefore necessary to
subtract the background field from the measurements
using a distant reference magnetometer, or by measuring
only the vertical component of the magnetic field gradient.
The Grad601 magnetic gradiometer sensors use two
carefully aligned single-axis fluxgate magnetometers with
one sensor positioned 1m above the other. The difference
in the output of the two sensors represents the magnetic
gradient; variations in the background field, being common
to both sensors, are removed by subtraction.
The instrument is suitable for the measurement
of anomalies to a depth of up to 3m within which
archaeological features and other buried objects are
typically located. The instrument is available with one
gradiometer sensor or with two gradiometer sensors
spaced 1m apart. The dual version allows surveys to
be conducted in half the time and with half the walking
compared to the single gradiometer version.

Applications
With a resolution of 0.1nT, excellent stability and a
non-volatile memory, the Grad601 geophysical survey
gradiometer is ideal for archaeological prospection and
the location of unexploded ordnance (UXO), waste drums,
pipelines and cables.
An example of a geophysical survey covering an area
of 90m x 120m for archaeological prospection is shown
below.
This area is used for arable crops and the survey was
carried out after cutting the crop. No visible remains are
to be seen at the surface but field walking after ploughing
had previously produced some pottery shards. The survey
reveals a buried Romano-British site with drainage
ditches, field boundaries and enclosures clearly seen.

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setting the adjustment for a minimum change in output.

Any remaining offset error is also removed.
Before setting up the instrument it should be switched
on and left running for about 20 minutes to allow the
temperature of the sensors to reach equilibrium with
the external environment. The operator will normally be
setting out the grids during this period.
The Grad601 uses an automatic electronic adjustment,
prompting the operator to align the sensor in several
directions in sequence and indicate when ready by pressing
a button. A dual gradiometer takes less than 5 minutes to
complete the set-up procedure. The procedure should be
repeated if a sensor height is changed relative to the beam
or if the offset increases significantly due to large changes
in temperature. Typically it is only necessary to repeat the
set-up procedure every four hours or so, depending on the
environment.

Operation
The Grad601 is normally used in the survey mode where
the area of interest is divided into 10 x 10, 20 x 20 or 30
x 30m squares (termed grids). The gradiometer records
the magnetic gradient while being carried at normal
walking pace, covering the grid in a series of zigzag or
parallel traverses. Typically, data is recorded at intervals
of 0.25m along lines spaced 1m apart. This gives a good
resolution for anomalies with a dimension of greater than
1m and allows up to 36 grids to be stored in memory.
For some applications, e.g. the location of post holes in
archaeology, a higher resolution may be required and the
interval between lines can be reduced to 0.5 or 0.25m.
This will result in proportionally more data per grid and a
corresponding reduction in the number of grids which can
be recorded.
The unit may also be operated like a metal detector in a
scanning mode, where the amplitude of the gradient is
indicated by an audible tone and data is not saved to the
memory.

Setting up
In order to cancel the background field effectively,
regardless of the direction of the field relative to the
sensor, it is necessary to align the two sensor elements in
the gradiometer very precisely. The alignment is carried
out by rotating the sensor in a low-gradient area and

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Downloading and visualising the data

The Grad601 data logger has an RS232 serial interface
for downloading the data to a PC running the Grad601
download program supplied. This program allows the data
to be saved to files in one of three formats compatible with
specialist data processing and visualisation software such
as TerraSurveyor. The TerraSurveyor software enables
data to be downloaded directly without importing files
created by the Grad601 software.
The sensitivity and stability of the Grad601 ensures that
the acquired data requires a minimum of processing.
Typically the data is clipped to remove any spurious high
values associated with ground clutter, such as nails or
horseshoes, and a zero-mean-traverse function is applied
to remove any stripes in the data between alternate
traverses. These stripes are the result of sensor offset
and alignment errors giving alternate offset values during
zigzag traverses. Further processing may be applied,
including a low-pass filter to remove unwanted noise.
The data processing software should include the ability
to assemble grids into a composite picture, display the
results in several modes, and include visual effects to
enhance the appearance of the anomalies of interest.

AN 0016 13/05