GROUP 9 SEMINAR PRESENTATION

ON

APPLICATION OF MAGNETIC
METHOD IN GROUNDWATER
PROSPECTING AND
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
ABDULMALIK TIJANI
100813001
CHUKWUEMEKA THEOPHILUS 100813019
AFFIAH RAPHAEL
100813007

OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION
LITERATURE REVIEW
METHODOLOGY
CASE STUDIES
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE

INTRODUCTION
Groundwateristhewaterfoundundergroundinthecracksand
spacesinsoil,sandandrock.Itisstoredinandmovesslowly
throughgeologicformationsofsoil,sandandrockscalled
aquifers.
Anaquiferisanundergroundlayerofwater-bearingpermeable
rockorunconsolidatedmaterials(gravel,sand,orsilt)from
whichgroundwatercanbeextractedusingawaterwell.

INTRODUCTION
Environmental Pollution is the
undesirable state of natural
environment being contaminated with
harmful substances as a consequence
of human activities or natural
phenomenon

INTRODUCTION
Magnetictechniquesmeasuretheremnantmagneticfieldassociatedwithamaterialor
thechangeintheEarth'smagneticfieldassociatedwithageologicstructureormanmadeobject.Theyhavebeenusedforregionalsurveyssincetheearly1900sinthe
hydrocarbon industry and for longer in mineral prospecting however little use has
been made directly for groundwater studies. This is mainly because groundwater
cannotgenerateamagneticanomaly.Ingroundwaterprospecting,magneticmethodis
mainlyusedforregionalreconnaissancesurveytodelineatesubsurfacestructuressuch
as faults in basement environment. Electrical and gravity method can be used for a
detailed studies on the selected area(s). Results of magnetic surveys are usually
presentedaslineprofilesormagneticanomalymaps.Anexampleofthisairborneuse
of magnetic surveys is given by Combrinck et al. (2001). In sedimentary region,
particularlywherethebasementdepthexceed1.5km,magneticcontouranomaliesare
normallysmoothandvariationaresmall,reflectingthebasementfeatureratherthoseof
thenear-surface.(Telfordetal.,1990).

LITERATURE REVIEW

DobrinandSavit,(1988)usedmagneticsurveytodeterminethemagneticreliefover
sedimentarybasinareas,whichalmostreflectmorethanthelithologyofthebasementrather
thanitstopography.

Babuetal.(1991)describetheuseofmagneticsurveyinmappingbedrocktopography,and
inparticularpossiblegroundwaterreservoirsinhard-rock(igneousandmetamorphic)terrains.

SultanS.Aetal.(2007),evaluatedthegroundwaterpotentialofAlQantaraEast,North
WesternSinai,EgyptusingMagneticandElectricalResistivityMethod.

ElSayedSelimandEssamAboud(2010)determinethesedimentarycoverandstructuraltrend
incentralsinaiusinggravityandmagneticdataanalysis

Otheruseofthemagnetictechniquetogetherwithresistivitysurveysinvolcanicterrainhas
beendescribedbyAubertetal.(1984).

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
MAGNETIC
TheEarthpossessesamagneticfieldcausedprimarilybysourcesinthecore.The
formofthefieldisroughlythesameaswouldbecausedbyadipoleorbarmagnet
METHOD
locatedneartheEarth'scentreandalignedsubparalleltothegeographicaxis.The
intensityoftheEarth'sfieldiscustomarilyexpressedinS.I.unitsasnanoteslas(nT)
orinanolderunit,gamma():1=1nT=10-3T.,
Fromcoulombslaw

Where,
F=Forceofattractionorrepulsionbetweentwo
magneticpoles(Newton).
B=Magneticfield(nT).
=Magneticpermeability.
M=magneticmoment.
V=Magneticpotential

Contd
Controlling property

The main controlling physical property in magnetic method is magnetic

susceptibility.

Principle

The magnetic methods are based on the fact that the magnetic bodies
presentintheearthssurfacecontributetothemagneticfieldoftheearth.

Ingeneral,whenthemagnetic field oftheearthoroneofitscomponents

ismeasuredonthesurface,bodiespossessingmagneticmomentsdifferent
from those of the surrounding rocks contribute to the deviations in the
measuredquantities.Fromthemagnetic anomalies,itispossibletolocate
anomalousobjects.

 The different parameters measured during magnetic

investigations are total magnetic field (intensity and
direction)anddifferentspacecomponents
Magnetic surveys have a certain inherit limitations.
Hence for unique and accurate solutions, magnetic
prospectingisoftencarriedoutalongwiththegravity
orothermethods

APPLICATION
Finding buried steel tanks and waste
drums
Detecting iron and steel obstructions
Locating unmarked mineshafts
Accurately mapping archaeological
features
Mapping basic igneous intrusive &
faults
Evaluating the size and shape of ore
bodies

DATA AQUISITION

Magnetic readings are taken on the stations along

the traverses using the magnetometer with the
pointer facing the geographic north.

Base station, which is a station that is at the centre

of all the traverses, is chosen. Using one
magnetometer requires the person(s) carrying out the
survey to return to the base station at regular interval
of time to take measurements.

Magnetic readings, time, elevation and the

coordinates of the each station are taken. The base
station reading is plotted against the station, as well
as other stations, and used to correct for diurnal
variation.
Correction for regional variation is carried out to
generate residual anomaly which then interpreted

CONTD

Examples of the use of Proton precision

magnetometer

DATA PROCESSING
Driftcorrection
Thisisdonetoremovetheeffectofdiurnalvariationcausedbymagneticstorm.
CORRECTED=(UNCORRECTEDDATUM)(BASEREFERENCE)
Tomakeaccuratemagneticanomalymaps,temporalchanges(variation)intheearthsfield
duringtheperiodofthesurveymustbeconsidered.Duringseveremagneticstorms,which
occurinfrequently,magneticsurveysshouldnotbemade.Thecorrectionfordiurnaldrift
canbemadebyrepeatmeasurementsofabasestationatfrequentintervals.
Themeasurementsatfieldstationsarethencorrectedfortemporalvariationsbyassuminga
linearchangeofthefieldbetweenrepeatbasestationreadings.Continuouslyrecording
magnetometerscanalsobeusedatfixedbasesitestomonitorthetemporalchanges.Iftime
isaccuratelyrecordedatbothbasesiteandfieldlocation,thefielddatacanbecorrectedby
subtractionofthevariationsatthebasesite.
Afterallcorrectionshavebeenmade,magneticsurveydataareusuallydisplayedas
individualprofilesbelow.Identificationofanomaliescausedbyculturalfeatures,suchas
railroads,pipelines,andbridgesiscommonlymadeusingfieldobservationsandmaps
showingsuchfeatures.

THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
Dataacquisitionisveryfast
Lessernumberofmanpowerisneeded
Disadvantages
Havewidevariationofmagneticanomalies
Dataisaffectedbyspuriousandnon-relevant
indicationssuchasdiurnalvariation.

Traverses and stations

CASE STUDY 1
Sultan et al characterise deep aquifer of the
study area which is located in the central part
of Sinai, an extremely arid region in Egypt
using Magnetic, gravity and resistivity
method for groundwater exploration.
Ground magnetic and gravity measurements
were made at one hundred and fifty stations.
The combined interpretation of magnetic and
gravity data allowed the determination of the
depth of the surface of the granitic basement
and depth of the Conrad surface.

CASE STUDY
1

Base map of the study area, WADI AL GHUBBA, SINAI, EGYPT

CASE STUDY 1
RESULT

Total Magnetic field generated after reduction to the

pole.

RESULTS Contd

Geoelectric cross-section of VES GGo

numbers 1,2,3,4 and 5 (Sultan et al)

Geoelectric cross-section of VES numbers 11,12,13,14 and

15 (Sultan et al)

CASE STUDY 1 RESULT

The results obtained from the integrated interpretation of the

resistivity, gravity and magnetic data agree with the boreholes
data and the geology of the study area.

The results revealed the existence of four major resistivity units

with resistivity values ranging from 2 and 412 ohm-m and
thickness between 1.4 and 462 m. The first unit consists of clay
and has low resistivity values.

The second unit shows high resistivity values representing

limestone.

The third one consists of limestone intercalated with shale and has
low resistivity values.

The fourth unit is characterized by relative high resistivity values

and correlates with sand, and sandy clay and sandstone, which
represents the main aquifer in the area.

The top surface of the deep aquifer is probably at a depth ranging

from 300 to 1000 m, being shallow in the south western part of
the survey area. The interpretation of the gravity data shows that

CONCLUSION

Fromthegravityandmagneticprofiles,thethicknessofthegranitic
basementisestimatedtobewithinarangeof1500mand3150m,andthe
depthtotheConradsurfacerangingfrom7135mto8783m.Theresults
alsoindicatethattheevolutionofthesedimentarycovermightbe
controlledbythestructuraltectonicsofthebasement.

CASE STUDY 2
Godio(2000),usedmagneticandelectromagneticsurveywithlowinduction
equipmenttoperformatestinanindustrialwastelandfillsitewiththeaimof
checkingthereliabilityofdataprocessingtechniquesfordetectingironmasses
insidetheupperpartofthelandfill.
ThestudyareaisawastelandfillinTorino,Italy.Thestudywascarriedout
bythedepartmentofearthsciencesoftheTorinoPolytechnic,Italy.
Thegeophysicaltestwasperformedonanindustrialwastelandfillwhere
residuesfromtwoironfoundrieswerelandfilled.Thelandfillwascultivated,
startingfrom1989tillApril1998,withatotalcapacityofabout180,000m
square.Themaximumdepthofthewastedisposalisabout15m.

CASE STUDY 2

agnetic anomalies generated by the presence of deep ferro-magnetic materials

buried in the landfill at

CASE STUDY 2

Conductivity meter survey using low induction number

equipment in the vertical dipole mode

Result
continued

CASE STUDY 2 RESULT

Theresultofthemagneticsurveydelineatetheexistenceofhighconcentration
offerro-metallicobjects;themagnetbehaviourofthewastedisposalis
affectedbythepresencebothoffineironmaterialsdisseminatedinsandyand
clayeymaterial,derivedfromthecastironfoundryindustrialprocess,and
ferro-metallicobjectssuchasdrumsorpartsofheavymachines.Therefore,
magneticsurveyscouldbeusefultoolsfordetectingzonesofhigh
concentrationsofironparticlesinwastelandfill;thismaterialcanbe
recoveredfromthelandfillandrecycled.

CONCLUSION
The above results shows that magnetic
method can be used to delineate
subsurface
structures
while
prospecting for groundwater. The
structure
can
then
be
further
investigated with other geophysical
methods in details to locate a good
groundwater aquifer. In environmental
application, the magnetic method can
be used to directly detect the presence

REFERENCES

Aboud, E., & El Bishlawy, A. (2011). Contribution of gravity and

magnetic data in delineating the subsurface structure of Hammam
Faroun area, Gulf of Suez, Egypt.Arabian Journal of
Geosciences,4(1-2), 249-257.

Aubert, M., Camus, G. and Fournier, C., 1984, Resistivity and

magnetic surveys in groundwater prospecting in volcanic areas Case-history Maar de Beaunit Puy de Dome France: Geophys.
Prosp., 32(04): 554-563.

Babu, H. V. R., Rao, N. K. and Kumar, V. V., 1991, Bedrock

topography from magnetic anomalies - An aid for groundwater
exploration in hard-rock terrains (short note): Geophysics,
56(07):1051- 1054.

Dobrin M.B and Savit C.H, 1988. Introduction to

Geophysical Prospecting (fourth ed.) McGraw-Hill Book
Company, New York 867p

References

M. Goldman and F.M. Neubauer, Groundwater Exploration Using Integrated Geophysical

Techniques,Surveys in Geophysics,15(3)(2004)pp.331361.

B.V.S. Murty and V.K. Raghavan, The Gravity Method in Groundwater Exploration in
Crystalline Rocks: a Study in the Peninsular Granitic Region of Hyderabad, India,
Hydrogeology Journal,10(2002),pp.307321.DOI.10.1007/s10040-001-0184-2.

A.Gh.Hassanen,S.A.Sultan,andB.S.Mohamed,IntegratedGeophysicalInterpretationfor
GroundwaterExplorationatNukhlArea,CentralSinai,Bul. of National Res. Inst. Astronomy
& Geophysics, Ser. B,2001,pp.283298.

S.A.Sultan,andA.L.ElSorady,GeoelectricandGravityMeasurementsforGroundwater
ExplorationandDetectionofStructuralElementsatRomanaArea,NorthwestofSinai,Egypt,
in Proceedings of the 6th Conf. Geology of Sinai for Development, Ismailia, 2001, pp. 109
120.

F. A. M. Monteiro Santos, S. A. Sultan, R. Patrcia, and A. L. El Sorady, Joint

Inversion of Gravity and Geoelectrical Data for Groundwater and Structural
Investigation: Application to the Northwestern Part of Sinai, Egypt,
Geophys. J. Int., 165(2006), pp. 705718.

UNESCO Cairo Office, Geologic Map of Sinai, Egypt, Scale 1:500,000,

Project for the Capacity Building of the Egyptian Geological survey and
Mining Authority and the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space
Science in Cooperation with UNDP and UNESCO. Geological Survey of Egypt,
2004.

O. Koefoed, A Generalized Cagniard Graph for Interpretation of Geoelectric

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