33 Geological Interpretation of Airborne Magnetic Surveys
33 Geological Interpretation of Airborne Magnetic Surveys
33 Geological Interpretation of Airborne Magnetic Surveys
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Paper 32
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1 Emeritus Professor of Geophysics, The University of Adelaide
2 Director, Mineral Deposits Limited
ABSTRACT
Regional airborne magnetic surveys have been a key start point for resource exploration and development programs since the 1960s.
Growth in both the worldwide coverage and quality of such surveys has been enormous since then, and many mineral discoveries have
been made as consequence of these often freely available data sets. The critical developments in the application of magnetic surveys
have been image processing and satellite navigation. Great strides in data precision (particularly positioning) and diminished cost of
coverage have lead to surveys with broader coverage, tighter line spacings and higher quality magnetometry. This in turn has
enabled the more effective use of established numerical filters and transformations which, when coupled to imaging hardware and
advanced data visualisation schemes, allow users to extract an extraordinary range of geological information from the magnetic data.
Despite these developments and the consequent proliferation of high quality regional magnetic data in many countries, robust
geological interpretation of these data is not commonly achieved, and the writers believe that establishing better links between the
airborne data and the underlying geology requires more attention if full value is to be obtained from the surveys. This paper briefly
restates the fundamentals of the application of magnetic surveys and highlights the developments which have fuelled the expanding
use of such surveys in all facets of geological mapping. We comment on the interplay between advances in magnetics and those in the
understanding of mineral deposit formation and localisation. We present recent examples where large scale surveys combined with
incisive interpretation have lead to major exploration successes. We conclude by suggesting that future developments in this field
should produce more sophisticated integration of magnetic data with other geoscientific data, particularly hard geological data,
leading to more robust geological interpretations and more frequent economic discoveries. The notion that ready and inexpensive
access to large, high resolution aeromagnetic data sets provides an accelerating mechanism for resource discovery is also actively
promoted.
INTRODUCTION
Any strategist will tell you that a good start is essential for a
successful campaign -- whether it is it business, or love, or in a
mineral exploration program; you need to know where, how and
when to start. The senior author (DMB), started in the airborne
geophysical industry in the 1950s and presented the first
substantial account of the geological mapping capabilities of
airborne magnetics at the 1967 Mining and Groundwater
Geophysics conference ( Boyd, 1969). The purpose of this
paper is not only to reflect on the developments and
achievements in the ensuing 40 years, but also to promote the
need for more persistent and profound interpretations of the
ever expanding global collection of high quality airborne
magnetic surveys.
In resources development programs, whether it be for oil and
gas, minerals or the management of water resources, ready
access to a variety of informative data bases is essential.
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In "Proceedings of Exploration 07: Fifth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration" edited by B. Milkereit, 2007, p. 491-505
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utilisation , continues to be a major consideration for
international aid agencies (Reeves, 2005 and 2002)
It is not the place of this paper to dwell on the underlying
physics of the magnetic method or the now highly sophisticated
technology of data acquisition, processing and visualization. But
it is important for interpreters to have a solid grounding in the
basic science underlying the interpretation, and to be alert for
problems which can arise from a misunderstanding of the
principles of acquisition and processing. Our emphasis is on
the end uses of magnetic data and the on-going need for
comprehensive interpretations which integrate the best available
geological data. The fundamentals of thorough interpretation
are often overlooked in our haste to meet deadlines and budgets
and custodians of these data sets need to be aware that full value
from a regional magnetic survey may only be achieved after
multiple interpretations which may span years or even decades.
Interpretation
Interpretation is at the center of all geophysical surveys. Every
time a geologist draws insight from an image he is carrying out
an interpretation and hence presentation of magnetic data must
be as meaningful for geologists as it is for their geophysical
colleagues. We usually, however, think of interpretation as the
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Figure 2: Aeromagnetic image of Australia comprising data entirely sourced from Geoscience Australia. The enhancement is a merge of TMI and 1st
Vertical derivative grids.
In older (pre 1990s) data the errors may be due to mislocation of the flight path, mistakes in transcribing the data,
shortcomings in correction for diurnal variation, heading and
parallax or to malfunctioning equipment. In modern surveys, as
mentioned above, these errors are less likely to occur, but
applications which use sophisticated analysis for deeply situated
bodies in the upper or middle crust, may encounter long wave
length errors introduced by drape flying and inappropriate
corrections for diurnal variation of the Earths field.
ii. Geological maps, sections and reports: Geological maps
are based on the often subjective observations of one or more
individual geologists; some geologists are very exact and
reliable observers, others are not. Geological data sets are
assembled from points where rocks have been studied in outcrop
or have been recovered from drill holes, in addition to inferences
drawn from features on the landscape or aerial photographs.
Geological maps compiled from interpretation of a limited
number of field observations can be very misleading.
Geological data will, however, always form the basis of our
interpretation. It is the fundamental means of limiting the choice
of models in an interpretation.
iii. Other regional geoscientific da t a s e t s such as
geochemistry, satellite imagery, radiometrics, gravity and
electromagnetics. Each of these has the potential to add new
and critical information to the interpretation and further
constrain interpretative choices, but rarely do any have the range
and degree of detail of geological information contained in
magnetics.
iv. Rock properties.
Measurements of magnetic
susceptibility and remanence provide the hard link between
rocks and the features observed in magnetic data. This crucial
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Figure 3: Kalgoorlie Golden Mile district detailed magnetic interpretation study. a- Distribution of outcop (after Keats, 1987), b- Image of merged
TMI and 1st vertical derivative (after Isles,1989), c- Interpreters structural skeleton(Stage1) with Stage 2 solid geology, d- Completed geological
interpretation
Step 4.
On-going Review
The concepts of staging and reviewing the interpretation process
also apply at the broader level. Regional magnetic surveys in
particular are designed to have a life span of decades and this
presents the opportunity for multiple interpretations, possibly for
a range of purposes and employing multiple interpreters with
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The Fowler 1:250,000 sheet area in South Australia.
Figures 4a to 4c illustrate mapping in covered areas using a
major part of the Fowler 1:250,000 sheet area which lies in the
southern part of South Australias predominantly Proterozoic
Gawler Craton. The area covers over 7,000 km and features a
relatively thin veneer of recent sediments with eight known
Proterozoic outcrops totaling less than 20 km. The image of the
magnetics shows a vast amount of contained geological
information and, while the interpretation may appear far-fetched
in the context of the exposed rock, it has been compiled by
extrapolation from and with reference to neighboring areas
Figure 4: a) Surface geology from the Fowler 1:250,000 sheet area, South Australia (PIRSA,2006). b) 400m-spaced SAEI magnetic data
(PIRSA,1992) covering the area in fig 4a. The image is a merge of shaded TMI with 1st Vertical Derivative. c) Interpretation map based on
extrapolation from surrounding areas (after Fairclough et al 2002)
Figure 5: a) Mapped surface geology from the Burra 1:250,000 sheet area (PIRSA, 2006). All units apart from Neg(quartzite), Nep(tillite) and
Neu(arkosic sandstone) are predominantly siltstone. b) Detailed 100m-spaced magnetics over the area in fig 5a (data courtesy of Flinders Diamonds
Limited). The image is a merge of shaded TMI with 1st Vertical Derivative
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Figure 6: Lawlers-Kalgoorlie-Norseman BMR (now Geoscience Australia) 1960s vintage 1-mile-spaced aeromagnetics illustrating regional scale
features and the major nickel and gold districts. TMI image after Isles et al, (1989).
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Figure 7: a) Regional 200m-spaced aeromagnetics over the Cloncurry Region, NW Queensland. Shaded TMI image, data courtesy Geoscience
Australia. b) Section of the above data showing the Cannington magnetic anomaly.
CONCLUSIONS
The past 40 years have delivered a proliferation of regional
magnetic surveys of increasing areal extent with tighter line
spacings and more precise magnetometer data. The tools with
which we manipulate and visualise the data have also become
highly sophisticated and free availability of data has become
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Primary Industry and Resources, South Australia
(PIRSA) for providing the data in Figure 4 and also for
providing a good deal of the inspiration for this paper. We
particularly acknowledge Geoscience Australia for permission to
publish Figure 2 and for its role in facilitating ready access to
high quality aeromagnetic data throughout Australia. We also
thank Flinders Diamonds Ltd for making the proprietary data in
Figure 5b available for publication
Ken Witherly, Tom Whiting and David Tucker provided
astute suggestions on improvements to the paper. Tony
DOrazio, Robert Nicol and Heather ORafferty are thanked for
assistance in preparation of the data and manuscript.
The previously published image in Figure 3b is part of a
proprietary data base owned by Fugro Airborne Surveys. The
data in Figure 7 was originally a proprietary survey subsequently
acquired by the Queensland state government and is now part of
the national aeromagnetic data base maintained and freely
distributed by Geoscience Australia.
We finally pay tribute to the many colleagues in the
Australian and international airborne geophysics industry who
have contributed to a range of achievements in resource
discovery and development and have made the writers journeys
in this exciting profession both memorable and rewarding.
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