Electrical Exploration Station

a set of portable equipment that is used for electrical exploration. An electrical exploration station comprises a generator unit and a field laboratory for making measurements.

The generator unit consists of a DC or AC generator driven either by the engine of the vehicle used or by a separate engine. When a DC generator is used, the generator unit also includes a converter that changes the DC voltage to a pulsed periodic voltage.

The field laboratory consists of input measuring transducers, intermediate transducers, and output devices. The input measuring transducers may be electric or magnetic field sensors. The intermediate transducers include amplifiers, attenuators, filters, storage devices, and detectors. The output devices make it possible to record the results of the measurements in analog or digital form. Results are recorded in analog form mainly by means of oscillographs.

Electrical exploration stations are used to investigate a geologic cross section to depths of several kilometers by, for example, resistivity methods, magnetotelluric methods, or electromagnetic sounding methods (see). Depending on the type of vehicle used, such a station may be of the motor-vehicle, aerial, or marine type. Aerial stations may be carried aboard helicopters or airplanes.

The use of electrical exploration stations raises the efficiency of electrical exploration for two reasons. First, they make it possible to carry out mobile surveys. Second, the depth to which the earth’s crust may be explored is increased owing to the use of high-power field sources.