CONTROLLED SOURCE AUDIO-FREQUENCY MAGNETOTELLURICS AN EFFECTIVE SURFACE GEOPHYSICAL TOOL IN THE EXPLORATION FOR GROUNDWATER HOSTED IN FRACTURED BEDROCK AQUIFERS Mario R. Lluria Technical Advisor, Salt River Project P.O. Box 52025, Phoenix, AZ 85072-2025, (602) 236-5520 ABSTRACT ‘The need to develop additional supplies of water to satisfy the demands of the rapidly growing urban communities of the arid southwestern United States has prompted the search for new water sources. Fractured bedrock aquifers associated with tectonic fea- tures of the Western Cordillera are an untested potential source for groundwater. Con- trolled source audio-frequency magnetotellurics (CSAMT) is a geoelectric method with considerable depth penetration, high lateral resolution and relative insensitivity to “culture” interference that is well suited for the exploration of this type of aquifer. The application of CSAMT in the search for a fractured bedrock aquifer system associated with a deeply buried detachment fault provided decisive information for its discovery. THE CONTROLLED SOURCE AUDIO-FREQUENCY MAGNETOTELLURICS GEOPHYSICAL TECHNIQUE, Background ‘The CSAMT geophysical method is an active-source version of the well known passive- source magnetotellurie (MT) technique. Both methods are frequency-domain electromagnetic sounding techniques. MT had its beginning in the 1950's as a techni- que in applied geophysics. Cagniard (1953) developed the basic theory that is used in MT and CSAMT from solutions of Maxwell’s equations for the horizontal component of the electric and magnetic fields at the surface of the earth due to telluric currents. ‘The ratio of this pair of electromagnetic parameters as well as their relative phases are characteristic of the structure and of the electrical properties of the subsurface rock units.Z=EM (ohm) q) The concept of the characteristic impedance (Z) is the basis for the MT method and consequently for the CSAMT method. For these methods, the impedance is obtained for a series of frequencies by the ratio of the electric field intensity to the magnetic field intensity at each observation point or station in the field. This frequency spectrum for the impedance provides information about the profile of electrical resistivity as a function of depth in the Earth, The depth information is inversely proportional to the frequency with the higher frequencies providing the impedance of the shallower depths, because of the skin effect. This mechanism is what permits soundings at a single observation point and is the basis of the magnetotelluries method. Apparent resistivity and phase difference between the electric and magnetic intensities are the two parameters measured in CSAMT as well as in MT and AMT (audio mag- netotellurics). Apparent resistivity is commonly determined in most geoclectric methods. It is a measured quantity related to the bulk response of several charac- teristics of a rock mass. Parasnis (1966) defined it for electrical methods as “the resis- tivity that a semi-infinite homogenous earth must have if a potential difference equal to that actually observed between the probes of an electric configuration is to be obtained, on placing the configuration on the surface of the imaginary homogeneous earth, and keeping the current unaltered.” The apparent resistivity for the magnetotelluric methods is calculated from Cagniard’s formula: Pa = 1wu(Ex/Hy)? (ohm-meter) (2) y In 2) the resistivity is Pa measured in ohm-meter, It is a function of the angular fre- quency (w) in radians per second, the magnetic permeability (u) and the square of the characteristic impedance. The phase difference (Patra and Mallick, 1980) is given by: @ = tan! (Im (Ex/Hy)/Re(Ex/Hy) (radians) @) The prefixes Im and Re in (3) refer to the imaginary and real components, respectively. The electric and magnetic field components measured in MT, AMT and CSAMT are the far field components, To fulfill this condition, the receiver should be separated from the source a distance of no less than three “skin depths” (d) at the lowest frequen- cy being used. This distance is given by: d = (2Pa/uw)' (meter) (4) In addition to the application of the plane wave model which proposes a plane wave propagating vertically into the Earth, several assumptions are made for the theory of magnetotellurics applicable to CSAMT: © The medium is horizontally stratified. 1146FIGURE 1: FIELD ARRAY OF CSAMT EQUIPMENT. TRANSMITTING ANTENNA IS A GROUNDED DIPOLE FIGURE 2: ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION FROM AN OSCILLATING ELECTRIC DIPOLE P= Pmt (ot) 1 = Lint (vt) = DIPOLE MOMENT 5 = POYNTING VECTOR 1 = DIPOLE CURRENT v= MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY B= MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY © = ELECTRIC PERMITIVITY ys: FAR FIELD ELECTRIC FIELO STRENGTH w= FREQUENCY Hype FAR FIELD MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH z= IMPEDANCE© Both the electric and magnetic fields are linearly polarized. The sensitivity of the magnetotelluric methods to lateral variations in resistivity (geol- ogy) are well documented (Madden and Swift, 1969; Goldstein and Strangway, 1975). This imposes a source-observation point dependency that should always be taken into account when carrying out the interpretation and modelling. A simple analytical analysis of this condition is contained in Wait (1982). Field Procedure The source generating the electromagnetic radiation is a transmitter that generates a time varying signal that could be of any form, Square radio waves are the most com- monly used in CSAMT surveys. A wide frequency band is used which may extend from 0.10 to 10K Hz (Australian Mining, 1989), but is most typically between 0.1 and 4 Khz. The signal is generated most frequently by imparting a current to a grounded electric dipole, An ungrounded loop or magnetic dipole could also be used. The signal is received using a grounded dipole that is oriented parallel to the emitting dipole and by a high-gain coil set at right angles to the dipole, The former measures the horizontal electric field intensity component (Ex) as a voltage drop across the receiving dipole and the latter measures the horizontal magnetic field intensity component (Hy), Depend- ing on the degree of resolution desired, the receiving dipole spacing varies. A spacing of from 10 to 300 meters is not uncommon. The transmitting dipole length is from several hundred meters to over one kilometer long. The present receivers, such as the ‘Zonge GDP-12 or the GDP-16 are sophisticated data loggers and processors capable of storage and a certain amount of data manipulation with digital and graphic display for field evaluation of the electromagnetic information, The receivers measure both the electric and magnetic fields in synchronization with the transmitter output signal and carry out the computation of the Cagniard resistivity and the relative E-H phase dif- ference. A common field set up is illustrated in Figure 1. The electromagnetic field generated by a horizontal dipole source is shown in Figure 2. The generator is at the origin of the Cartesian coordinate system and the long cable is along the X axis. Simultaneous in- spection of Figures 1 and 2 will provide an understanding of the CSAMT technique. Data Processing and Interpretation Preliminary processing is done by the use of log-log plots of the magnitudes of Ex, Hy and Pa versus the frequency for each station. For each CSAMT survey line pseudo-sec- tions of Cagniard resistivity and phase difference are plotted as a function of frequency. For these, the field receiving stations are positioned on the horizontal axis and the fre- quency in the vertical axis. The value of the resistivity or the phase difference cor- responding to each frequency is plotted below each station. This pseudo-section can be 1146viewed as a linear depth sounding diagram, but caution should be exercised in its use for interpreting the subsurface geology. Knowledge of the subsurface geology, even if very limited, is essential for a realistic i terpretation of the CSAMT sounding survey. Inference on the occurrence of lithologic changes, presence of structures such as faults, location of the saturated zone, metallic mineralization and clay alternation can be made from surface geologic projections. ‘These features are expressed in changes in resistivity and can be correlated to the geophysical responses. Interpretation of magnetotelluric data can be very involved and is beyond the scope of this article. The reader is referred to Kaufman and Keller (1981) for a complete coverage. Only a few principles and operations will be referred to here as an introdue- tion, A first step in the interpretation is to examine the resistivity pseudo-section for horizontal changes in resistivity which may suggests contacts and for vertical changes in resistivity which could indicate layers. To determine if conductive features are shallow or deep simultaneous examination of both the resistivity and phase difference pseudo- sections is undertaken (Zonge, 1986). In general, a phase difference exceeding 45 degrees (785 milliradians) suggests a high-over-low resistivity environment at the obser- vation point, while a value under 45 degrees indicates a low-over-high condition. APPLICATION OF CSAMT IN THE EXPLORATION OF FRACTURED BEDROCK AQUIFERS Fractured bedrock aquifers can be described as saturated discrete zones of a rock mass whose fracture density imparts them considerable storage capacity and transmissive characteristics to be reliable groundwater producers. The porosity and permeability are predominantly secondary. The interconnected network of fractures can be one or a combination of the following types: tension fractures, shear fractures, faults and joints. All these are a result of the mechanical failure of the various rock units that constitute the rock mass, under applied crustal stresses during various tectonic episodes. Failure can occur during the structural event or as a consequence of the release of energy in the material after stress relaxation, ‘The failure occurs usually in competent rock units of the upper “structural level” (Bles and Feuga, 1986). Elevated pore pressures, planar discontinuities and structural anisotrophy enhances the development of the fracture networks that form fractured bedrock aquifers. Fractured Bedrock Aquifers as Structural Targets ‘The fractured bedrock aquifers are associated with structural features of regional ex- tent, predominantly faults. This makes them excellent geophysical targets because of the frequent contrast in resistivity across the two plates of the fault. The resistivity con- trast is due to different lithologies, or different physical properties on opposite sides of the fault for the same rock unit. In addition to the contrasting electrical properties[RECENT DEFORMATION EPISODES IN ARIZONA wpe — Drag = Lanawioe sno -mocene cone coumiex ASW ANO RANGE as +++ t+ 1] Nol’ / ttt / t FIGURE 3: MAJOR RECENT TECTONIC DEFORMATION EVENTS OF THE BASIN AND RANGE PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE OF ARIZONA AND THE PREDOMINANT STRUCTURAL FEATURES DEVELOPED DURING EACH ONE ' Vue Fou DF» Ovichant Fast Toe Tertiary Voleniy an Stimants im = Pecambian rocks J¢ cor ciwonerens. DETACHMENT FAULT FIGURE 4; STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF A DETACHMENT FAULT OF MIDDLE CENOZOIC AGE. BASIN AND RANGE PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE OF ARIZONAsociated with the geologic environment, the fracture zone has usually a high conduc- tivity imparted by the groundwater with its dissolved salts. Clays are also frequently as- sociated with fracture zones along faults and have a high conductivity in contrast to unaltered bedrock. Fractured Bedrock Aquifers of the Basin and Range Province of Arizona Fractured bedrock aquifers associated with tectonic features of the Basin and Range have been identified as potential new supplemental groundwater sources for the arid regions of the southwestern United States (Lluria, 1988). Three major types have been identified, each one being associated with a major tectonic event of the recent past geologic history (Figure 3) of this region. ‘These events are: @ Laramide Orogeny (75-50 MYBP) © Mid-Tertiary Orogeny (25-15 MYBP) © Basin and Range Episode (12-5 MYBP) During the Laramide Orogeny, compression of the rocks of this region prevailed. The most common structural features developed were thrusts and some high angle reverse faults (Drewes, 1981). Most of the stresses that developed the thrusts were con- centrated at the sites of faults of Precambrian and Jurassic ages (Davis, 1979). The zones of decollement contain high fracture density zones with appropriate storage and transmissive properties. These zones have enhanced hydraulic properties where they are intersected by high angle Basin and Range normal faults. The low angle normal detachment faults and their associated listric faults were formed by an extensional tectonic regime during the mid-Tertiary Orogeny (Davis, 1981). The upper plate of the detachment faults consist of rocks of Miocene age or older which are deformed by brittle failure and are commonly shattered (Figure 4). The intensity and continuity of their fracturing is dependent on the rock type and the density and orienta- tion of preexisting discontinuities. Normal listric faults which bottom in the detach- ment fault one and are an integral part of this mid-Tertiary structural system have associated fracture zones that could be discrete fractured bedrock aquifers or a part of the detachment fault aquifer system (Lluria, 1988). Fractured zones associated with Basin and Range high angle normal faults are very common. Because of the large number of these structures in southern Arizona, they can be attractive targets as fractured bedrock aquifers. They are positioned at or near the zones of recharge at the foot of the present mountain ranges and are usually buried under very permeable, unconsolidated alluvial sediments or scree deposits. These faults are the youngest of the three types addressed in this article and were formed during a late stage Cordilleran tensional episode from S to 12 million years before present (Dickinson, 1981), An unattractive feature of the zones of fracture associated 1149STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF & [BASIN AND RANGE FAULT ALLUVIAL ‘asi Vi Yi A <— extension ff #— 206 0F SHATTERING FIGURE 5: STUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF A BASIN AND RANGE HIGH ANGLE NORMAL FAULT Js, Ain ESYpoy — va. sons N Ja, -evsur oF OY wa (0 OT) t JpCe, ~ RUIN GRANITE —-@® PROOUCTION WELL (1300" DEPTH) FIGURE 6: GEOLOGIC MAP OF SURVEY AREA SHOWING LOCATION OF CSAMT LINESYS 8 mh os ae oe EQN (0) FIGURE 7: APPARENT RESISTIVITY vs FREQUENCY. CSAMT SURVEY LINE 1. UNITS ARE: APPARENT RESISTIVITY - ohm-meter; FREQUENCY - hertz (Zonge, 1986) 4 WwW a. s iN FIGURE 8: CSAMT SURVEY DATA, LINE 1. CAGNIARD RESISTIVITY. UNITS ARE: ohm-meters (Zonge, 1986).with these high angle normal faults is their very limited extent across the fault surface, although they can be of considerable strike length (Figure 5). Case History. CSAMT is ideally suited for the exploration of the types of bedrock aquifers described in the previous section. Because of its depth penetration capabilities and its high lateral resolution, this method was selected to test an area where regional and local geologic data had suggested a potential for the occurrence of a fractured bedrock aquifer. The survey area is located in the northernmost part of the Basin and Range physiographic province in central Arizona. Surface geologic mapping indicated the pos- sible occurrence of a buried high angle Basin and Range normal fault with a possible north to northwest strike. The Ruin granite of Precambrian age (1.4 BYBP) is the most extensive outcropping unit of the area. It intrudes Pinal schist of older Precambrian age and is overlain by basalts of late Tertiary age. In some areas, the granite is covered by a thin veneer of unconsolidated alluvial deposits of Quaternary age which thickness to an estimated 100 meters (300 feet) along the northeast-southwest wash that crosses the survey area (Figure 6). Exploration work carried out by the author in the region containing the area for gold had indicated the existence of detachment faults. This sug- gested that such a structure with its associated zone of fracturing could underlie the sur- vey area, and be at reasonable depth to constitute a usable fractured bedrock aquifer. ‘Two shallow exploratory wells, both under 150 meters (500 feet) in depth, and separated 610 meters (2,000 feet) intersected alluvium and basalt flows in the upper 60 meters (200 feet) and Ruin granite below. Water level was at approximately 90 meters (300 feet) in both test wells (Cella Barr Associates, 1987). The CSAMT survey consisted of three east-west lines. The southern-most line was lo- cated 100 meters (300 feet) north of one of the shallow test wells. Sounding informa- tion was obtained from 35 stations. Interline spacing was 550 meters (1,800 feet) with dipole spacing of 150 meters (500 feet). The frequency spectrum for the soundings ranged from 16 Hz to 4096 Hz. The transmitter was located 5 kilometers (3.2 miles south of the closest receiving line, with a 1600 meter (1 mile) long east-west oriented grounded dipole. The Cagniard apparent resistivity versus frequency curves (Figure 7) for stations 6 thru 10 of line 1 exhibit a steep notch behavior that indicates a structure, possibly a fault. The Cagniard resistivity pseudo-section (Figure 8) of line 1 suggests also the occur- rence of this feature. It is also expressed in the soundings for lines 2 and 3. Figure 9 is the phase difference pseudo-section. Computer modeling carried out with the data from line 1 is illustrated in Figure 10. The average curve of all the field data from line 1 is compared to the theoretical curve generated with the responses of the model shown in this illustration, The high conductivity feature (35 ohm-meter) at depth produces the deep notch of the log-log resistivity curves. The geoelectric cross section for line 1 (Figure 11) portray the interpretation of the possible geologic structure and location of 315?ake Q wm e 2888 e ' = £ 8 = \ ») é LS FIGURE 9: CSAMT SURVEY DATA, LINE 1, PHASE DIFFERENCE (E-H). UNITS ARE Milli-Radians (Zonge, 1986). sire "20 connate $0 mats so oweamws 20" mere SOchmenatae’ St mata ‘oo cmenntes te tt Ree Be Soe Tome ELEN) FIGURE 10: BEST FIT MODEL FOR AVERAGE APPARENT RESISTIVITY vs FREQUENCY CURVES OF STATIONS 4 TO 7 OF LINE 1 (Zonge, 1986)fractured zones that could be potential structural fractured bedrock aquifers. The geoclectric cross sections for lines 2 and 3 show a similar array, but suggest that the low resistivity feature at depth dips northward. ‘The discrete zone of high conductivity at depth suggested by the CSAMT survey was in- terpreted as a possible low angle detachment fault fractured zone. This suggested the potential for a confined aquifer system at depth within the Ruin granite. The much higher resistivity layer below the potential aquifer was interpreted as the lower plate of the detachment fault. The test well located near line 1 was deepened to 400 meters (1,300 feet) and en- countered a zone of fracturing and water saturation at 320 meters (1050 feet). Static water level rose to 12 meters (40 feet) in this well indicating that a pressurized confined aquifer had been pierced. Down-the-hole resistivity, gamma, caliper and temperature logs also showed the occurrence of this zone. Water quality information showed dif- ferences between the groundwater from this well and that from the nearby alluvial basin, Integration of all the geologic, geophysical and water quality data suggested the occur- rence of a concealed fractured bedrock aquifer system associated with a detachment fault and with enhanced permeability near the intersection with a Basin and Range high angle normal fault. No hydraulic connection between this aquifer system and that in the adjacent alluvial basin is evident. A conceptual model for this case history is shown in Figure 12, CONCLUSIONS ‘The examination of the features of the CSAMT method and the characteristics of the structural fractured bedrock aquifers described in this article indicate that this method is very adequate for their exploration, ‘The case history described corroborated its ap- plicability under actual field conditions. As with all exploration work, the most ad- visable approach is however, that of an integrated survey that combines solid geologic knowledge and reasoning with the appropriate, most cost-effective geophysical tool. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All the CSAMT field work, processing and geophysical interpretation for the case his- tory was carried out by Zonge Engineering and Research Organization. The author wishes to express his appreciation for their contributions. The geologic and project work for the field case was undertaken by a team from Cella Barr Associates (CBA). Special recognition is due to Mr. Lawrence D. Onyskow, Vice President and Mr. Phillip rise=380-400 ohm (oRANTTES) esa | (onaurres) 10 (2250) 1000} (om) vaso. (atm) ss00rd (400) —— cemoate smucrune —[Z] noroaTes vies Row wooELsN === eovrcs “+ AVERAGE OF TSE STATIONS USD MH NODELING FIGURE 11: GEO-ELECTRIC CROSS SECTION OF RESISTIVITY FOR THE CSAMT SURVEY. VERTICAL EXAGGERATION IS 4:1 (Zonge, 1986) mounce — \ srouaae | \ "a Takary Votes an Sst poim = Paco FIGURE 12: CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF A DETACHMENT FAULT FRACTURED BEDROCK AQUIFER OF THE BASIN AND RANGE PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE OF ARIZONAM. Paski, Senior Hydrologist for their valuable input and encouragement, and to CBA. for their permission to publish these results. REFERENCES Australian Mining, 1989, Researchers explore new way to map oil: Australian Mining, v.81n, 1p.22. Bles, J. L., and Feuga, B., 1986, The fracture of rocks: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, New York, 131 p. Cagniard, L., 1953, Basic theory of the magnetotelluric method of geophysical prospecting: Geophysics v. 18, p. 605-635. Cella Barr Associates, 1987, Hydrogeologic Interim Report file 40967-01: Cella Barr Associates, Phoenix, unpublished report. Davis, G. H., 1979, Laramide folding and faulting in southeastern Arizona: American Journal of Science, v. 279, p. 543-569. Davis, G. H., 1981, Regional strain analysis of the superposed deformations in southeastern Arizona and the eastern Great Basin, in Dickinson, W. R., and Payne, W. D., eds,, Relations of tectonics to ore deposits in the Southern Cordillera: Arizona Geological Society Digest, v. 14, p. 155-172, Dickinson, W. R., 1981, Plate tectonics evolution of the Southern Cordillera, in Dickinson, W. R. and Payne, W. D., eds., Relations of tectonics to ore deposits in the Southern Cordillera: Arizona Geological Society Digest, v. 14, p. 113-135. Drewes, H. D., 1981, Tectonics of southeastern Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Prof. Paper 1144, 96 p. Goldstein, M. A., and Strangway, D. W., 1975, Audio-frequency magnetotellurics with a grounded electric dipole source: Geophysics v. 40 p. 669-683. Kaufman, A. A., and Keller, G. V., 1981, The magnetotelluric method: Methods in geochemistry and geophysics, 15, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, 595 p. Luria, M. R,, 1988, Exploration of fractured bedrock aquifers in the Basin and Range physiographic province of Arizona based on tectonic determinants, in Arora, R., ed., Proceedings of the International Conference on Fluid Flow in Fractured 1156Rocks: U.S. Geological Survey and Georgia State University Special Publication, Madden, T. R., and Swift, C. M., Jr., 1969, Magnetotelluric studies of the electrical conductivity structure of the crust and upper mantle, in the Earth’s crust and upper mantle: American Geophysical Union Monograph 13, p. 469-479. Parasnis, D. S., 1966, Mining Geophysics: Elsevier Publishing Company, New York, p. 163, Patra, H. P., and Mallick, K., 1980, Geosounding principles: Time varying geoelectric soundings: Methods in Geochemistry and Geophysics. 14B, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, New York, p. 224-286. Wait, J.R., Geo-Electromagnetism: Academic Press, New York, p. 184-208. Zonge Engineering and Research organization, 1986, Report on CSAMT Survey, in. CBA Hydrogeologic Interim Report: Cella Barr Associates, Phoenix, unpublished report, 1ns7