Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods

Abstract Marine electromagnetic methods form important tools for the study of offshore geology, particularly at plate boundaries such as mid‐ocean ridges, subduction zones, and the boundary between the lithosphere and asthenosphere, because electrical conductivity is strongly dependent on water cont...

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Main Author: Steven Constable
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019CN000123
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author Steven Constable
author_facet Steven Constable
author_sort Steven Constable
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Marine electromagnetic methods form important tools for the study of offshore geology, particularly at plate boundaries such as mid‐ocean ridges, subduction zones, and the boundary between the lithosphere and asthenosphere, because electrical conductivity is strongly dependent on water content, partial melt, and temperature. Very early development of electromagnetic methods in the oceans was driven by military interest in marine communication and detection, and geological applications soon followed. Around the turn of the century, what was originally a niche discipline expanded dramatically when the hydrocarbon industry embraced magnetotelluric and controlled‐source electromagnetic methods as aids to deep‐water exploration, driving a significant improvement in instrumentation and interpretation software. This greatly enhanced the imaging capabilities of these methods, and led to an expansion of their academic use both in plate boundary studies and newer applications such as gas hydrate studies, offshore groundwater mapping, and others.
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spelling doaj-art-2ee0cde1a9804e248ed63eec82c204d32025-08-20T02:31:00ZengWileyPerspectives of Earth and Space Scientists2637-69892020-01-0111n/an/a10.1029/2019CN000123Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic MethodsSteven Constable0Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USAAbstract Marine electromagnetic methods form important tools for the study of offshore geology, particularly at plate boundaries such as mid‐ocean ridges, subduction zones, and the boundary between the lithosphere and asthenosphere, because electrical conductivity is strongly dependent on water content, partial melt, and temperature. Very early development of electromagnetic methods in the oceans was driven by military interest in marine communication and detection, and geological applications soon followed. Around the turn of the century, what was originally a niche discipline expanded dramatically when the hydrocarbon industry embraced magnetotelluric and controlled‐source electromagnetic methods as aids to deep‐water exploration, driving a significant improvement in instrumentation and interpretation software. This greatly enhanced the imaging capabilities of these methods, and led to an expansion of their academic use both in plate boundary studies and newer applications such as gas hydrate studies, offshore groundwater mapping, and others.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019CN000123
spellingShingle Steven Constable
Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods
Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists
title Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods
title_full Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods
title_fullStr Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods
title_full_unstemmed Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods
title_short Perspectives on Marine Electromagnetic Methods
title_sort perspectives on marine electromagnetic methods
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2019CN000123
work_keys_str_mv AT stevenconstable perspectivesonmarineelectromagneticmethods