AN INTERACTIVE MANUAL ON QUALITATIVE

AND COMPUTER ASSISTED INTERPRETATION

OF VERY LOW FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC
(VLF-EM) DATA.

Compiled By: Akinola Bolaji ELUWOLE (M.Sc.)

FOR: AGP 403, AGP 605 and GEG 607 Courses in the
Department of Geology, Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife.

APRIL, 2012

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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The aim of this manual, which shall be made available after a training session, is to instruct
students on the procedures involved in the processing and interpretation of VLF data from first
principle (manually) in order to understand and appreciate the mode of operation of the available
VLF data interpretation software.

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 CONTENTS Pages

1.0: INTRODUCTION/ BACKGROUND 4

2.0: THE FRASER FILTER 4

3.0: THE KAROUS-HJELT and FRASER FITERING (KHFFILT) SOFTWARE 5

3.1: Introduction 5

3.2: Database 5

3.3: Program Controls 6

4.0 EXAMPLE 9

5.0 ASSIGNMENT 19

6.0 REFERENCES 19

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1.0 INTRODUCTION/ BACKGROUND

VLF Tilt-Angle or Real (Inphase) data are commonly interpreted only qualitatively. The point
where the tilt angle crosses over from being positive to negative polarity is usually interpreted as
being immediately above the top of a presumably vertically dipping conductor causing the
anomaly (Reynolds, 1997).

Fraser (1969), developed a filter operator that shifted the tilt-angle data by 90 degrees so that
crossover points become peaks. The filter also attenuates long spatial wavelengths to help
overcome some aspects of topographic effects and reduce the noise content of the data.

In 1983, Karous, M and Hjelt, S.E. developed a more robust program that linearly filtered VLF
tilt-angle measurements and provided depth information.

In 2004, Markku Pirttijärvi, a Geophysicist in the Department of Geosciences, University of

Oulu, Finland, whose hobby is “Geophysical Programming” combined the works of Fraser
(1969) and Karous and Hjelt (1983) to produce a software christened “Karous-Hjelt and Fraser
Filtering (KHFFILT) software. The software is an inversion software that filters raw VLF data,
displays the Fraser output and generates a 2-D subsurface conductivity image from the Fraser.

This manual explains the basic concept of qualitative/semi-quantitative interpretation and

computer assisted quantitative interpretation of VLF data using the KHFFILT software.

2.0 THE FRASER FILTER

The Fraser filter uses four consecutive data points, where the data have been acquired at a
regular interval and can be applied very simply using a hand calculator or spreadsheet.

The sum of the first and second data point is subtracted from the sum of the third and fourth
values and plotted at the midpoint between the second and third tilt-angle stations.

Explanation

Given a sequence of Tilt-Angle or Real data, T1, T2, T3,-------, Tn, measured at a regular station of
1, 2, 3, 4…….., n interval, the Fraser Filter Fi is applied as follows:

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 i. The first filtered value, F1 = ( T3+ T4) - ( T1+ T2) and is plotted midway between stations 2
and 3.

ii. The second filtered value, F2 = ( T4+ T5) - ( T2+ T3) and is plotted midway between
stations 3 and 4 and so on along the profile

Note: For interpretation, it is arguably better to use both the raw and filtered data. Plotting both
data also enables more accurate target location.

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3.0 THE KAROUS-HJELT and FRASER FITERING (KHFFILT) SOFTWARE

3.1 Introduction

The KHFFILT software can be used to perform Karous-Hjelt and Fraser filtering on
geophysical Very-Low-Frequency (VLF) data. In VLF method two orthogonal components of
the magnetic field are measured, and normally the tilt angle, α, and ellipticity, e, of the vertical
magnetic polarization ellipse are derived. Real (Re) (in-phase) and imaginary (Im)
(quadrature) components, however, are used in the KHFFILT program. These components are
based on the tilt angle (α) and ellipticity (e) as: Re = tan(α)*100 % and Im = e*100 % (Markku
Pirttijärvi, 2004).

The KHFFILT program requires a PC with 32-bit Windows 9x/NT4/2000/XP/VISTA/7 operating

system and a graphics display of at least 1024×800 resolution. Memory requirements and
processor speed are not critical, since the program uses dynamic memory allocation and
the filtering (and contouring) is fast to perform even on slow computers ((Markku
Pirttijärvi, 2004).

The KHFFILT program has a simple graphical user interface (GUI) that can be used to change
some parameters, to handle file input and output, and to visualize the original and filtered
VLF responses (Markku Pirttijärvi, 2004).

3.2 Database

The program requires a database in which the VLF data are saved. Though the program was
designed to utilize the Notepad and Wordpad as default databases, but owing to the formatting
challenges attached to these databases, recent research has shown that the Golden Software
Surfer Spreadsheet can be used as database for the KHFFILT program.

Before launching the KHFFILT program, the VLF data must have been saved in the database.
Since the Golden Software Surfer Spreadsheet is considered as a good database tool for the
KHFFILT program, the procedure for saving VLF data in the Surfer Spreadsheet in a recognized
file format is discussed in the example.

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3.3 Program Controls

i. The “Show Data” push button selects the original VLF data

ii. The “Show Fraser” push button displays the Fraser filtered data.

iii. The “Show K-H Contours” push button displays the Karous-Hjelt filtered
pseudosections.

iv. The "Spacing" text field defines the step between profile points. Both Fraser and
Karous-Hjelt filtering require that the data have equal distances between the
measurement points.

v. The "Max depth" text field is related to Karous-Hjelt filtering, it defines the depth
extent of the filtering, i.e., the maximum length of the filter.

vi. The "Skin-depth" text field is also related to Karous-Hjelt filtering. The "Skin-depth"
value defines an additional enhancement by normalizing the currents with the skin depth,
i.e., it tries to take the effect of the attenuation of the EM field into account. The value
should be based on the skin depth of the host medium (typically between 50-1000 m).
The default value is zero, which means that the skin depth normalization is not used at
all.

vii. The "Update" push button must be used to validate the changes made in the
abovementioned text fields.

viii. The "Max z-level" and "Min z-level" scroll bars are used to change the scaling of the
maximum and minimum contour values in the Karous-Hjelt filtered pseudosection. The
scaling is usually determined by the Fraser output.

ix. The "Reverse Sign" push button reverses the sign of the VLF-data component.
Consequently, the sign of the Fraser and Karous-Hjelt filtered data also changes.

Note that the sign conventions are not implicit in VLF measurements. For practical
reasons, however, it is advantageous to denote conductive targets with positive

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 Fraser and Karaous-Hjelt filtered anomalies. The common practice is to use red color
for conductive (hot) targets.

x. The "Gray/Color" push button can be used to change between grayscale or color scale
(rainbow) in the Karous-Hjelt filtered pseudosections.

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4.0 EXAMPLE

This example involves a synthetic VLF data (Table 1.0), that represents a typical VLF anomaly
over a good conductor. The solution involves manual qualitative (visual inspection)
interpretation, semi-quantitative (target position and depth estimate) interpretation and computer
assisted quantitative interpretation which involves the use of KHFFILT software.

Table 1.0: Raw Synthetic VLF Data

Distance Tilt-Angle
Station (m) (%)
1 20 1.49
2 40 1.003
3 60 0.468
4 80 -0.34
5 100 -1.269
6 120 -2.596
7 140 -4.178
8 160 -6.369
9 180 -9.055
10 200 -12.679
11 220 -17.118
12 240 -22.724
13 260 -28.941
14 280 -35.191
15 300 -39.612
16 320 -39.489
17 340 -29.276
18 360 -6.653
19 380 22.502
20 400 44.775
21 420 46.134
22 440 38.436
23 460 29.216
24 480 21.894
25 500 15.865
26 520 11.621
27 540 8.158
28 560 5.763
29 580 3.731
30 600 2.349
Solution

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 Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Interpretation

Figure .1.0 shows a plot of the raw synthetic tilt-angle data against distance. The curve is an “S-
shape” curve, typical of that obtained over a conductive body. The curve displays a peak negative
amplitude (-40 %) which occurs at distance 310 m and a peak positive amplitude (47 %) present
at distance 410 m.

The resultant of the sum of the peak negative and peak positive amplitudes gives the position
(distance 370 m) of the target identified by the red line on Figure 1.0. The position of the target is
also referred to as the point of inflection or crossover point.

The depth of occurrence of the target can be estimated as half of the distance between the peak
negative and peak positive amplitudes, i.e. 100/ 2 = 50 m.

Figure 1.0: Illustration of the Qualitative and Semi-Quantitative Interpretation of a Typical VLF Anomaly

For a clearer interpretation of the anomaly, let’s carry out the Fraser Filter operation explained in
Section 2.

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Figure 1.0: Illustration of the Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Interpretation of a Typical VLF Anomaly
Table 2.0 shows the result of the Fraser Filte9999999999999’r operation. Q 1: What do you
observe from this Table?

2.0: The Fraser Output of the Raw Data.

Fraser
Station Distance (%)
2.5 50 -2.365
3.5 70 -3.08
4.5 90 -3.993
5.5 110 -5.165
6.5 130 -6.682
7.5 150 -8.65
8.5 170 -11.187
9.5 190 -14.373
10.5 210 -18.108
11.5 230 -21.868
12.5 250 -24.29
13.5 270 -23.138
14.5 290 -14.969
15.5 310 6.038
16.5 330 43.172
17.5 350 84.614
18.5 370 103.206
19.5 390 75.06
20.5 410 17.293
21.5 430 -23.257
22.5 450 -33.46
23.5 470 -29.893
24.5 490 -23.624
25.5 510 -17.98
26.5 530 -13.565
27.5 550 -10.285
28.5 570 -7.841

Figure 2.0 is the plot of the Fraser data against distance. There are two peak negative amplitudes
(-24.9% and -33.5%) and one peak positive amplitude (103.2%) on the curve. The first and
second peak negative amplitudes are present at distance 270 m and 450 m respectively. The peak
positive amplitude is present a distance 370 m.

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The signature of the curve suggests that the peak positive amplitude represents the presence of a
conductive body while the peak negative amplitudes suggest the presence of less conductive/
resistive bodies. Therefore, the conductive body may be inferred to exist between two adjoining
resistive bodies.

Recall that it was mentioned in the earlier part of this manual that it is necessary to plot the raw
and filtered data for accurate target position. Figure 3.0 shows the plot of the raw and filtered
data. The dashed line correlates the peak positive amplitude on the filtered data with the
inflection point on the raw data. Q 2: What do you observe?.
(%)

Figure 2.0: The Fraser Output of the Raw Data.

(%)

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Figure 3.0: Illustration of the Target Position Identification on Raw and Filtered Data.
Quantitative Interpretation

The quantitative interpretation involves the use of the KHFFILT software. The procedures
involved in the use of the software is painstakingly explained.

Earlier in this manual, it was mentioned that it is necessary to save the VLF data in a recognized
format in a database. It was also mentioned that the Golden Software Surfer Spreadsheet is a
preferred database. The steps for saving VLF data in Surfer Spreadsheet are explained below.

Step 1

Launch the Golden Software Surfer program, and open a new spreadsheet from the top-left
corner of the tools bar as shown by the arrow in Figure 4a.

Step 2

Figure 4b shows the KHFFILT recognized data format. On the spreadsheet, Columns are
represented by letters A, B, C…………, ZZZ, and rows are represented by figures 1, 2, 3………,
100, 000. Practically, A 1 = Column A, Row 1, B 1 = Column B, Row 1, and so on.

Now, let’s apply the logic to Figure 4b. A 1 represents the title/header of your project (the
location ant traverse nomenclature).

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Figure 4a: The Golden Software Surfer Environment

 Figure 4b: Golden Software Surfer Spreadsheet

A 2 represents the total number of stations and B2 represents the column from which the data to
be processed is read. A 5 – A 34 are the distances traversed in metres, while B 5 – B 34 are the
tilt-angle measurements obtained from the distances.

Step 3

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Save the input data as Golden Software Data as illustrated by the arrow in Figure 4c.

Figure 4c: Saving a VLF Data in Golden Software Data Format

Having saved your data, launch the KHFFILT Software, locate your saved data and click open as
shown in Figure 5a.

Hope you have not forgotten

Figure 5a: How tothat we are
Open answering
a Saved a question?. Okay.
VLF Data.
Figure 5b shows the raw tilt-angle data, click the “Show Fraser Button” to view the Fraser output
as shown in Figure 5c.

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Figure 5a: Raw VLF Anomaly Generated by KHFFILT Software.

 Figure 5c: Fraser Output of the Raw Data Generated by KHFFILT Software.

Q 3: What do you observe on Figure 1.0 and Figure 5a; and Figure 2.0 and Figure 5b?

Now, use the maximum and minimum amplitude on Figure 5c to constrain the “Max z-level” and
“Min z-level” scroll bars. Click the “Show KH-Contours” button.

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Figure 5d is the 2-D Subsurface Conductivity Image, generated from the Fraser data.

Figure 5c: The 2-D Subsurface Conductivity Image.

N.B.: Please don’t forget to save your results (preferably as GIF). “Click File on the top-left
corner and select Save Graph as GIF”.

The Raw tilt-angle data, the Fraser output and the 2-D subsurface image are combined as shown
in Figure 6a-c to enable a holistic interpretation.

Q 4: Recall the interpretation of Figures 1.0 and 2.0, is there any correlation with Figures
6a and b ?

Okay, let’s interpret the image.

The color scale beneath the 2-D image (Figure 6c) shows the conductivity band that exist
beneath the surface. The band ranges from -38% to 100% with a color spectrum ranging from
purple to deep blue to turquoise blue to yellowish green to yellow to orange to red.

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Figure 6: (a) Raw Tilt-angle, (b) Fraser Output and (c) 2-D Subsurface Conductivity Image
The areas that fall within the negative band can be interpreted as resistive (non-conductive)
zones, while the areas that falls within the positive band can be interpreted as conductive zones,
but with variation in conductivity.

Two major resistive zones are present on the image. The first and second resistive zones occurs
beneath the first and second peak negative amplitudes of the Fraser output earlier discussed.

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 Also, one major conductive zone is present on the image. This conductive zone is located
directly beneath the peak positive amplitude of the Fraser output and the point of inflection of the
raw data at distance 370 m.

Q 5: Compare the Results of the Qualitative/Semi-quantitative and Quantitative

Interpretations and Summarize in terms of similaritie(s) and difference(s).

N.B.: The interpretation of this data based on Groundwater Investigation, Environmental

Studies, Engineering Site Investigation and Mineral Exploration will be discussed in the class.

5.0 ASSIGNMENT

1 Answer questions Q 1 – Q 5 contained in the example.

2 You will be given a data in the class, process it and interpret it qualitatively and

quantitatively.

6.0 REFERENCES

Fraser, D.C., 1969. Contouring of VLF-EM data. Geophysics, 34, 958-967.

Karous, M. and Hjelt, S.-E., 1983. Linear filtering of VLF dip-angle measurements,

Geoph. Prospecting, 31, 782-794.

Markku Pirttijärvi, 2004. Karous-Hjelt and Fraser filtering of VLF measurements, Version 1.1a

Reynolds, J.M., 1997. An Introduction to Applied and Environmental Geophysics. Wiley and

Sons, England. 796p.

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