The Influence of Oceanic Model in 3-D Inversion of Magnetotelluric (MT) Data.

A Case Study From “X” Geothermal Area.

Fikri Fahmi1, a) and Yunus Daud1, b)

1
Geothermal Exploration Master Program, Departement of Physics, FMIPA Universitas Indonesia, Kampus UI Depok, Depok 1624, Indonesia

a)
Corresponding author: fikri.fahmi08@gmail.com
b)
ydaud@sci.ui.ac.id

ABSTRACT 3), medium impact for radius (model 3, 4, 5), and low impact for radius > 20 km
Several geothermal prospect areas are situated near the coastal region. Magnetotelluric (MT) (model 6, 7)
data modeling from the area should be carried out properly especially in performing 3-D
MT-25 MT-26 MT-27 MT-28 MT-29 MT-30 MT-31 MT-32

inversion modeling. Some parts of 3-D inversion mesh grid design in the area may overlap with MT-25 MT-26 MT-27 MT-28 MT-29 MT-30 MT-31 MT-32

Model 1
Model 1
the ocean. The boundaries between the ocean and the land may induce severe distortion of
electrical fields due to its extremely high conductivity contrast. This problem could be overcome

Model 5
Model 2
by including oceanic model as a prior model during 3-D inversion process. In this research, the 7300 m 6300 m 5300 m 4300 m 3300 m 2300 m 1300 m 300 m 25500 m 24500 m 23500 m 22500 m 21500 m 20500 m 19500 m 18500 m

Model 6
Model 3
simulation through 3-D MT forward modeling was performed to observe the effects of the
ocean existences to the the acquired MT data. Moreover, the 3-D inversion of synthetic MT
14500 m 13500 m 12500 m 11500 m 10500 m 9500 m 8500 m 7500 m 31500 m 30500 m 29500 m 28500 m 27500 m 26500 m 25500 m 24500 m

Model 7
Model 4
data was then performed to find out the influence of oceanic model in 3-D inversion. The 19500 m 18500 m 17500 m 16500 m 15500 m 14500 m 13500 m 12500 m 43500 m 42500 m 41500 m 40500 m 39500 m 38500 m 37500 m 36500 m

inversion was conducted in two schemes that is with and without oceanic model. The
simulation results show that the closer the distance between MT station and the ocean, the Figure 3. Schematic of model 1.
greater its effect. The inversion process using oceanic model also give more comparable result
with synthetic model. Similar approach was then applied to real MT data in “X” geothermal Application of Oceanic Model for Real MT Data from “X” Geothermal
area. The use of oceanic model in 3-D inversion process for real MT data in this area successfully Area
give a positive impact and yield a reliable resistivity model.

INTRODUCTION  MT Stations : 42
This research is studying about the effects of the presence of sea water (very MT+AMT stations, spacing
conductive body) on acquired MT data, its influence on 3-D inversion results, and 500-1500 m, dist. 200-300
how significant the using of oceanic model can overcome this effect. m from coastal line.
 Bathymetry :
METHODS GEBCO_2014 Grid, 30 arc-
3-D inversion modeling of MT data can be carried out in two schemes, that are second resolution.
unconstrained and constrained inversion.
 Unconstrained inversion : resistivity value in each blocks will be recalculated Figure 4. Distribution of MT & AMT stations with bathymetric contour and oceanic
during inversion process in each iteration. model in X geothermal area.
 Constrained inversion : resistivity value in certain blocks will be remain
constant during inversion process in all iteration. The certain blocks is then called Simulation of Oceanic Model in 3-D inversion using Synthetic MT Data
a prior model. A prior model is quantification of the model solution characteristic
expectation that is not based on observed data (Grandis, 2009). A prior model is
commonly used to incorporate several geological features such ocean, lake, and
etc that include in the coverage of 3-D mesh grid area.

Figure 5. Synthetic model (left) and simulation result (right). The use of oceanic
model improve significantly on 3-D inversion result.

Application of Oceanic Model in 3-D inversion using Real MT Data

Figure 1. Schematic of unconstrained and constrained inversion. Oceanic model is
added in constrained inversion to incorporate the presence of ocean in the area.

Simulation of Coastal Effect through 3-D MT Forward Modeling.

Several synthetic models were built for performing a simulation of coastal effect in
MT data.
 Model 1 : It was built as representation of 1-D earth model. It is characterized
as stratified layer model which have different resistivity value for each layer
 Model 2 : The second model was built by made a slight modification from the Figure 6. Comparison of resistivity section from 3-D inversion without (top) & with
(bottom) ocenainc model from real MT data..
first model. Oceanic model which represented by a conductive body with
resistivity value 0.3 Ωm is added and placed in the eastern part of the model.
 Model 3-7 : Model 3 – 7 were made to observe the effect of oceanic model to MT
data in various distance. Model 3-7 were built by made simple modification from
the second model. The gap between cceanic model and MT station in model 2 is
adjusted to be larger by adding several additional block between MT station in
the interest area and oceanic model in the margin of the model.

Figure 7. Comparison of resistivity distribution map from 3-D inversion without (top)
& with (bottom) ocenainc model from real MT data..

Figure 2. Schematic of model 1 (left) & model 2-7 (right).
Synthetic MT data in several MT stations from all model is shown in fiugre 3.
Synthetic MT data from model 1 represents original MT data that is not disturbed
by coastal effect whereas another synthetic MT data is derived from model 2 – 7
which represent the disturbed MT data. The simulation results show that the
presence of a conductive body (sea water) in the outside of interest area can
influence the MT response. The influence is appear in the form of transformation of
TE & TM curve for model 2-7 from the original MT data (model 1). The effect can be
catagorized qualitatively to be 3 groups, high impact for radius < 10 km (model 2 &
Conclusions
 The presence of sea water can influence the MT data in all frequency
which is proportional to the distance of MT station and the ocean. The
closer the distance, the greater its effect. The most significant
disturbance is appear for data in low frequency (< 1 Hz).
 The effect is should be well considered for MT data that situated in
radius < 10 km from the coastal line.
 Application of oceanic model during 3-D inversion process is effective
enough to overcome the effect and successfully aid the inversion
process to produce more reliable inversion result.
References
Grandis, H., (2009). “Pengantar Pemodelan Inversi Geofisika”. Jakarta : Himpunan
Ahli Geofisika (HAGI).