Geophysical Methods for Evaluation of Plutonic Rocks
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AECL-8409 ATOMIC ENERGY L’ENERGIE ATOMIQUE OF CANADA LIMITED DU CANADA, LIMITEE GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR EVALUATION OF PLUTONIC ROCKS METHODES GEOPHYSIQUES POUR DEVALUATION DES ROCHES PLUTONIQUES compiled by / compilee par R. A. Gibb, J. S. Scott Whiteshell Nuclear Research Etablissement de recherches Establishment nucleaires de Whiteshell Pinawa, Manitoba ROE 1 LO April 1986 avril Copyright © Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, 1986 ATOMIC ENERGY OF CANADA LIMITED GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR EVALUATION OF PLUTONIC ROCKS Compiled by R.A. Gibb and J.S. Scott Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment Pinawa, Manitoba ROE 1L0 1986 April AECL-8409 METHODES GEOPHYSIQUES POUR L"EVALUATION DES ROCHES PLUTONIQUES Compile par R.A. Gibb et J.S. Scott RESUME On dScrit systSmatiquement des m€thodes gSophysiques salon le principe physique et le mode opiratoire de chaque mSthode, le type de reseignement produit, les limites de nature technique et/ou Sconomique et 1'applicabiliti de 1'Evaluation de la masse rocheuse dans les zones de recherches od ont lieu les travaux du Programme de Gestion des D€chets de Combustible Nucliaire. Les mSthodes gSophysiques se divisent en trois categories: (1) lev6s a€roport€s et autres lev6s d'exploration, (2) levSs (terrestres) precis ou superficiels et (3) lev&s en Bondages ou souterrains. On rSsume les rSles possibles de chaque m6thode dans les processus de selection et d'evaluation des sites conduisant au choix d’un site d'evacuation. L'Energie Atomique du Canada, Limit6e Etablissement de recherches nucleaires de Whiteshell Pinawa, Manitoba ROE 1L0 1986 avril AECL-8409 GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR EVALUATION OF PLUTONIC ROCKS Compiled by R.A. Gibb and J.S. Scott ABSTRACT Geophysical methods are systematically described according to the physical principle and operational mode of each method, the type of informa tion produced, limitations of a technical and/or economic nature, and the applicability of the method to rock-mass evaluation at Research Areas of the Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program. The geophysical methods fall into three categories: (1) airborne and other reconnaissance surveys, (2) detailed or surface (ground) surveys, and (3) borehole or subsurface surveys. The possible roles of each method in the site-screening and site-evaluation processes of disposal vault site selection are summarized. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment Pinawa, Manitoba ROE 1L0 1986 April AECL-8409 1 CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 OBJECTIVES OF GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY 1 1.2 GEOPHYSICAL METHODS 1 REFERENCE 2 2. AEROMAGNETIC SURVEYS 3 2.1 DESCRIPTION 3 2.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 6 2.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 6 2.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 8 2.5 GROUND MAGNETIC SURVEYS 8 REFERENCES 9 3. GRAVITY METHOD 10 3.1 DESCRIPTION 10 3.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 11 3.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 11 3.4 LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS 11 3.5 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 11 3.6 COSTS 13 REFERENCES 14 BIBLIOGRAPHY 14 4. REGIONAL SEISMICITY 15 4.1 DESCRIPTION 15 4.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 15 4.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 15 4.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASSEVALUATION 15 BIBLIOGRAPHY 15 5. HIGH-RESOLUTION SEISMIC REFLECTION METHOD 17 5.1 DESCRIPTION 17 5.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 17 5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 17 5.4 LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS 17 5.5 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 17 5.6 COSTS 22 REFERENCES 22 BIBLIOGRAPHY 22 continued - ii - CONTENTS (continued) Page 6. SUBSURFACE PROFILING RADAR 23 6.1 DESCRIPTION 23 6.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 23 6.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 23 6.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 24 BIBLIOGRAPHY 24 7. SONAR SURVEYS 26 7.1 DESCRIPTION 26 7.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 28 7.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 31 7.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 31 REFERENCES 32 8. SURFACE ELECTRICAL METHODS 33 8.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD 33 8.1.1 Standard VLF System 33 8.1.2 Local Loop VLF System 35 8.1.3 Max-Min II Multifrequency EM System 35 8.1.4 Geonics EM-34-3 System 37 8.1.5 Dipole-Dipole Resistivity System 37 8.1.6 Geonics EM-37 and Maxi-Probe Electromagnetic Systems 37 8.1.7 Dighem II and Aerodat Electromagnetic Systems 39 8.1.8 Dighem II and Aerodat Airborne VLF Systems 39 8.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 40 8.2.1 Standard VLF 40 8.2.2 Local Loop VLF 40 8.2.3 Max-Min II Multifrequency EM 40 8.2.4 Geonics EM-34-3 41 8.2.5 Dipole-Dipole Resistivity 41 8.2.6 Geonics EM-37 and Maxi-Probe Electromagnetic 41 8.2.7 Dighem II and Aerodat Airborne EM and VLF 43 8.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 44 8.3.1 Standard VLF 44 8.3.2 Local Loop VLF 44 8.3.3 Max-Min II Multifrequency EM 44 8.3.4 Geonics EM-34-3 44 8.3.5 Dipole-Dipole Resistivity 44 continued.... - iii - CONTENTS (continued) Page 8.3.6 Geonics EM-37 and Maxi-Probe Electromagnetic 45 8.3.7 Dighem II and Aerodat AirborneEM and VLF 45 8.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 45 8.4.1 Standard VLF and Local Loop VLF 45 8.4.2 Max-Min II Multifrequency EM 45 8.4.3 Geonics EM-34-3 46 8.4.4 Dipole-Dipole Resistivity 46 8.4.5 Geonics EM-37 and Maxi-Probe Electromagnetic 46 8.4.6 Dighem II and Aerodat AirborneEM and VLF 46 8.5 COSTS 46 REFERENCES 47 9. MAGNETOTELLURICS 48 9.1 DESCRIPTION 48 9.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 48 9.2.1 Scalar Data 48 9.2.2 Tensor Data 49 9.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 49 9.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 52 9.5 COSTS 54 REFERENCES 54 10. MAGNETOMETRIC RESISTIVITY 55 10.1 DESCRIPTION 55 10.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 55 10.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 55 10.4 LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS 57 10.5 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 57 10.6 COSTS 58 REFERENCES 58 11. STANDARD GEOPHYSICAL LOGGING 59 11.1 DESCRIPTION 59 11.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 59 11.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 61 11.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 63 11.4.1 Present 63 11.4.2 Future 63 BIBLIOGRAPHY 64 continued IV CONTENTS (continued) Page 12. BOREHOLE-TO-BOREHOLE SEISMIC LOGGING SYSTEM 66 12.1 DESCRIPTION 66 12.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 66 12.3 LIMITATION OF THE METHOD 66 12.4 LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS 66 12.5 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 66 12.6 COSTS 70 REFERENCE 70 BIBLIOGRAPHY 70 13. BOREHOLE SEISMIC TUBE WAVE METHOD 71 13.1 DESCRIPTION 71 13.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 71 13.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 71 13.4 LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS 74 13.5 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 74 13.6 COSTS 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY 74 14. BOREHOLE RADAR 76 14.1 DESCRIPTION 76 14.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 76 14.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 76 14.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 76 REFERENCE 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY 77 15. BOREHOLE VLF-EM METHOD 78 15.1 DESCRIPTION 78 15.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 78 15.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 80 15.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 80 REFERENCES 84 16. GEOTHERMAL LOGGING 85 16.1 DESCRIPTION 85 16-2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 85 16.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 87 continued.... V CONTENTS (concluded) Page 16.4 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 87 16.5 COSTS 87 REFERENCES 88 17. AQUIFER TIDE METHOD 89 17.1 DESCRIPTION 89 17.2 DATA AND/OR INFORMATION PRODUCED 90 17.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHOD 90 17.4 LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS AND COSTS 90 17.5 APPLICABILITY TO ROCK-MASS EVALUATION 91 REFERENCE 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY 91 18. SUMMARY 92 18.1 SUMMARY OF GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR SITE SCREENING 92 18.2 SUMMARY OF GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR SITE EVALUATION 92 19. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 99 L. INTRODUCTION The joint Energy, Mines and Resources/Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (EMR/AECL) geoscience segment of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program (NFWMP) is organized in an Activity/Task structure (Scott, 1979) comprising Geological, Geophysical and Rock Properties activi ties. This report describes methods currently employed in the Geophysical Activity of the NFWMP. 1.1 OBJECTIVES OF GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY The general scientific objectives of the joint EMR/AECL Geophysi cal Activity of the NFWMP are as follows: - to characterize the structure, lithology, physical properties, fracture pathways and long-term stability of selected crystal line rock masses, - to adapt, improve or develop geophysical methods for site char acterization, and - to provide geophysical inputs for predictive transport models of the geosphere containing hypothetical disposal vaults. 1.2 GEOPHYSICAL METHODS Geophysical methods have been an integral and essential part of mineral and petroleum exploration for over half a century. Each of the many available geophysical exploration techniques, as well as those currently under development, whether applied from airborne or surface platforms or by emplacement in boreholes, are based upon the measurement of some physical or physico-chemical property of the minerals and/or fluids contained within the rock mass. Some techniques, such as gravity and magnetic methods are capa ble of measuring the natural variations in the earth’s gravity and magnetic fields; others, such as electrical and reflection or refraction seismic methods require external sources of energy to provide a signal that can be detected and recorded. All geophysical techniques, regardless of operational platform or underlying principle, attempt to measure a natural or induced signal that can be interpreted as a variation or "anomaly" in comparison with signals received from the "background" levels produced by the rock mass.