The instantaneous apparent resistivity tensor: a visualization scheme for LOTEM electric field measurements

Long‐offset transient electromagnetic (LOTEM) data have traditionally been represented as early‐ and late‐time apparent resistivities. Time‐varying electric field data recorded in a LOTEM survey made with multiple sources can be represented by an ‘instantaneous apparent resistivity tensor’. Three independent, coordinate‐invariant, time‐varying apparent resistivities can be derived from this tensor. For dipolar sources, the invariants are also independent of source orientation. In a uniform‐resistivity half‐space, the invariant given by the square root of the tensor determinant remains almost constant with time, deviating from the half‐space resistivity by a maximum of 6 per cent. For a layered half‐space, a distance–time pseudo‐section of the determinant apparent resistivity produces an image of the layering beneath the measurement profile. As time increases, the instantaneous apparent resistivity tensor approaches the direct current apparent resistivity tensor. An approximate time‐to‐depth conversion can be achieved by integrating the diffusion depth formula with time, using the determinant apparent resistivity at each instant to represent the resistivity of the conductive medium. Localized near‐surface inhomogeneities produce shifts in the time‐domain apparent resistivity sounding curves that preserve the gradient, analogous to static shifts seen in magnetotelluric soundings. Instantaneous apparent resistivity tensors calculated for 3‐D resistivity models suggest that profiles of LOTEM measurements across a simple 3‐D structure can be used to create an image that reproduces the main features of the subsurface resistivity. Where measurements are distributed over an area, maps of the tensor invariants can be made into a sequence of images, which provides a way of ‘time slicing’ down through the target structure.