Open AccessA study of the physics of telluric current flow at very low frequencies in the Earth's crust
Author(s) -
Mosnier J.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1985.tb05147.x
Subject(s) - crust , geophysics , electrical resistivity and conductivity , geology , electromagnetic field , mantle (geology) , electromagnetic radiation , current (fluid) , earth (classical element) , structure of the earth , physics , mechanics , optics , oceanography , quantum mechanics , mathematical physics
Summary. Interpretation of the effects of natural electromagnetic induction is often in terms of models in which changes in resistivity at great distances from the point of measurement are not taken into account. In this paper we will try to show that this is not a valid approximation for very low‐frequency telluric currents, flowing near the surface in the Earth's crust, when the material separating the crust from the mantle has a sufficiently high electrical resistance. In this case the shape and dimensions of the circuit, as well as the resistivity distribution along the whole length of the path followed by the currents, play a part in determining the induced electromagnetic field. A number of experimentally verifiable consequences follow from this.