Transient electromagnetic fields of a buried horizontal magnetic dipole

ABSTRACTElectromagnetic surveys using a vertical transmitter loop are common in land, marine, and airborne geophysical exploration. Most of these horizontal magnetic dipole (HMD) systems operate in the frequency domain, measuring the time derivative of the induced magnetic fields, and therefore a majority of studies have focused on this subset of field measurements. We examine the time-domain electromagnetic response of a HMD including the electric fields and corresponding smoke rings produced in a conductive half-space. Cases of a dipole at the surface and buried within the earth are considered. Results indicate that when the current in the transmitter is rapidly switched off, a single smoke ring is produced within the plane of the vertical transmitter loop, which is then distorted by the air-earth interface. In this situation, the circular smoke ring, which would normally diffuse symmetrically away from the source in a whole space, is approximately transformed into an ellipse, with a vertical major axis...