Application of aeromagnetic three-component survey based on the Euler deconvolution method

We have conducted a three-component aeromagnetic survey for the first time, over an area in northern China, obtaining data of Z(a), H-ax and H-ay which are defined as vertical component (V), north component (N) and east (E) in this paper. Due to the vector space feature of three-component data, it can play a more direct role on the basis of full space vectors in the inversion process. Because of the abundance of data involved in inversion process, the final results provide stronger constraints in the tectonic interpretation which facilitate to reduce the multiplicity of solutions in geological interpretation and improve the reliability of interpretation. This paper starts with a model test. First, three-component aeromagnetic data is processed by Euler deconvolution. According to results of the model test, the characteristics of model boundaries for each component are summarized. Then, the three-component inversion results are superposed based on these characterisitcs. Comparing with inversion results of Delta T, superposed inversion of three-component data can improve identification of the model boundary, and provide more accurate information of the model body position. On the basis of summarizing the relevant rules of above model test, the measured aeromagnetic three-component data is processed by Euler deconvolution in similar procedures. After that, we interpret faults through superposing the respective inversion results of the measured three-component data. Finally, using the respective inversion characteristics of different components and taking full advantage of multi-component data, superposed results of three-component data improve the efficiency and accuracy of identifying faults and depicting traces, and reveal age relationships of different faults at the same time. Thus, this paper shows the good application value of aeromagnetic three-component survey based on the Euler deconvolution method.