Surface nuclear magnetic resonance

Last updated

Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (SNMR), also known as magnetic resonance Sounding (MRS), is a geophysical technique specially designed for hydrogeology. It is based on the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and measurements can be used to indirectly estimate the water content of saturated and unsaturated zones in the earth's subsurface. [1] SNMR is used to estimate aquifer properties, including the quantity of water contained in the aquifer, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity.

Contents

History

The MRS technique was originally conceived in the 1960s by Russell H. Varian, one of the inventors of the proton magnetometer. [2] SNMR is a product of a joint effort by many scientists and engineers who started developing this method in the USSR under the guidance of A.G. Semenov and continued this work all over the world. [3] Semenov's team used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for non-invasive detection of proton-containing liquids (hydrocarbons or water) in the subsurface. The Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences fabricated[ original research? ] the first version of the instrument for measurements of magnetic resonance signals from subsurface water ("hydroscope") in 1981.

Principles

The basic principle of operation of magnetic resonance sounding, hitherto known as surface proton magnetic resonance (PMR), is similar to that of the proton magnetometer. They both assume records of the magnetic resonance signal from a proton-containing liquid (for example, water or hydrocarbons). However, in the proton magnetometer, a special sample of liquid is placed into the receiving coil and only the signal frequency is a matter of interest. In MRS, a wire loop 100 m in diameter is used as a transmitting/receiving antenna to probe water in the subsurface. Thus, the main advantage of the MRS method, compared with other geophysical methods, is that the surface measurement of the PMR signal from water molecules ensures that this method only responds to the subsurface water.

A typical MRS survey is conducted in three stages. First, the ambient electromagnetic (EM) noise is measured. Then, a pulse of electrical current is transmitted through a cable on the surface of the ground, applying an external EM field to the subsurface. Finally, the external EM field is terminated, and the magnetic resonance signal is measured. [4]

Three parameters of the measured MRS signal are:

As with many other geophysical methods, MRS is site-dependent. Modeling results show that MRS performance depends on the magnitude of the natural geomagnetic field, the electrical conductivity of rocks, the electromagnetic noise and other factors

Usage

SNMR can be used in both oil and water exploration, but since oil is generally deep down, the more common usage is in water exploration. With depth resolution of 200 meter, SNMR is the best way to model aquifers.

See also

Related Research Articles

Magnetometer Device that measures magnetism

A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, one that measures the direction of an ambient magnetic field, in this case, the Earth's magnetic field. Other magnetometers measure the magnetic dipole moment of a magnetic material such as a ferromagnet, for example by recording the effect of this magnetic dipole on the induced current in a coil.

Geophysical survey (archaeology) Non-invasive physical sensing techniques used for archaeological imaging or mapping

In archaeology, geophysical survey is ground-based physical sensing techniques used for archaeological imaging or mapping. Remote sensing and marine surveys are also used in archaeology, but are generally considered separate disciplines. Other terms, such as "geophysical prospection" and "archaeological geophysics" are generally synonymous.

Well logging, also known as borehole logging is the practice of making a detailed record of the geologic formations penetrated by a borehole. The log may be based either on visual inspection of samples brought to the surface or on physical measurements made by instruments lowered into the hole. Some types of geophysical well logs can be done during any phase of a well's history: drilling, completing, producing, or abandoning. Well logging is performed in boreholes drilled for the oil and gas, groundwater, mineral and geothermal exploration, as well as part of environmental and geotechnical studies.

Kansas Geological Survey

The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), a research and service division of the University of Kansas, is charged by statute with studying and providing information on the geologic resources of Kansas. The KGS has no regulatory authority and does not take positions on natural resource issues.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy Laboratory technique

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic field and the NMR signal is produced by excitation of the nuclei sample with radio waves into nuclear magnetic resonance, which is detected with sensitive radio receivers. The intramolecular magnetic field around an atom in a molecule changes the resonance frequency, thus giving access to details of the electronic structure of a molecule and its individual functional groups. As the fields are unique or highly characteristic to individual compounds, in modern organic chemistry practice, NMR spectroscopy is the definitive method to identify monomolecular organic compounds.

Exploration geophysics is an applied branch of geophysics and economic geology, which uses physical methods, such as seismic, gravitational, magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic at the surface of the Earth to measure the physical properties of the subsurface, along with the anomalies in those properties. It is most often used to detect or infer the presence and position of economically useful geological deposits, such as ore minerals; fossil fuels and other hydrocarbons; geothermal reservoirs; and groundwater reservoirs.

Magnetotellurics Electromagnetic geophysical technique

Magnetotellurics (MT) is an electromagnetic geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface electrical conductivity from measurements of natural geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the Earth's surface.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of proteins is a field of structural biology in which NMR spectroscopy is used to obtain information about the structure and dynamics of proteins, and also nucleic acids, and their complexes. The field was pioneered by Richard R. Ernst and Kurt Wüthrich at the ETH, and by Ad Bax, Marius Clore, Angela Gronenborn at the NIH, and Gerhard Wagner at Harvard University, among others. Structure determination by NMR spectroscopy usually consists of several phases, each using a separate set of highly specialized techniques. The sample is prepared, measurements are made, interpretive approaches are applied, and a structure is calculated and validated.

Alexander Pines Israeli-born American chemist

Alexander Pines is an American chemist. He is the Glenn T. Seaborg Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor's Professor Emeritus and Professor of the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) and the Department of Bioengineering. He was born in 1945, grew up in Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia and studied undergraduate mathematics and chemistry in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Coming to the United States in 1968, Pines obtained his Ph.D. in chemical physics at M.I.T. in 1972 and joined the UC Berkeley faculty later that year.

Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the Earth's interior hold essential information concerning seismic activities and the internal structure. Hence, detection and analysis of the electric and Magnetic fields is very crucial. As the Electromagnetic and gravitational waves are multi-dimensional signals, all the 1-D transformation techniques can be extended for the analysis of these signals as well. Hence this article also discusses multi-dimensional signal processing techniques.

In nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics, J-couplings are mediated through chemical bonds connecting two spins. It is an indirect interaction between two nuclear spins that arises from hyperfine interactions between the nuclei and local electrons. In NMR spectroscopy, J-coupling contains information about relative bond distances and angles. Most importantly, J-coupling provides information on the connectivity of chemical bonds. It is responsible for the often complex splitting of resonance lines in the NMR spectra of fairly simple molecules.

Transient electromagnetics,, is a geophysical exploration technique in which electric and magnetic fields are induced by transient pulses of electric current and the subsequent decay response measured. TEM / TDEM methods are generally able to determine subsurface electrical properties, but are also sensitive to subsurface magnetic properties in applications like UXO detection and characterization. TEM/TDEM surveys are a very common surface EM technique for mineral exploration, groundwater exploration, and for environmental mapping, used throughout the world in both onshore and offshore applications.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in the geomagnetic field is conventionally referred to as Earth's field NMR (EFNMR). EFNMR is a special case of low field NMR.

Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure the "accessible void", the total amount of void space accessible from the surface.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in porous materials covers the application of using NMR as a tool to study the structure of porous media and various processes occurring in them. This technique allows the determination of characteristics such as the porosity and pore size distribution, the permeability, the water saturation, the wettability, etc.

Nuclear magnetic resonance Spectroscopic technique based on change of nuclear spin state

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are perturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a frequency characteristic of the magnetic field at the nucleus. This process occurs near resonance, when the oscillation frequency matches the intrinsic frequency of the nuclei, which depends on the strength of the static magnetic field, the chemical environment, and the magnetic properties of the isotope involved; in practical applications with static magnetic fields up to ca. 20 tesla, the frequency is similar to VHF and UHF television broadcasts (60–1000 MHz). NMR results from specific magnetic properties of certain atomic nuclei. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is widely used to determine the structure of organic molecules in solution and study molecular physics and crystals as well as non-crystalline materials. NMR is also routinely used in advanced medical imaging techniques, such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Thermoporometry and cryoporometry are methods for measuring porosity and pore-size distributions. A small region of solid melts at a lower temperature than the bulk solid, as given by the Gibbs–Thomson equation. Thus, if a liquid is imbibed into a porous material, and then frozen, the melting temperature will provide information on the pore-size distribution. The detection of the melting can be done by sensing the transient heat flows during phase transitions using differential scanning calorimetry – DSC thermoporometry, measuring the quantity of mobile liquid using nuclear magnetic resonance – NMR cryoporometry (NMRC) or measuring the amplitude of neutron scattering from the imbibed crystalline or liquid phases – ND cryoporometry (NDC).

Near-surface geophysics Geophysics of first tens of meters below surface

Near-surface geophysics is the use of geophysical methods to investigate small-scale features in the shallow subsurface. It is closely related to applied geophysics or exploration geophysics. Methods used include seismic refraction and reflection, gravity, magnetic, electric, and electromagnetic methods. Many of these methods were developed for oil and mineral exploration but are now used for a great variety of applications, including archaeology, environmental science, forensic science, military intelligence, geotechnical investigation, treasure hunting, and hydrogeology. In addition to the practical applications, near-surface geophysics includes the study of biogeochemical cycles.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging is a type of well logging that uses the NMR response of a formation to directly determine its porosity and permeability, providing a continuous record along the length of the borehole.

Hydrogeophysics is a cross-disciplinary area of research that uses geophysics to determine parameters and monitor processes for hydrological studies of matters such as water resources, contamination, and ecological studies. The field uses knowledge and researchers from geology, hydrology, physics, geophysics, engineering, statistics, and rock physics. It uses geophysics to provide quantitative information about hydrogeological parameters, using minimally invasive methods. Hydrogeophysics differs from geophysics in its specific uses and methods. Although geophysical knowledge and methods have existed and grown over the last half century for applications in mining and petroleum industries, hydrogeological study sites have different subsurface conditions than those industries. Thus, the geophysical methods for mapping subsurface properties combine with hydrogeology to use proper, accurate methods to map shallow hydrological study sites.

References

  1. Legchenko, Anatoly (2013). Magnetic resonance imaging for groundwater. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9781118649459.
  2. USpatent 3019383,Varian Russell Harrison,"Ground liquid prospecting method and apparatus",issued 30 January 1962
  3. Semenov AG (1987) NMR Hydroscope for water prospecting.Proceedings of a Seminar on Geotomography, Indian Geophysical Union, Hyderabad, pp 66–67
  4. 1 2 "Magnetic Resonance Sounding (MRS)". USGS Groundwater Information: Hydrogeophysics Branch. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 15 May 2018.