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Exploration Geophysics Exploration Geophysics Society
Journal of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetics (GREATEM) survey of Aso Volcano, Japan

Hisatoshi Ito 1 5 Hideshi Kaieda 1 Toru Mogi 2 Akira Jomori 3 Youichi Yuuki 4
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

1 Civil Engineering Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electrical Power Industry, 1646 Abiko, Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture 270-1194, Japan.

2 Institute of Seismology and Volcanology, Hokkaido University, N10W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.

3 NeoScience Co., 5-11-22, Onosato, Sennan, Osaka 590-0526, Japan.

4 Geotechnical Center, Oyo Co., 2-61-5 Toro, Saitama 331-8688, Japan.

5 Corresponding author. Email: ito_hisa@criepi.denken.or.jp

Exploration Geophysics 45(1) 43-48 https://doi.org/10.1071/EG12074
Submitted: 21 November 2012  Accepted: 23 April 2013   Published: 21 May 2013

Abstract

Grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetics (GREATEM), a type of semi-airborne electromagnetics, was used to examine Aso Volcano in south-west Japan, to verify its applicability to surveying deep subsurface resistivity structures. Comparison of the GREATEM resistivity values with those of ground-based transient electromagnetics (TEM) data, repeated GREATEM survey results at the same and different flight heights, and lithologic descriptions indicated that GREATEM can successfully identify underground structures as deep as ~800 m in rugged mountainous areas. An active volcanic region (Naka-Dake crater) was mapped as a low-resistivity zone from the surface to a depth of 100 m. This low-resistivity zone extended to the west-north-west, implying future volcanic activity in this area. Therefore, the GREATEM method is useful for surveying deep structures in large, inaccessible areas, such as volcanic provinces, in a quick, cost-effective way.

Key words: airborne electromagnetics, Aso Volcano, electrical resistivity, subsurface volcanic structure.


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