Summaries, discussion and future trends

Abstract

David Fountain's talk on the history of airborne EM reminds me of Stephen Jay Gould's book on development of pre-Cambrian life in the Burgess Shale, with multitude of phyla appearing and most dying out. AEM development has been similar; although there has been steady evolution and refinement of new systems, the phyla have been compressed into classes ? Deep-penetrating fixed wing, towed bird systems and more portable multiple-frequency helicopter systems. Big quantum jumps in AEM systems do not happen, rather there is slow and steady development. Magnetics is, by contrast, far more advanced. On a geological time scale, magnetics would be near-present and AEM at Palaeozoic.