Analysis and interpretation of airborne electromagnetic and magnetic data

In this research, I focused on processing and modeling of TDEM and aeromagnetic data acquired during the same survey, with the aim of exploring the possibilities for a joint interpretation of these different datasets. My research involved both methodological advances and applications to real dataset. In particular, I will show two case studies, both located in Canada. The first one, is related to Broken Evil prospect in Ontario. This region hosts some of the richest mineral deposits of Canada (especially volcanic massive sulfide deposits). The second one is related to Drybones bay in Northwest Territories, where in 1994 a completely underwater kimberlite structure was discovered. The interpretative results of the TDEM and magnetic data reveal that the sensitivity of the two methods may differ with respect to the investigated geological structures. This would imply a certain difficulty in setting up a true joint inversion algorithm to interpret these two data types simultaneously that would be valid in all the studied cases. However, results show how with different resolution and depth of investigation, in the studied areas the cooperation of the TDEM and aeromagnetic data can lead to a better understand of the structures at depth.