SOME EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE LATERAL IN HOMOGENEITIES IN MAGNETOTELLURICS¹

The analytical solution, for the H‐polarization magnetotelluric impedance, of a series of multiple, vertical, conducting slabs (dikes) embedded in a host medium is extended to an infinite array in order to model an anisotropic layer. The solution is used to study the effects of such strongly anisotropic media on the surface impedance. At low frequencies such vertically laminated structures behave as a bulk material. It is shown that the effective bulk parameters are those expected from d.c. theory. However, practical electrode separations may not be long enough or adequately positioned to correctly obtain these bulk parameters from the measured impedance. Thus, such structures can masquerade as quite different one‐dimensional structures. A haphazard use of long electrode spacings will not necessarily produce correct results.