Application of Time Domain Electromagnetic Method for Exploration of Submarine Hydrothermal Deposits Using the GEMTIP Model

This paper presents the results of application of time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) method for exploration of submarine hydrothermal deposits using the generalized effective-medium relaxation model of the IP effect (GEMTIP). The TDEM data were acquired by specially developed marine TDEM data acquisition system. It is known that the hydrothermal deposits consist of massive sulfides and can produce a strong induced polarization (IP) effect, In order to take this effect, into account in interpretation of the observed data, we assume that the resistivity is frequency dependent and can be characterized by the GEMTIP relaxation model. The inversion is conducted for all parameters of the GEMTIP model, including the chargeability, time constant, and the relaxation parameter. The high chargeability anomaly determined by the inversion coincides with the known submarine hydrothermal deposit. Further, there are other hydrothermal deposits anticipated from the results of the GEMTIP inversion.