NEW TECHNOLOGY OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SUBSURFACE SOUNDING BY A CONTROLLED IONOSPHERIC SOURCE OF LOW-FREQUENCY RADIO WAVES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25635/2313-1586.2026.01.066Keywords:
ionosphere, geological exploration, oil, gas, ore, electromagnetic sounding, low-frequency radio waves, gyro-frequency, mobile installationAbstract
A new technology of electromagnetic probing of the subsurface has been developed, based on the effect of generation of low-frequency electromagnetic waves by ionospheric currents under the influence of modulated radio emission of a ground transmitter on the ionosphere. A device for forming an ionospheric source is proposed, the basic module of which consists of two medium-wave transmitters tuned to the frequency of electron gyro resonance in the ionosphere at an altitude of about 80-90 km and the corresponding latitude at which the device is to be used. Each transmitter is loaded onto its own vertical dipole antenna. The distance between the antennas is a quarter of the wavelength at the operating frequency. The use of gyro frequency and vertical dipoles allows forming an ionospheric source extended for several hundred kilometers. The device, composed of two basic modules, contains four dipoles located at the corners of a square with a side equal to a quarter of the length of a medium-frequency wave. This configuration of the antenna system allows to increase the power of the microwave radiation due to two additional amplifiers and to increase the gain of the antenna system due to two additional emitters, which provides the ability to control the sector of microwave radiation by the cardinal directions.
Theoretical calculations and our experiments with gyro-frequency installations show that with the power of the proposed device of 100 kW (two amplifiers of 50 kW or 4 of 25 kW), the diameter of the area in which geological exploration is supposed to be carried out can reach up to 1000 km in middle latitudes. In high latitudes, the size of such an area can be 2-3 times larger due to the presence of intense current jets dependent on magnetic activity.
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