The studying of magnetic anomalies due to shallow underground targets and the environmental applications

Abstract

The magnetic method of investigation is a well-known and dependable technique for detecting underground ferro-materials. However, the application of the magnetic method to identify the exact position of underground targets such as buried explosive devices (BED), illegally buried waste (IBW), metallic storage tanks, utility pipes, and communication cables is quite challenging in both civil and environmental engineering. This article presents the results of the investigation performed at a 55 m by 55 m area within the Ahmadu Bello University Geophysical Test Site (ABUGTS) to study the signals generated by various buried targets to simulate similar situations encountered in environmental engineering. The total magnetic intensity (TMI) of the site without buried targets was obtained to identify the possible existing underground materials or faults that could generate false geophysical data. The magnetic susceptibility of the buried targets was determined in the laboratory before the burial to validate the field results. The influence of the buried materials over the magnetic signature of the site was examined, showing the TMI values vary between 34966 nT and 44510 nT before burial and 351607 nT to 49795 nT after burial. The Euler deconvolution (ED) and residual maps alongside the signal enhancement maps like analytical signal and first vertical derivative (FVD) were employed to study the magnetic anomalies due to buried targets. The results of the data interpretation confirmed the existence of cluster anomaly source bodies due to buried targets. The ED delineates the depth of the buried targets varying between 0.7 m – 3.3 m corresponding with the actual depth of burial. The analytical signal map produced a perfect behaviour of the magnetic anomalies to buried targets, capturing all the buried targets buried at the site. However, the shape of the anomaly signal is almost independent of the buried target orientation with a spherical pattern of anomalies. However, the exact size and shape of the buried targets were not achieved. Nevertheless, the FVD and analytical signal maps perform better than the residual and TMI maps due to the substantially smaller magnetic anomalies of the buried targets similar to expected. In addition, stronger magnetic anomaly signals occur maximally around buried larger ferro-materials with precise prediction of the buried target position. The magnetic method is a very powerful, convenient, cheap, and time-saving geophysical tool for investigating underground targets, which is highly applicable in engineering and environmental contexts.