Regional Scale Mineral Exploration Through Joint Inversion And Geology Differentiation Based On Multi-physics Geoscientific Data

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dc.contributor.advisorSun, Jiajia
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMelo, Aline Tavares
dc.contributor.committeeMemberKhan, Shuhab D.
dc.creatorKim, Jae Deok
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-02T05:18:47Z
dc.date.createdMay 2020
dc.date.issued2020-05
dc.date.submittedMay 2020
dc.date.updated2020-06-02T05:18:48Z
dc.description.abstractModern mineral exploration focuses in underexplored regions where the terrain and geological environments make the discovery of mineral ore deposits increasingly difficult. Airborne geophysics is widely used in regional scale mineral exploration because it provides rapid collection of multiple types of geoscientific data over large areas. The availability of multi-physics data is potentially useful because the complementary information contained in the multiple data sets can be integrated into a common Earth model consistent with all available data and prior information. However, quantitative integration of multi-physics and regional scale airborne geophysical data is rarely reported in literature. The goal of this research is to develop a workflow for quantitative integration of airborne gravity and magnetic data for mineral exploration. I focus on two important components of the workflow: joint inversion and geology differentiation. Joint inversion allows density and susceptibility models to constrain each other at the inversion stage, resulting in structurally similar physical property models and enhanced correlations between inverted density and susceptibility values. Geology differentiation makes use of the jointly inverted physical property values and builds a 3D quasi-geology model that shows the spatial distribution of various geological units. Prior geological information from various sources are also used when performing geology differentiation. The proposed workflow is first tested on a synthetic data set before being applied to a set of airborne gravity and magnetic data in central British Columbia. I have successfully identified multiple geological units that are consistent with airborne geophysical data and prior geological information. I have also identified potential targets for future detailed geophysical surveys in an area that lies beneath a thick glacial sedimentary cover. My work provides guidance for follow-up detailed geophysical surveys in the study area and highlights the benefits of integrated interpretation of multi-physics geoscientific data. I am confident that the proposed workflow can be easily extended to the integration of other types of geoscientific data.
dc.description.departmentEarth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/6630
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectgeophysics
dc.subjectgeology
dc.subjectmineral exploration
dc.subjectinverse theory
dc.subjectjoint inversions
dc.subjectgeology differentiation
dc.subjectintegrated imaging
dc.subjectintegrated interpretation
dc.titleRegional Scale Mineral Exploration Through Joint Inversion And Geology Differentiation Based On Multi-physics Geoscientific Data
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
local.embargo.lift2022-05-01
local.embargo.terms2022-05-01
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
thesis.degree.departmentEarth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplineGeophysics
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science

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