Fracture characterization with high frequency single-hole EM survey

We present a high frequency electromagnetic (EM) inversion scheme for detecting and characterizing a fracture using single-hole data. At high frequencies, say above tens of mega-hertz, since displacement currents cannot be ignored, electrical permittivity as well as electrical conductivity is to be considered together for analyzing the EM scattering data. In this paper, we have developed a three-step inversion scheme to map the fracture and to evaluate its electrical conductivity and permittivity. We performed EM profiling along the z-axis using three-component receivers for each source. The model was excited by a vertical magnetic dipole and the resistant magnetic fields were inverted using the non-linear least-squares method. Background resistivity and permittivity were easily obtained using vertical magnetic fields below 1 MHz and above 10 MHz, respectively. Both the vertical and dipping sheets were successfully mapped using the phase difference between 40 and 41 MHz. The electrical property of the sheet was well resolved using the information obtained in the previous two steps and secondary magnetic fields. Our study shows the potential of imaging the fracture in single-hole survey environment using the high frequency EM method.