Magnetotelluric exploration in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, Alberta

A magnetotelluric (MT) survey was carried out to test the possibility of imaging the complex geological structures in the Rocky Mountain Foothills with this geophysical method. This thesis provides a brief introduction to the geological structure of the Rocky Mountain Foothills and the magnetotelluric method. Details of the MT data acquisition, processing, modeling and interpretation are then described.; Magnetotelluric data were collected at a total of 26 stations in 2002. The Time series were processed using standard techniques with a remote magnetic reference. The Tensor decomposition technique was used to analyze the dimensionality of the MT data, and the static shifts were corrected. The frequency domain apparent resistivity and phase data were then converted into a model of electrical resistivity and depth with a two dimensional inversion algorithm.; The resistivity model shows that the Alberta Basin is characterized by low resistivity sedimentary rocks. These form the footwall of the Brazeau Thrust and extend 10 km west beneath the overthrust Paleozoic Carbonates. The geometry of the MT model agrees well with that derived from the seismic reflection data. The study shows that MT data is a useful tool for exploration in this environment.