SIGMA project objectives and working methods

Dan Boddice (University of Birmingham)

Dr Nicole Metje (University of Birmingham)

Summary of SIGMA Work Packages and Objectives

• Work Package 1: Review of Existing Geophysical Survey Technologies

• Work Package 2: Development of forward models• Work Package 3: Application of forward models• Work Package 4: Determine requirements for

inversion models• Work Package 5: Exploitation and Dissemination

Work Package 1: Review of Existing Geophysical Survey Technologies

OBJECTIVES– Identify common targets

• Why do we want to find them?• What size are they?• How deep are they?• What physical properties do they possess?• What strength of signal might we expect for different instruments?

– Assess the capability of instruments• What can we (or more importantly can’t we) see?• What are the technical and environmental limitations?

– Assessment of likely QT sensor capabilities

Work Package 1: Review of Existing Geophysical Survey Technologies

HOW?– Literature search for published examples– Technical specifications of the instruments– Operator experiences and community feedbackRESULT– Identification of the areas for improvement– Suitable input information for the remaining work

packages

Work Package 2: Development of Forward Models

OBJECTIVES– Quantification of environmental noise for gravity

measurements– Quantification of instrumental sources of noise for

existing sensor and QT sensor– Quantification of accuracy of topographic

measurements and positioning– Generation of both signals from different targets and

from different noise sources synthetically

Work Package 2: Development of Forward Models

HOW?– Readings with multiple instruments to separate noise

sources– Literature search to find models for noise sources and

instrumental accuracy

RESULT?– Detailed models of

different targets withappropriate uncertainty

Work Package 2: Development of Forward Models

Work Package 2: Development of Forward Models

Work Package 2: Development of Forward Models

Work Package 3: Application of forward models

OBJECTIVES– Use of the developed forward models and noise from

WP2 to targets identified in WP1– Detectability map made from the results of these

simulations– Field trial using a QT instrument to test these results

Work Package 3: Application of forward models

HOW?– Generate signals from the anomaly and “perfect” noise

and remove noise taking into account uncertainty and resolution of positional data

– Test these simulations over different features identified in WP1

RESULT– A detectability map of which of these features can and

can’t be detected and in which circumstances– An accurate assessment of the viability of the new sensor

for prospection

Work Package 4: Determine requirements for inversion models

OBJECTIVES– Assessment of the suitability of existing inversion

models for QT sensor dataset– Assess what additional requirements are needed to

accurately invert data in terms of additional datasets, assessments of uncertainty etc.

Work Package 4: Determine requirements for inversion models

OBJECTIVES– Assessment of the suitability of existing inversion

models for QT sensor dataset– Assess what additional requirements are needed to

accurately invert data in terms of additional datasets, assessments of uncertainty etc.

Work Package 4: Determine requirements for inversion models

RESULT– The ability to accurately invert data to determine the

size, dimensions and depth of a buried target– A robust survey methodology in terms of

requirements for collection of QT sensor data and auxiliary datasets for corrections

Work Package 5: Exploitation and Dissemination

OBJECTIVES– Development of methods to utilise these sensors in

the future– Incorporation of the findings into survey practice– Draft of academic papers

RESULT– Hard to be sure until the results start to come in