Computer simulation of low-frequency electromagnetic data acquisition

Computer simulation of low frequency electromagnetic digital data acquisition in the presence of natural field noise demonstrates several important limitations and considerations. Without the use of a remote reference noise removal scheme it is difficult to obtain an adequate ratio of signal to noise below 0.1 Hz for frequency domain processing and below 0.3 Hz base frequency for time domain processing for a typical source-receiver configuration. A digital high-pass filter substantially facilitates rejection of natural field noise above these frequencies but, at lower frequencies where much longer stacking times are required, it becomes ineffective. Use of a remote reference to subtract natural field noise extends these low-frequency limits a decade, but this technique is limited by the resolution and dynamic range of the instrumentation. Gathering data in short segments so that natural field drift can be offset for each segment allows a higher gain setting to minimize dynamic range problems.