Application of audio magnetotellurics in the study of the subsurface water-bearing properties of the Santunhe area, Xinjiang

Audio magnetotellurics (AMT) is widely used for energy and mineral explorations because of its high exploration efficiency and high vertical resolution. Using a three-dimensional (3D) inversion algorithm based on data space, this study performed 3D inversion of the AMT data collected from geothermal exploration in the Santunhe area of Xinjiang. As indicated by the inversion results, the 3D inversion avoids the influence of inhomogeneous geobodies on the survey lines in the study area and yielded very rich and intuitive 3D geoelectric anomalies. In combination with the geological data and the 3D inversion results, this study analyzed the subsurface electrical properties of the study area and the formation water-bearing properties related to geothermal reservoirs, and finally inferred several favorable areas for geothermal reservoirs from the geothermal accumulation patterns of the study area.