Motivation for airborne oil sands exploration
- Relatively shallow geology (~500 m)
- Pattern drilling is extremely expensive
- Land seismic is also expensive
- Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) methods are ideal:
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- Sensitive to resistivity contrasts of the main geological formations and hazards
- Minimal environmental invasion
- Large areas can be acquired rapidly for low cost (relative to seismic or drilling)
AeroTEM survey was carried out in the Fort McMurray region of Alberta, Canada
![](https://djzd62.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/OilSands1.jpg?time=1722044428)
3D inversion/imaging of AEM data: Glass Earth® (resistivity) model
![](https://djzd62.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/OilSands2.jpg?time=1722044428)
Vertical cross sections of Glass Earth® model
![](https://djzd62.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/OilSands3.jpg?time=1722044428)
Perspective view of Glass Earth® subsurface model
![](https://djzd62.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/OilSands4.jpg?time=1722044428)