Geology topics

Gary D. Egbert

Publications and source records attributed to Gary D. Egbert.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

The United States Magnetotelluric Array and the National Impedance Map

The United States Magnetotelluric Array (USMTArray) data set, collected in the years 2006–2024, consists of more than 1,700 long-period magnetotelluric stations covering the entirety of the contiguous United States on a quasi-regular 70 km grid. Funding across multiple federal agencies was critical to sustaining this effort to its completion. Important components of the project included active guidance and participation from the MT community, the open and timely availability of all data, and the application of consistent instrumentation and robust data processing. Together with parallel advancement in the development of publicly available three-dimensional (3D) inversion codes, the USMTArray has revitalized the US magnetotelluric community and increased the visibility of magnetotellurics within the Earth-science community. Taken as a whole, these data are visualized as the National Impedance Map, which, together with a 3D synthesis conductivity model of the nation, reveals the electrical architecture of the contiguous US. USMTArray data are used by researchers worldwide for fundamental and applied studies, including investigations of continental architecture and evolution, estimation of hazards to critical infrastructure due to geomagnetic storms, and assessment of the nation's undiscovered geothermal and mineral resources. We here review the history and development of the project, discuss the challenges and successes in its execution, present the National Impedance Map and synthesis conductivity model, and highlight the breadth of research stemming from this rich data set.

conterminous United States↗

USGS2024

Hybrid CPU-GPU solution to regularized divergence-free curl-curl equations for electromagnetic inversion problems

The Curl-Curl equation is the foundation of time-harmonic electromagnetic (EM) problems in geophysics. The efficiency of its solution is key to EM simulations, accounting for over 95% of the computation cost in geophysical inversions for magnetotelluric or controlled-source EM problems. However, most published EM inversion codes are still central processing unit (CPU)-based and cannot utilize recent computational developments on the graphic processing units (GPUs). Based on a previously proposed divergence-free algorithm developed on CPUs, this study demonstrates the current limits of the CPU-based inversion procedure. To exploit the high throughput capability of GPUs, we propose a hybrid CPU-GPU framework to solve forward and adjoint problems required for EM inversions. The large sparse linear systems arising from the staggered-grid finite difference approximation of the Curl-Curl equation are solved with a mixed-precision Krylov subspace solver implemented on a GPU. The algorithm is then tested in EM forward and adjoint calculations, with real-world three-dimensional numerical examples. Test results show promising 30× kernel-level speed-ups over the conventional CPU algorithm. This approach may further take the complex frequency domain EM inversions onto the next, practical stage on small affordable GPU platforms.

Computers and Geosciences↗

USGS2024

Aurora: An open-source Python implementation of the EMTF package for magnetotelluric data processing using MTH5 and mt-metadata

The Aurora software package robustly estimates single station and remote reference electromagnetic transfer functions (TFs) from magnetotelluric (MT) time series. Aurora is part of an open-source processing workflow that leverages the self-describing data container MTH5, which in turn leverages the general mt-metadata framework to manage metadata. These pre-existing packages simplify the processing by providing managed data structures, allowing for transfer functions to be generated with only a few lines of code. The processing depends on two inputs -- a table defining the data to use for TF estimation, and a JSON file specifying the processing parameters, both of which are generated automatically, and can be modified if desired. Output TFs are returned as mt_metadata objects, and can be exported to a variety of common formats for plotting, modeling and inversion.

Journal of Open Source Software↗

USGS2022

Fluid transport and storage in the Cascadia forearc influenced by overriding plate lithology

Subduction of hydrated oceanic lithosphere can carry water deep into the Earth, with consequences for a range of tectonic and magmatic processes. Most of the fluid is released in the forearc where it plays a critical role in controlling the mechanical properties and seismic behaviour of the subduction megathrust. Here we present results from three-dimensional inversions of data from nearly 400 long-period magnetotelluric sites, including 64 offshore, to provide insights into the distribution of fluids in the forearc of the Cascadia subduction zone. We constrain the geometry of the electrically resistive Siletz terrane, a thickened section of oceanic crust accreted to North America in the Eocene, and the conductive accretionary complex underthrust along the margin. We find that fluids accumulate over timescales exceeding 1 My above the plate in metasedimentary units, while the mafic rocks of Siletzia remain dry. Fluid concentrations tend to peak at slab depths of 17.5 and 30 km, suggesting control by metamorphic processes, but also concentrate around the edges of Siletzia, suggesting that this mafic block is impermeable, with dehydration fluids escaping up-dip along the megathrust. Our results demonstrate that the lithology of the overriding crust can play a critical role in controlling fluid transport in a subduction zone.

British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2021

Electrical conductivity of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system

Electromagnetic geophysical methods image the electrical conductivity of the subsurface. Electrical conductivity is an intrinsic material property that is sensitive to temperature, composition, porosity, volatile and/or melt content, and other physical properties relevant to the solid Earth. Therefore, imaging the electrical structure of the crust and mantle yields valuable information on the physical and chemical state of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system. Here we explore the viability of the passive magnetotelluric (MT) method for constraining upper mantle properties. We approach this problem in four successive steps: 1) review the electrical conductivity behavior of relevant materials; 2) predict the bulk electrical conductivity structure of oceanic and continental lithosphere for a suite of representative physical states; 3) generate synthetic MT data from the conductivity predictions; 4) compare and discuss the conductivity predictions and the synthetic data with select case studies from oceanic and continental settings. Our aim is to clarify the uncertainties associated with drawing inferences from electrical conductivity observations and ultimately to provide a basis for assigning confidence levels to interpretations.

Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors↗

USGS2017

Methodology for time-domain estimation of storm time geoelectric fields using the 3-D magnetotelluric response tensors

Geoelectric fields at the Earth's surface caused by magnetic storms constitute a hazard to the operation of electric power grids and related infrastructure. The ability to estimate these geoelectric fields in close to real time and provide local predictions would better equip the industry to mitigate negative impacts on their operations. Here we report progress toward this goal: development of robust algorithms that convolve a magnetic storm time series with a frequency domain impedance for a realistic three-dimensional (3-D) Earth, to estimate the local, storm time geoelectric field. Both frequency domain and time domain approaches are presented and validated against storm time geoelectric field data measured in Japan. The methods are then compared in the context of a real-time application.

Space Weather↗

USGS2017

Some results from ModEM3DMT, the freely available OSU 3D MT inversion code

At the 3DEM-5 workshop in 2013, we presented a paper entitled "ModEM: developing 3D EM inversion for the masses", outlining our then recent development of a modular system for inversion of EM geophysical data, called ModEM. As promised in that presentation, we made a version of the code that is suitable for 3D modeling and inversion of magnetotelluric data freely available for academic use shortly thereafter. There are now over 250 registered users, of ModEM3DMT from around the globe. To date at least 50 publications cite use of ModEM for 3D inversion of real MT datasets to address diverse problems in applied and basic Earth Science research at a range of scales. Here we present an overview of some of these results, focusing on studies that the authors have been involved in, and are thus most familiar to us.

Conference Paper↗