Generalized thin sheet analysis in magnetotellurics: an extension of Price's analysis

Abstract

Price's thin sheet analysis for electromagnetic fields has been extended in order to model the effects of crustal resistivity and conductivity variations on magnetotelluric fields. These extensions allow for a general layered medium below the crust and also account for the vertical resistance of the crust as well as its horizontal conductance. An important parameter emerges from the analysis which determines the distance it takes for the crustal current levels to readjust to changes in the crustal conductance. This adjustment distance is given by the square root of the conductivity thickness product multiplied by the resistivity thickness product. Approximate analytical solutions were developed for two-dimensional geometries in order to demonstrate these effects as well as the modifications produced by finite source wavelengths.