The magnetotelluric response over a 3D polarizable structure

This paper analyses the 3D magnetotelluric (MT) response in the presence of resistivity frequency dispersion. The aim is to give further insight into this topic, already approached in previous papers dedicated to 1D and 2D cases. We show the MT diagrams along three parallel profiles, normal to the longitudinal axis of a dispersive conductive prism of finite horizontal and vertical extent, buried in a non-dispersive resistive half-space. The Cole–Cole dispersion law has been assumed to represent the dispersion features of the prism. The MT responses along the same profiles in the complete absence of dispersion effects are also provided for reference. The results confirm that the TE mode, as in the 2D case, is mostly affected by dispersion. Compared with the non-dispersive responses, a notable increase in the amplitude of the anomaly is observed along the profile passing through the center of the prism, while an increase in its width is the effect along the profile above the edge of the prism. As a field example, the MT profile in the eastern Snake River Plain geothermal area is considered. The profile was already dealt with in a previous paper by a 2D dispersive MT modeling approach, by which a dispersive slab of infinite length in the direction normal to the MT profile, immersed in a 1D layered host, was modeled. A finite length of the dispersive conductive slab is now derived, validated by the increased goodness of fit between the field TM and TE pseudosections and the synthetic ones from the 3D model compared with the misfit previously obtained by the 2D approach. Finally, an explanation of the chargeability and main values of the time constant assumed to fit the field data is attempted in terms of the abundance of hydrothermal alteration products and temperature, respectively, inside the dispersive slab.