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Geoelectromagnetism

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Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definitions and scope

Geoelectromagnetism, in the broad sense, includes the application of classical electrodynamics to various interrelated regions of space (Sun, interplanetary field, magnetosphere, ionosphere, atmosphere), on and below the Earth surface (near-surface regions, crust, upper mantle [or lithosphere and asthenosphere using alternative nomenclature], lower mantle, and Earth’s core). Over the Earth surface the dominant phenomena of geoelectromagnetism are electromagnetic waves, in a wide spectrum. The electromagnetic waves do not penetrate deep into the Earth. Instead, the propagation of the electromagnetic field inside the Earth is a diffusion process.

In a narrower sense, geoelectromagnetism means the application of time variations of natural electromagnetic fields to the study of the electric resistivity distribution in the Earth’s interior, which gives indispensable information about the structure, composition, and processes of the subsurface.

The term electromagnetic...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geodetic and Geophysical Research, Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 5, Sopron, H-9401, Hungary

    Antal Ádám & László Szarka

Authors
  1. Antal Ádám
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  2. László Szarka
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Correspondence to Antal Ádám .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Geophysical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Hyderabad, India

    Harsh K. Gupta

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Ádám, A., Szarka, L. (2011). Geoelectromagnetism. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_129

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