A novel geophysical electric field sensor design and testing

One of the Earth's natural physical fields is the geoelectric field. The conductivity of subterranean medium and the locations of pollution sources, among other things, may be examined by tracking variations in the geoelectric field signal over time. The success rate of resource exploration and the accuracy of geological structure inversion are closely correlated with signal quality. Conventional geoelectric field measurement techniques use electrochemical non-polarizing electrodes to detect the potential difference between two electrodes that are far apart in order to acquire the geoelectric field signal. The potential difference value that exists between the electrodes for their own causes is called the "range difference."  Environmental conditions will influence the electrodes' range difference, and the range difference variation amplitude will be greater than the amplitude of the actual geoelectric field signal. Non-polarizing electrodes must be buried deep below during the actual measuring procedure, and electrolyte solutions must be poured to lower the grounding impedance. The electrolyte solution is prone to evaporation or loss in unique environments like deserts and the Gobi, which might result in an abrupt rise in the grounding impedance of the non-polarizing electrodes. This will impact the precision of the geoelectric field signal measurement findings.

This design, which is based on the charge induction principle, aims to create a new kind of electric field sensor that can continuously measure the geoelectric field signal without range differences and does not require the electrodes to be buried. The viability of this sensor is confirmed using physical models and circuit simulations, as well as by contrasting the geoelectric field signal measurement findings of the physical product with those of solid non-polarizing electrodes.