An overview of sensing platform-technological aspects for vector magnetic measurement: A case study of the application in different scenarios

Magnetic sensing platform techniques have been used in many years in an attempt to better evaluate the likelihood of recoverable hydrocarbon reservoirs by determining the depth and pattern of sedimentary rock formations containing magnetic minerals, such as magnetite. Utilizing airplanes, large-area magnetic surveys have been conducted to estimate, for example, the depth of igneous rock and the thickness of sedimentary rock formations. In this case, the vector magnetic survey method can simultaneously obtain the modulus and direction information of the Earth’s magnetic field, which can effectively reduce the multiplicity on data inversion, contribute to the quantitative interpretation of the magnetic body and obtain more precise information and characteristics of magnetic field resource, so as to improve the detection resolution and positioning accuracy of the underground target body. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of the application situations, the technical features, and the development of the vector magnetic sensing platform-technical aspects for different application scenarios, i.e., ground, wells, marine, airborne, and satellites, respectively. The potential of multi-survey sensing platform technique fusion for magnetic field detection is also discussed.