Distortion effects caused by target abnormal bodies in CSAMT exploration

In CSAMT exploration, the using of the artificial sources not only improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the data, but also brings a series of distortion effects, such as shadow and source overprint effects. This paper attempts to introduce a distortion effect caused by the target in the survey area. Although it is often ignored, it always plagues the data interpretation. In CSAMT method, the primary current has determined direction due to the source. When the primary current encounters electrical interfaces, the induced charge will accumulate on it and generate local current, causing local distortion. The anomaly body stretches in the direction of the vertical primary current, and a false anomaly with opposite polarity appears on both sides of the target. If the direction of the primary current is different, the accumulation position of the induced charge is also different, which will result in different shapes of the anomalies in observed data. This paper confirms the existence of the distortion by taking four simple models as examples and explains it from the physical mechanism. On this basis, the paper summarizes the relationship between inversion and distortion. If our code can simulate the distortion effect in the forward, we do not need to remove it before the inversion. Otherwise, it must be removed.