First field trial of ergodic sampling for airborne magnetic survey

Abstract We present the results from the first field trial applying ergodic sampling for efficient airborne magnetic data acquisition. Using two independently flown airborne surveys over the same area, we demonstrated that an ergodic survey using 50% of the lines spaced in an optimized irregular pattern acquires data with comparable quality to those acquired from dense regularly spaced lines commonly used in mineral exploration. The study provided the first supporting evidence from direct surveys, instead of numerically sampling existing data sets, that modern survey design theory derived from applied mathematics and signal processing can significantly reduce the cost of airborne magnetic surveys or increase the data resolution.