1.1 Earth as an Electronic Circuit

Figure 1.1. Geoelectromagnetic view of the Earth as a messy RLC circuit.

Electromagnetically, the Earth can be visualized as an electronic circuit, sometimes simple-sometimes very messy (Figure 1.1).

This is called the geoelectromagnetic view of the earth. Most fundamentals of geoelectromagnetics, including the electromagnetic properties of rocks, can be expressed in terms of the three ideal electromagnetic circuit elements: resistor, R; inductor, L; and capacitor, C.

The simplest arrangement of these elements is in series with a voltage source, V(t) - a so-called series RLC circuit.