Sensitivity and resolution of using magneto-telluric gradient method for detecting buried objects

The feasibility of using magneto-telluric gradient measurements at the surface of the Earth for detecting buried objects is examined. A modified quasi-static version of the finite-difference time-domain method is used to examine the sensitivity and resolution of this approach. Buried objects with varying sizes, conductivities and depths were simulated. The use of high temperature superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) for carrying out this magneto-telluric measurement is discussed.