Noise Considerations for TEMPEST Data

The noise characteristic of an AEM system is crucial not only for designing the signal processing strategy but more importantly for interpreting the data in terms of an earth model. Ad hoc estimates of noise are often all that is available to the user of an AEM data set, leaving noise as the 'elephant in the room'. We present a rigorous approach to estimating noise from first principles . We illustrate how such estimates may be obtained from high- altitude calibration data and then be applied to processing and interpretation of TEMPEST data.