Errors-in-variables problems in transient electromagnetic mineral exploration

This paper is motivated by a real estimation problem arising in transient electromagnetic mineral exploration. A specific sub-problem of interest in this area is that of finding the transfer function linking two antennae without utilising the primary excitation. Natural excitation is provided by near- field and far-field lightning strikes ('sferics'). This estimation problem is surprisingly difficult due to its intrinsic errors-in- variables nature. This paper proposes a combined time- and frequency-domain method to address the difficulty and obtain model estimates that are shown to be of practical use for sferics noise cancellation.