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Recent developments in instrumentation and submarine geology have spawned increasing interest in the use of electromagnetic (EM) methods for seafloor exploration. Previously, little attention had been given to their use in the marine environment, due both to the success of the seismic techniques in delineating subsurface structure and to a pervasive belief that the high electrical conductivity of seawater precluded the application of EM principles. Marine EM exploration of the solid earth has progressed substantially in academic circles over the past two decades; the adaptation of this technology for commercial purposes is only beginning.

Over three-fifths of the earth's surface is covered by oceans. Even though petroleum is produced from huge deposits on the relatively shallow continental shelf, the immense area of the ocean represents a largely unexplored and unexploited resource base. Until recently, little …