was the first year of China's 9th Five Year Plan. Agroup of new important scientific and technological projects for exploration geopyhsics arranged by the State and various departments concerned were successively started. On the basis of the work conducted during the 8th Five Year Plan, geophysicists made some important advances in exploration geophysical work and its science and technology. Remarkable achievements were obtained in the research, development and application of three dimensional seismic exploration and its depth migration before stack technique as well as software system. The research and development of the distributive electrical technique as well as its equipment began to form a focus. Agroup of China made surface and mine ground searching radar systems turned into commodities.

Based on geophysical literature published abroad in1996,this paper first describes briefly the new frontiers in the development of geophysical techniques.In the field of mineral exploration,new advances in prognosis and prospecting for ore deposits,exploration methods,and case histories of kimberite and talc deposits are recounted.In the field of environmental investigation,the application of electrical methods to water quality survey is reviewed,and the utilization of geophysical techniques in urban dump survey,the site investigation of abandoned collieries,and the study of environmental effects of urban artificial physical fields as well as the newly adopted methods in landslide and cavity detection are reported.In the field of regional and deep geophysical investigations,the Mineral Exploration Initiative carried out recently in some western countries,the study of large-scale electrical conductivity structure,and the compilation of Antarctic magnetic maps are outlined.In the field of new exploration methods,description is given in such aspects as new airborne EMsystem——FLAIRTEM,non contact data acquisition techniques in electrical(EM) explorations,measurements of spectral induced polarization for environmental application,new regional exploration methods for detecting hydrocarbon alteration plumes,and sea gravimeter.

With abundant examples,the present paper illustrates the role of geochemical exploration in search for oil and gas,which includes predicting oil and gas prospects in a basin,pointing out favorable zones for oil and gas enrichment,evaluating oil and gas potential in a block,delineating effective limits of an oil and gas field,and predicting and evaluating oil and gas beds with drilling.

Two typical theoretical geological models with four horizontal interfaces and rugged topography are calculated and analysed in this paper.The results further demonstrate that the application of conventional static and NMOcorrection of level datum plane to reflection multiple stacking under the condition of complex topography fails to achieve the aim of ideal multiple stacking and,what is more, gives rise to the problem of producing distortion of phase axis and character of false events. It is proved that the method of static and NMOcorrection and stacking at slip reference plane using reflection multiple stacking technique in areas with complex topography is effective, practical and operable.

Based on the principle of grey association analysis,the present paper has put forward a fairly practical and readily programmed cluster method—grey association cluster method,and employed this method to demarcate coal beds and gas beds,discriminate between coal-produced gas bed,oil bed and water bed ,and make lithostratigraphic classification.

The present paper has dealt with the effectiveness of the second round development and study of aeromagnetic data in the performance of ore prospecting work in Sanjiang region,Southwest China.Based on the theore tical analysis of magnetic anomalies over the Yulong copper deposit and the establishment of a magnetic model for the ore deposit,the authors probe into the effectiveness of applying aeromagnetic data to the prospecting for prophyry type copper deposits.Finally,quantitative analytical technique is employed to make comprehensive information ore prospecting prognosis,with aeromagnetic and remote sensing information playing the dominant role.

In measurements based on transient processes, the induction effects are often accompanied by induction-induced polarization (IIP) effects. The transient electromagnetic (TEM) responses are often distorted by IIP. The distortion is not identifiable visually, so it even more dangerous in data interpretation. This paper examines the effects and patterns of IIPand the possibility of removing IIPfrom the TEMresponses by the theoretical calculation, the modeling on a salt-bearing clay trough and the field test, and obtains significant results.

Gold mineralization is usually accompanied by wall rock alteration and in most cases controlled by faults.Geochemically,it finds expression in the existence of anomalies of some elements.In areas where certain number of orebodies have been found and general ore-controlling features recognized,one may collect composite samples scientifically(mainly within the alteration zone),analyse related indicator elements,summarize relevant geochemical indices,and establish a geochemical prognostic model in the light of anomaly characteristics of elements or linear productivity,geochemical indices or ratios of elements,and evaluation by means of stepwise regression equation.In this way,geochemical evaluation can be made for known ore deposits and peripheral anomalies.The method is called geochemical metallogenic prognosis method in the alteration zone. The method proved to be quite satisfactory in its application to the Jinlonghshan microfine disseminated gold deposit on the southern slope of Qinling Mountains.The prognosis is semi-quantitative or qualitative,the values estimated by regression analysis are approximately quantitative and,in addition,the method is effective and of low cost.

The present paper has recounted the effects of applying radiometric measurement and geochemical exploration to the investigation of fault structure in the urdan district of Shanghai.Various measurement methods such as α-card,gamma spectrometric U,Th,K,total amount(Σ)and soil mercury vapor survey were used,and composite indices were adopted to infer fault structure.The result is quite consistent with that inferred by seismic method.Being economical,rapid and effective,these methods will surely have broad prospects in future.

The present paper puts forward a new technique for stabilizing spectrum by rewriting spectral data document with computer software,which,based on gamma-ray holospectral survey and getting rid of radioactive nuclide source,can remedy the defects existent in hardware spectrum-stabilizing technique and further improve the spectrum-stabilizing technique.

This paper discusses the principle of wavelet analysis and the results of its application to exploration geophysics. It is pointed out that this technique has broad prospects.