Advanced Airborne Geophysics for Engineering Solutions: Fid-Bau Portal

Advanced Airborne Geophysics for Engineering Solutions

Brown, Bill

The application of airborne geophysics to provide solutions for engineering problems has increased in recent years. Today's systems are capable of making accurate, high resolution, precisely positioned measurements that give scientists and engineers a better understanding of the geology, hydrology, and natural and manmade hazards. Helicopter geophysical surveys undertaken include: 1 Identifying fractures, faults, near surface bedrock and other geological features. 2 Mapping foundations of earthen structures. 3 Location of aggregate deposits. 4 Detection of pipelines, power lines, contamination and other man-made buried metallic objects. 5 Estimating soil type and depth for pipeline planning, Airborne geophysical surveys are an effective means of reducing the time and cost associated with gaining land access and permission for drilling. Integrated with ground-based measurements and a drilling program, airborne EM conductivity results provide a more complete understanding of ground characteristics. Airborne survey systems provide a multi-sensor platform from which various types of data can be collected concurrently. Multiple-frequency electromagnetic data provide multiple-depth samples, which render a 3-dimensional conductivity image of the ground conditions. Systems can also be equipped with magnetometers, a video camera, laser altimeters and dual-frequency GPS. Various types of data presentations and final products are available such as 2D and 3D images.