Geophysical Exploration: Identifying The Equipment & Instruments You Need

You know that seeing beneath the surface before you break ground is the best solution—you may not know how to choose the right geophysical equipment for the job. We can help.

It used to be that endless digging or drilling were the only way to see beneath the surface, but those days are long gone. Now, there’s a faster, more efficient way to scan the ground.

Types Of Geophysical Exploration

We can help you get a mapping of what’s below the ground using Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI), streaming potential/spontaneous potential (SP), and induced polarization (IP) imaging with our geophysical instruments.

Our one-stop shop can help equip you with the turnkey, cost-effective combination of tools you need for all of the exploration you’re doing now and with future uses in mind.

Benefits

• Cost effective. We’ll help you configure a system that fits the needs of your business right now.

• Parallel uses. When you’re ready to branch out, you can bring additional value to the tools you already have by offering a broad array of services within your field that requires subsurface investigation. For example, you might purchase the equipment to find sinkholes, which could be considered a geotechnical application. There are other applications—like the ASTM G57 soil test, depth to bedrock, geology mapping, and testing of grounding systems using the Fall Of Potential Method—that you can do with the equipment you already own.

• Saves time. Drastically improve the success rate of drilling and excavating. Instead of digging holes randomly, you can pick the exact location to investigate further by drilling/excavating.

• Connect the dots. Find out what is happening between boreholes in the ground.

• Easy to use. Our instruments and geophysical software are simple to use—plus, we offer free training and unparalleled free customer service that can help you with your questions when you most need them...on the job.

• Reduces your risk. Don’t build on unstable ground or create a vulnerability by drilling before you know what’s going on beneath the surface. ERI prevents this by helping you understand what’s going on before you dig or drill.

• Modular. The system can be expanded for more capability and speed to suit a large array of applications.

A Real-Life Use Case

Scanning For Leaks In The Amistad Dam

Engineers surmised correctly that holes existed in the subsurface grout curtain after observing that the reservoir was emptying. At one point, the leakage was so bad there was no water in the reservoir—you could walk on the dry bottom.

Before contacting us, engineers had poured large amounts of concrete grout into known cavities where they could see water leaking out, but the dam was still not holding water.

We were invited to the dam to perform a field demonstration at a location on the reservoir side of the dam. Unknown to us was that they already knew there was a subsurface leak beneath the dam near that location—they wanted to see if we could locate the leak, and we did so successfully.

Our field demonstration used resistivity imaging and our geophysical instruments to find the leaks, and subsequently, they bought two systems.

Based on the survey and the data our instruments were able to provide, the anomalies were drilled and grouted. Today, the dam/reservoir serves as a hydroelectric generating dam, a recreational body of water, and a point of cooperation between Texas and Mexico.

Other Uses

AGI resistivity, SP, and IP imaging systems are ideal, turnkey solutions for geophysical exploration, including the following situations:

 

• Subsurface site characterization—2D, 3D and 4D imaging (time-lapse imaging; looking at changes over time) and ERT.

• Cave, void, and sinkhole location.

• Depth-to-bedrock determination.

• Ground water exploration.

• Soil test for cathodic protection design.

• Soil test for electrical grounding systems.

• Soil test for expansive clays.

• ASTM G57 soil test.

• Landslide hazard mapping.

• Marine 2D and 3D surveys.

• Lithology mapping.

• Mineral exploration.

• Archaeological site investigation.

• Detection of free products of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs).

• Monitoring remediation processes such as ammonia injection, desiccation, vitrification, steam injection, pumping, and air-sparging.

• Monitoring subsurface processes such as pump tests, CO2 injection, groundwater recharge, infiltration, saltwater intrusion, tunneling, dam leakage, and mining operations.