Geophysics Geophysics GEOPHYSICAL METHODS CAPABILITIES The New York Water Science Center (NY WSC) makes extensive use of geophysical methods in its hydrologic investigations and research in cooperation with local, State, and Federal partners. The NY WSC staff has many years of experience in collecting and interpreting surface and borehole geophysical data, and applying the results to provide a better understanding of the subsurface environment for resource management and protection, infrastructure design, hazard mitigation, and remedial actions. The NYSWSC partners with the Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch (HRSB) to apply the latest geophysical technologies in support of groundwater studies in New York and other WSCs. The [...]
Summary
Geophysics
Geophysics
GEOPHYSICAL METHODS CAPABILITIES The New York Water Science Center (NY WSC) makes extensive use of geophysical methods in its hydrologic investigations and research in cooperation with local, State, and Federal partners. The NY WSC staff has many years of experience in collecting and interpreting surface and borehole geophysical data, and applying the results to provide a better understanding of the subsurface environment for resource management and protection, infrastructure design, hazard mitigation, and remedial actions. The NYSWSC partners with the Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch (HRSB) to apply the latest geophysical technologies in support of groundwater studies in New York and other WSCs.
The NY WSC has expertise in the application of multiple geophysical methods for a wide range of investigations:
Unconsolidated aquifer characterization
Gamma, electric, and EM induction logging for lithostratigraphic identification
Seismic refraction and reflection surveys for mapping aquifer framework
Passive-seismic soundings for mapping depth to bedrock
Soil moisture/groundwater/surface water interaction
Infrared camera surveys to delineate points of surface discharge of groundwater to streams
Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing to delineate subsurface discharge of groundwater to stream reaches
Ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography, and frequency-domain EM to characterize soil moisture
Visible and thermal imaging of focused groundwater discharge to the Salmon River, central New York
Surface-water conditions
Multi-beam echo sounder surveys to map reservoir and lake bathymetry
Ground penetrating radar surveys to map river ice thickness
Echosounder and GPS equipped boat used for bathymetric survey of Newton Reservoir, northern New Jersey
Bathymetry of the New Croton Reservoir mapped by multi-beam echosounder survey, southeastern New York
NMR Logging Capability The NY WSC has procured a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging system that is downhole digital and specifically designed for logging 4-inch diameter PVC-cased wells up to 1,000 meters in depth. NMR logging provides measurements of free and bound porosity and estimates of hydraulic conductivity in unconsolidated aquifers. The NMR system currently is being used in support of the Long Island Aquifer Sustainability project.
Innovative Log Analysis
The NY WSC worked with the Virginia-West Virginia Water Science Center (VA-WV WSC) to apply machine learning in well-log analysis. The analyzed Statewide dataset was collected by the VA-WV WSC in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and included caliper, gamma, electric, sonic, image, fluid, and flow logs from over 120 wells.
Training in Hawaii
The NY WSC supported HRSB’s borehole geophysics workshop held this past May in Honolulu, Hawaii. Students from 10 WSCs across the continental U.S. and Pacific Islands participated in the workshop that included lectures, classroom exercises and field demonstrations. As a parting gift from their hosts, the instructors received traditional Polynesian leis. The Hawaii workshop is the latest in a series of regional geophysics classes held across the US since the late 1990s.