Geophysical imaging is a technique that is used to survey the topographical aspects of a subsurface. It comes in handy when people are considering building a house in a certain location or doing any sort of work that requires excavation and digging. There are a variety of types of imaging systems that people can use to survey the areas that they need to survey, one of which is the SuperSting, which is manufactured by AGI Geosciences, Inc.
A tool such as this can help prevent major problems from occurring. For instance, when getting ready to drill for natural resources like oil or gas, it is ideal to utilize a geophysical device to ensure that drillers don’t drill in spots that could cause economic risks. Geophysical techniques allow surveyors to obtain information about the subsurface where gaining sampling is difficult and cannot be obtained otherwise.
A tool like the SuperSting uses a series of transmitters to determine the resistivity of the subsurface. Then, it can produce a map of the area’s geophysical attributes, such as the electrical conductivity, density and seismic activity. Such tools can also conduct induced polarization and self potential surveys on the land, underground, in water and in boreholes.
Some of the practical applications of such tools include the following:
- Mineral exploration
- Addressing dam leakage
- Conducting cathodic and corrosion protection surveys
- Groundwater exploration
- Detecting cavaties and sinkholes
- Conducting bedrock mapping
- Mining
- Conducting pre-tunneling surveys
- Locating problem areas in mines
- Construction site investigations
- Mapping of pollution plumes
- Sand and gravel exploration
- Site investigation for horizontal drilling
- Archeological studies
Nowadays, some imaging survey systems even come with more advanced features, such as Wi-Fi and mobile manager apps to make collecting the data gained from the systems even easier. Mobile manager apps, for instance, allow users to instantly send the data that they gain from their systems to their processing centers or offices by simply tapping their smartphone screens. They also allow them to conduct their surveys from a comfortable location up to a hundred meters from the location of the imaging system. Such apps can also be used on tablets or other wireless connectivity devices. Users can even upload and download command files to their imaging systems remotely with such apps.
Regardless of the project users are undertaking, a geophysical system is an ideal tool to have to conduct any surveys before any work is done. Not only are such systems advantageous to have, they can also prevent major economic repercussions from occurring.