Project

Back to overview

Surface Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Equipment: Groundwater Exploration

English title Surface Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Equipment: Groundwater Exploration
Applicant Green Alan G.
Number 113021
Funding scheme R'EQUIP
Research institution Institut für Geophysik ETH Zürich
Institution of higher education ETH Zurich - ETHZ
Main discipline Geophysics
Start/End 01.07.2006 - 30.06.2007
Approved amount 75'000.00
Show all

Keywords (7)

nuclear magnetic resonance surveying; hydogeophysics; direct mapping of groundwater; hydrology; hydrogeology; hydrogeophysics; surface nuclear magnetic resonance

Lay Summary (English)

Lead
Lay summary
For nearly a century, applied earth scientists and civil engineers have been seeking a non-intrusive means to locate and quantify occurrences of water in the upper few hundred meters of the subsurface. Although a broad range of geophysical techniques provide much useful information related to groundwater occurrence and flow, until recently there has been no reliable method for directly mapping the location and amount of water. A rapidly developing method that has the potential to provide this information (and possibly also flow-related parameters) in a wide variety of environments is the surface nuclear magnetic resonance technique.

With the SNF equipment grant, supplemented by matching funds provided by ETH and the University of Lausanne, we have purchased a state-of-the-art NUMIS surface nuclear magnetic resonance system. The new equipment will be applied to (i) the Kappelen Test Site in western Switzerland, (a joint project between ETH, University of Lausanne and possibly University of Neuchâtel); (ii) the Baltenswil Test Site; (iii) diverse hydrogeophysical and related problems that involve water as the key environmental agent, such as geothermal reservoir characterisation and contaminant detection (a joint project between University of Lausanne and ETH); (iv) attempts to relate geophysical measurements to certain low-temperature geochemical processes (a joint project between University of Lausanne and ETH); (v) on-land regions of the Okavango Delta (a joint project involving ETH groups and the Government of Botswana); (vi) mapping water in structures characterised by very low electrical conductivity contrasts, in particular Karst systems in southern France and rock glaciers in eastern Switzerland (a joint project between ETH and BGRM, Orleans, France).
Direct link to Lay Summary Last update: 21.02.2013

Responsible applicant and co-applicants

Associated projects

Number Title Start Funding scheme
109052 Three-Dimensional Geophysical Mapping: Providing New Constraints for Understanding Hydrogeological and Geological Processes 01.10.2005 Project funding

-