GENERAL GEOLOGY >Seismic tomography is a technique for imaging the
PROSPECTING subsurface of the Earth with seismic waves produced by
The satisfactory design and construction of an
engineering structure can be accomplished only when
the character of the soil or rock, on which or within
which it is to be built, is known. For this knowledge to
be obtained the ground must be carefully studied by
investigations conducted in-situ. Engineering structures
such as roads, dams, buildings, tunnels and other
underground works, are normally constructed
according to the requirements of a specific design and
from selected construction materials: by observing
these requirements the strength of the completed
structures is known and their response to load and
displacement maybe predicted. To obtain comparable
information about the soil and rock against which the
structure will react it is necessary to understand the
geological processes which formed the soils and rocks,
this being the only way to reveal their 'design', and the
nature of the materials of which they are composed.
Prospecting is the first stage of the geological
analysis of a territory which, literally mean to look out
for; search for.
There are many methods and types of instruments used
in geophysical surveys. Technologies used for
geophysical surveys include:
 Seismic methods, such as reflection seismology,
seismic refraction, and seismic tomography.
 Seismoelectrical method
 Geodesy and gravity techniques, including
gravimetry and gravity gradiometry.
 Magnetic techniques, including aeromagnetic
surveys and magnetometers.
 Electrical techniques, including electrical
resistivity tomography, induced polarization,
spontaneous potential and marine control source
electromagnetic (mCSEM) or EM seabed logging.
 Electromagnetic methods, such as
magnetotellurics, ground penetrating radar and
transient/time-domain electromagnetics, surface
nuclear magnetic resonance (also known as
magnetic resonance sounding).
 Borehole geophysics, also called well logging.
 Remote sensing techniques, including
hyperspectral.
>Reflection seismology is a method of exploration
geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to
estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from
reflected seismic waves.
*The seismic testing is carried out by a
specially configured truck (called a vibroseis truck) that
lowers a plate onto the surface. This plate generates an
acoustic sound signal that is transmitted into the earth's
surface which then reflects off the various geological
layers.
earthquakes or explosions.
>Seismic refraction is a geophysical principle governed
by Snell's Law. Used in the fields of engineering geology,
geotechnical engineering and exploration geophysics,
seismic refraction traverses are performed using a
seismograph(s) and/or geophone(s), in an array and an
energy source. The seismic refraction method utilizes
the refraction of seismic waves on geologic layers and
rock/soil units in order to characterize the subsurface
geologic conditions and geologic structure.
>The seismoelectrical method (which is different from
the electroseismic physical principle) is based on the
generation of electromagnetic fields in soils and rocks
by seismic waves. This technique is still under
development and in the future it may have applications
like detecting and characterizing fluids in the
underground by their electrical properties, among
others, usually related to fluids (porosity, transmissivity,
physical properties).
>Physical geodesy is the study of the physical
properties of the gravity field of the Earth, the
geopotential, with a view to their application in
geodesy.
>Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a
gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either
the magnitude of gravitational field or the properties of
matter responsible for its creation are of interest.
>Gravity gradiometry is the study and measurement of
variations in the acceleration due to gravity. The gravity
gradient is the spatial rate of change of gravitational
acceleration.
Magnetism is a class of physical phenomena that are
mediated by magnetic fields. Electric currents and the
magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a
magnetic field, which acts on other currents and
magnetic moments.
>An aeromagnetic survey is a common type of
geophysical survey carried out using a magnetometer
aboard or towed behind an aircraft. The principle is
similar to a magnetic survey carried out with a hand-
held magnetometer, but allows much larger areas of the
Earth's surface to be covered quickly for regional
reconnaissance. The aircraft typically flies in a grid-like
pattern with height and line spacing determining the
resolution of the data.
>A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetism
—the direction, strength, or relative change of a
magnetic field at a particular location. The
measurement of the magnetization of a magnetic
material is an example. A compass is one such device,
one that measures the direction of an ambient magnetic
field, in this case, the Earth's magnetic field. Well logging, also known as borehole logging is the
practice of making a detailed record (a well log) of the
>Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) or electrical geologic formations penetrated by a borehole. The log
resistivity imaging (ERI) is a geophysical technique for may be based either on visual inspection of samples
imaging sub-surface structures from electrical brought to the surface (geological logs) or on physical
resistivity measurements made at the surface, or by measurements made by instruments lowered into the
electrodes in one or more boreholes. If the electrodes hole (geophysical logs). Some types of geophysical well
are suspended in the boreholes, deeper sections can be logs can be done during any phase of a well's history:
investigated. A related geophysical method, induced drilling, completing, producing, or abandoning. Well
polarization, measures the transient response and aims logging is performed in boreholes drilled for the oil and
to determine the subsurface chargeability properties. gas, groundwater, mineral and geothermal exploration,
>Induced polarization (IP) is a geophysical imaging as well as part of environmental and geotechnical
technique used to identify the electrical chargeability of studies.
subsurface materials, such as ore.
>Spontaneous potential (SP), also called self potential, Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about
is a naturally occurring electric potential difference in an object or phenomenon without making physical
the Earth, measured by an electrode relative to a fixed contact with the object and thus in contrast to on-site
reference electrode. Spontaneous potentials are often observation, especially the Earth. Remote sensing is
measured down boreholes for formation evaluation in used in numerous fields, including geography, land
the oil and gas industry, and they can also be measured surveying and most Earth science disciplines ; it also
along the Earth's surface for mineral exploration or has military, intelligence, commercial, economic,
groundwater investigation. The phenomenon and its planning, and humanitarian applications.
application to geology was first recognized by Conrad >Hyperspectral imaging, like other spectral imaging,
Schlumberger, Marcel Schlumberger, and E.G. collects and processes information from across the
Leonardon in 1931, and the first published examples electromagnetic spectrum. The goal of hyperspectral
were from Romanian oil fields. imaging is to obtain the spectrum for each pixel in the
image of a scene, with the purpose of finding objects,
Electromagnetism is a branch of physics involving the identifying materials, or detecting processes. There are
study of the electromagnetic force, a type of physical three general branches of spectral imagers. There are
interaction that occurs between electrically charged push broom scanners and the related whisk broom
particles. scanners, which read images over time, band sequential
>Magnetotellurics (MT) is an electromagnetic scanners, which acquire images of an area at different
geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface wavelengths, and snapshot hyperspectral imaging,
electrical conductivity from measurements of natural which uses a staring array to generate an image in an
geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the instant.
Earth's surface.
>Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical
method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface.
This nondestructive method uses electromagnetic
radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum,
and detects the reflected signals from subsurface
structures.
>Transient electromagnetics, is a geophysical
exploration technique in which electric and magnetic
fields are induced by transient pulses of electric current
and the subsequent decay response measured.
>Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (SNMR), also
known as magnetic resonance Sounding (MRS), is a
geophysical technique specially designed for
hydrogeology. It is based on the principle of nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) and measurements can be
used to indirectly estimate the water content of
saturated and unsaturated zones in the earth's
subsurface. SNMR is used to estimate aquifer
properties, including the quantity of water contained in
the aquifer, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity.
 GENERAL GEOLOGY
GROUND WATER
WHAT IS GROUNDWATER?
Groundwater is used for drinking water by
more than 50 percent of the people in the United States,
including almost everyone who lives in rural areas. The
largest use for groundwater is to irrigate crops.

Groundwater supplies are replenished,

The area where water fills the aquifer is called
the saturated zone (or saturation zone). The top of this
zone is called the water table. The water table may be
located only a foot below the ground’s surface or it can
sit hundreds of feet down.
or recharged, by rain and snow melt that seeps down
into the cracks and crevices beneath the land's surface.
In some areas of the world, people face serious water
shortages because groundwater is used faster than it is
naturally replenished. In other areas groundwater is
polluted by human activities.
Water in aquifers is brought to the surface
naturally through a spring or can be discharged into
lakes and streams. Groundwater can also be extracted
through a well drilled into the aquifer. A well is a pipe in
the ground that fills with groundwater. This water can
be brought to the surface by a pump. Shallow wells may
go dry if the water table falls below the bottom of the
well. Some wells, called artesian wells, do not need a
pump because of natural pressures that force the water
up and out of the well.
In areas where material above the aquifer is
permeable, pollutants can readily sink into
groundwater supplies. Groundwater can be polluted by
landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks, and
from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. If
groundwater becomes polluted, it will no longer be safe
to drink.

Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand,

sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone. Water can
move through these materials because they have large
connected spaces that make them permeable. The
speed at which groundwater flows depends on the size
of the spaces in the soil or rock and how well the spaces
are connected.
Groundwater can be found almost everywhere.
The water table may be deep or shallow; and may rise
or fall depending on many factors. Heavy rains or
melting snow may cause the water table to rise, or
heavy pumping of groundwater supplies may cause the
water table to fall.