We are getting ready to drill a water well in an unfounded area. The question comes in "where do we drill?" Obviously the driller will have no idea. The ways of witchcraft don't appeal to me as a a man of science.
I stumbled into the current industry use of electroseismic testing methods which, though probably not absolute, may give an idea of the best prospective areas based on subsoil responses.
I probably need some help with my understanding as well as possibly coming up with a stupid simple way to try this for myself. I will explain the concept as I understand it.
A simple dipole antenna is created at the ground surface by driving two conductive rods in the ground at a certain distance apart. A seismic generator is used by way of a hammer/plate or large weight to generate a P wave proximal to one of the electrodes in the ground. Low permeability zones may contain sand or gravel and allow water to move within it. As I understand it, when the P wave strikes an area containing water, a dipole moment is created in the water which would return to the surface at the speed of light as a charge that would be detected by the dipole antenna.
Possibly the amplitude and timing of this return could indicate both the abundance and depth to water.
Now, I realize this is really simplified and may require some filtering or intense interpretation of the wave forms but this process is being used commercially right now. I don't need a fancy 3D image or software to tell me the depth if I can simply compare my results in time with a scope. What I intend is to mount a piezo generator on a large hammer handle which would act as the trigger for the event. This would function as the point in time the P wave was generated, then compare this with any returned waves to the dipole antenna. One of the variables that must be estimated is the speed at which the P wave travels in the soil. Each formation would be a bit different but somewhere between 2,000-10,000ft/sec.
I have areas I can test this device with known variables such as abundance of water, and depth to water as well as the geology between.
I am curious if you guys think we can employ this technique with a simple scope with 1GZ/sec sample rate and set to trap about .5sec of data?
I do know this. I WILL hit water regardless of where I drill. It comes down to finding a highly permeable zone that will have free flowing water. I know the water will be found between 20-50ft if we get a good vein but other sources may be down to 100ft. Traditionally no well around here is continued past 120ft. We are not shooting for an aquifer, only a water table that bears the right formation for production on a domestic well.
I stumbled into the current industry use of electroseismic testing methods which, though probably not absolute, may give an idea of the best prospective areas based on subsoil responses.
I probably need some help with my understanding as well as possibly coming up with a stupid simple way to try this for myself. I will explain the concept as I understand it.
A simple dipole antenna is created at the ground surface by driving two conductive rods in the ground at a certain distance apart. A seismic generator is used by way of a hammer/plate or large weight to generate a P wave proximal to one of the electrodes in the ground. Low permeability zones may contain sand or gravel and allow water to move within it. As I understand it, when the P wave strikes an area containing water, a dipole moment is created in the water which would return to the surface at the speed of light as a charge that would be detected by the dipole antenna.
Possibly the amplitude and timing of this return could indicate both the abundance and depth to water.
Now, I realize this is really simplified and may require some filtering or intense interpretation of the wave forms but this process is being used commercially right now. I don't need a fancy 3D image or software to tell me the depth if I can simply compare my results in time with a scope. What I intend is to mount a piezo generator on a large hammer handle which would act as the trigger for the event. This would function as the point in time the P wave was generated, then compare this with any returned waves to the dipole antenna. One of the variables that must be estimated is the speed at which the P wave travels in the soil. Each formation would be a bit different but somewhere between 2,000-10,000ft/sec.
I have areas I can test this device with known variables such as abundance of water, and depth to water as well as the geology between.
I am curious if you guys think we can employ this technique with a simple scope with 1GZ/sec sample rate and set to trap about .5sec of data?
I do know this. I WILL hit water regardless of where I drill. It comes down to finding a highly permeable zone that will have free flowing water. I know the water will be found between 20-50ft if we get a good vein but other sources may be down to 100ft. Traditionally no well around here is continued past 120ft. We are not shooting for an aquifer, only a water table that bears the right formation for production on a domestic well.