A positioning and data logging system for surface geophysical surveys

Conference · Thu Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6806738

Nyquist, J E; Blair, M S

The Ultrasonic Ranging and Data System (USRADS) developed at ORNL is being adapted to work with two commercially available geophysical instruments: a magnetometer and an EM31 terrain conductivity meter. Geophysical surveys have proven an important preliminary step in investigating hazardous waste sites. Magnetometers and terrain conductivity meters are used to locate buried drums, trenches, conductive contaminant plumes and map regional changes in geology. About half the field time of a typical geophysical investigation is spent surveying the position of the grid points at which the measurements will be made. Additional time is lost and errors may be made recording instrument values in field notebooks and transcribing the data to a computer. Developed for gamma radiation surveys, the USRAD system keeps track of the surveyor's position automatically by triangulating on an ultrasonic transmitter carried in a backpack. The backpack also contains a radio transmitter that sends the instrument's reading coincident with the ultrasonic pulse. The surveyor's position and the instrument's reading are recorded by a portable computer which can plot the data to check the survey's progress. Electronic files are stored in a form compatible with AutoCAD to speed report writing. 7 refs., 3 figs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6806738
• Report Number(s): CONF-8810133-1; ON: DE88015293
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

440100 -- Radiation Instrumentation
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
510100* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACOUSTIC TESTING
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
DETECTION
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
MAGNETOMETERS
MANAGEMENT
MAPS
MATERIALS
MATERIALS TESTING
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
PROTON PRECESSION MAGNETOMETERS
SURVEYS
TESTING
ULTRASONIC TESTING
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT