T-minus 1 week!!

By: Brady Flinchum

Fregon's Kaljiti store entrance. This image was taken from the user
edomic on Flickr
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/72353146@N00/).

It is exactly one week until we are leaving for the outback and I am getting really excited!! I am going to take this time to reflect on exactly what I will be doing over the next three weeks and how my participation in this project will influence not only myself but also the aboriginal communities of South Australia. Let me begin by saying it still blows my mind that we, as a human race, have the technology that will allow me to travel across the world within just a few days. I am extremely excited to explore another country and experience another culture. As most of my family and friends know I love taking pictures. I am hoping to take some excellent pictures that capture the culture, lifestyle and emotion that the aboriginal people experience on a daily basis. I am also hoping to get pictures of the breath taking landscapes that this remote area of South Australia has offer. I am sure a lot of my images will find their way to this blog later on, so stay tuned! Since I haven't traveled to South Australia yet all pictures of SA are coming from searching the Fregon on Flickr. Credit is given to the representative photographers, please feel free to copy the links and explore their albums.

Fregon skyline taken in November of 2006.This image was taken
from the user edomic on Flickr.
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/72353146@N00/)

I am excited to be part of a project that is using Ground Magnetic Resonance (GMR). I have been trying to find creative ways to implement it into my research but have come up empty handed. As I mentioned in my previous post this is method has been developed and refined over that last decade or so and is what I would consider cutting edge science. The GMR is directly sensitive to the amount of water in the subsurface. I think it is really cool that we will be traveling so far into the outback to use this equipment and find water for a small community.  Not only will we be using the GMR we will be using time domain electromagnetics (TEM) to estimate the quality of the water. These communities already drink groundwater but it is usually very salty. We want to be able to pinpoint a location where there is water and that water is the highest quality possible. The pictures I have found online show this region of Australia to be very arid. As everybody knows water is key to sustain life. So finding a new source of high quality drinking water might allow this community to grow its own food or even expand.

Children from Fregon South Australia. The image was taken
in July of 2007 and is complements of Haley via Flickr.
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/stellarjandri/)

Unlike a lot of the work being conducted for my PhD, the scientific results of this project will directly impact a small community. Typically my projects focus on understanding hydrologic processes, and don't have a direct impact people living in my area of study. In this aspect I really feel a sense of purpose with this project. I hope that our findings will provide a location for a new water well. The final location will be important because the drilling company that will end up drilling the well will have to travel over 1500 km prior to drilling! Our findings will also provide crucial information about the aquifer system in the region because very little is known about it. The lack of knowledge is probably due to the cost of getting exploration equipment that far into the outback. So our field area is very small we we will learn more about geology and aquifer that could be extrapolated for further studies.

Besides the science and feeling of purpose I am very excited to meet and work with the scientists of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the people from Stanford University. I hope that while participating in the project I can demonstrate my work ethic and knowledge of geophysics so that the connections made during this project will turn into long term collabors during the course of my career. One of my career goals is to become a research professor of hydrogreophysics. This project provides a great foundation because of the scientific objectives and the people involved in this unique project.



CPR/First Aid Training

One of the things that was required prior to leaving was CPR/First aid certification. Since the nearest village of Fregon (population of ~350) is about 40 km away it is important that we know basic first aid. Although it is extremely unlikely that any of us will get hurt it will be important that we can bandage or splint each other up during the drive to get help. Andy and I completed our training with the American Red Cross here in Laramie this weekend. I had taken CPR training about 10 years ago when I worked as  lifeguard in Reno but over the course of these 10 years things changed.

After taking this course I feel confident that I could perform CPR on an unconscious person, although I really hope I never have to do that! I thought the dummies that were used in the training were very cool! When you actually do your compressions there is a lot of resistance and there was a clicking sound, probable meant to simulate the persons sternum breaking. I was not expecting to break a sweat in this class, but I definitely did. Doing compressions is physically exhausting, if I ever had to do it, I am hoping the adrenaline would keep me going because once you engage you must continue until help arrives. The other really neat thing about the dummies was their chests actually rise if you hold the airway open and seal the lips properly. I am grateful that we had the dummies because it took me a little practice to figure out how to get the rescue breaths in. It turns out you really have to open your mouth wide to get it in.

Left: Andy practicing chest compressions on the dummy. Right: Myself getting rescue breaths into the dummy. The small red object is a simulated AED, which I am assuming we will be carrying with us when we travel deep into South Australia.

Left: The sling that I tied for Andy. I clearly did a good job because Andy looks stoked! Right: The sling Andy tied on me. I tried acting hurt, but the sling was tied so well it was hard to do so!

Introducing the project team and our main objectives

By: Andy Parsekian

The project team
We're thrilled to be contributing some of today's most cutting edge and proven near-surface geophysical technologies to address an important water resource issue in Australia.  Our group of collaborators come from CSIRO, Stanford University, University of Adelaide and the University of Wyoming.  Let me introduce the team:

• Dr. Tim Munday is a Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO
• Dr. Aaron Davis is a Senior Research Geophysicist with CSIRIO
• Kevin Cahill is a Geophysicist at CSIRO
• Denys Grombacher is a PhD student at Stanford University
• Dr. Rosemary Knight is a Professor at Stanford University
• Brady Flinchum is a PhD student at the University of Wyoming
• Dr. Andy Parsekian is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wyoming
• Dr. Michael Hatch is a Research Associate at the University of Adelaide

Summary of project objectives & projected outcomes

To ensure the sustainability of current ground water resources for remote communities in South Australia, we are conducting geophysical surveys to quantify and locate ground water resources surrounding several communities in the APY lands.  Our goal is to quantify and characterize water resources in order to inform sustainable aquifer management and ensure continued access to potable water. The combination of advanced geophysical imaging methods will allow us to: (i) guide informed decision making regarding water resource management, (ii) map local aquifers to quantify water resources, and (iii) locate potential fresh water sources for future well sites. The outcomes of this study will be 1) documentation of the status of aquifers penetrated by existing wells for local residents planning use, 2) documentation of likely locations for future wells if needed and 3) the development of a protocol to investigate the sustainability of groundwater resources on which many remote communities in arid or desert rely. The fieldwork will serve to demonstrate its feasibility while simultaneously ensuring a sustainable water future for several communities in the APY lands.

Final preparations before heading to the field site

As of this writing, we're less than two weeks away from the American team members departing for Adelaide, SA.  The major planning is complete, the permits are in place and the schedule is set.  The next steps are to finish up final safety training exercises (first aid and basic off-road driving skills), and then pack our bags before the flights.  

Thanks to GWB for project sponsorship!
This program made possible through donations to the SEG Foundation – GWB Program Geoscientists Without Borders.  Funders include Schlumberger, PGS, CGG, Santos, and Kiwi Energy and other corporate and individual donors.

"Inspiring, connecting and propelling the people and science of geophysics"

Preparing for the Outback

By: Brady Flinchum

For all of my family and friends that don't know I will be traveling to Australia for three weeks in May of 2014. The purpose of the trip is to us noninvasive geophysical methods to identify possible fresh water aquifers for the aboriginal people of Australia. The site location is on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands. In case your wondering, I have no idea how to pronounce that either! I have attached a screen shot from Google Earth so that you can see where we are going to be. We will be in the heart of the outback where the nearest populated area is the small aboriginal town of Fregon. This town will show up if typed into google maps if your interested to find it's location.

We all know from experience that water is necessity for human survival and as you can imagine it is extremely rare in the outback. From the satellite image you can see that surface water is going to be rare in this part of the world. So the small communities on the APY lands depend on ground water. Unfortunately, we do not know  a lot known about the aquifers in this area, due to the shear desolation. Wells in this region are drilled to a mean depth of 50 m (~1440 ft) and the water out of these wells is usually poor quality because of the high amount of salt in the water. In order to determine where the water is we will be using a geophysical method called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). To estimate the quality of the water we will be using a method called time domain electromagnetics (TEM). We are doing these surveys because we will be traveling for ~2 days by car with a large portion of this being off road. Although our geophysical equipment weights 1000's of pounds it is still a lot easier to transport than a large rotary drill rig. In this case the non-invasive geophysical methods will help characterize the aquifer before using the necessary resources to mobilize and drill a water well.


Nuclear Magnetic Resonance 

Nuclear magnetic resonance is our method of choice for detecting water is a lot more accurate than witching a well. Since we are going to be in the heart of the outback it is going to be important that we know exactly where the water is.  I can tell you there is no scientific basis in "witching" a well, typically there is water everywhere and no matter where you drill your hole you will hit water. It would be really nice to only cary two rods into the desert because the modern "witching" equipment is shown below and weighs a ton!

Although nuclear magnetic resonance has been around since the 70's and uses the same principles as a medical MRI. If you've ever had an MRI you know that you are placed into a very confining space, that looks like a donut. This donut produces a constant background magnetic field which greatly increases the ability to make the measurement. As you can image in the middle of the outback we don't have the ability generate our own background magnetic field. The ability to make this measurement without controlling that background field is brand new! It is the only geophysical measurement that directly measures the amount of liquid water in the subsurface. 

The method itself capitalizes on hydrogen atoms rotating in a magnetic field, in our case it this field is the Earth's background field. When we apply a large magnetic field, the hydrogen in the water rotate and produce a detectable magnetic field. The strength of this field is directly proportional to the amount of water in the subsurface. This allows us to quantify the amount of water underneath the loop. This is much better than holding out two metal wires and then hoping for water!

Time Domain Electromagnetics

The time domain electromagnetic method works by producing a large magnetic field that produces currents in the ground underneath the loop. The induced currents produce a secondary magnetic field that we can measure. The amount of current induced in the ground is dependent on the geophysical parameter conductivity. This method will tell us about the quality of the water, if it exists. If the water is very salty we will get a very strong signal back because the magnetic field will induce a very large current. So after analysis we will not only have the location and amount of water but we will have an idea of the quality of water.

Figure from (http://www.ncwater.org/education_and_technical_assistance/ground_water/TDEM/)

Since I couldn't get the link working on the cover photo I give credit Andrew C. Wallis Via Flickr. This is a beautiful image and will be just a couple hundred kilometers north of our location. I hope we have time to get by and see it.

( https://www.flickr.com/photos/awphoto/2767050907/in/photolist-7dyFif-crfMVw-yGi4u-21wuGE-e52HWX-7ynu5A-9HAK2C-bsAjSA-2gzZwr-bsNvT9-b9XXnc-6RHa5P-73RRhQ-e5ChQa-e5ukVC-aL5RqX-e4YSCs-jEXdBh-5dvRQg-9A8tv1-biiR58-ecdcZi-bafkm4-dL36ms-6WLwkZ-au5gwJ-bnSxsH-jPhEtj-egj1pH-aCavCh-adCn9U-7gtHcG-aJ4CtH-9aV4rW-e8dqrh-62qsQW-9A5uVn-e58nHh-aD9iSX-d354fG-ebXp4-9xPg6o-fZcXdd-nakaoK-BzZQ6-7bwKRi-9vXLme-duWrbi-a8CjYt-5fVzeC/ )