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AirTech4Water_2018

Mapping ground water from the air

The state-of-the-art helicopter-borne SkyTEM system is routinely used to identify underground water resources, even in areas where the subsurface is very complex. During the project, researchers at Aarhus University, and engineers at SkyTEM contributed to developing the world-renown SkyTEM technology even further. 

The SkyTEM system was developed at Aarhus University in the 1990s and was one of the first technologies that made it possible to carry out airborne groundwater measurements. The technology consists of a large frame with highly advanced equipment that can be attached to a helicopter. This makes it possible to cover large areas in the search for aquifers or geological formations that contain or conduct groundwater.

HGG Project part:
The challenge facing SkyTEM engineers was to identify even better ways to process the signals from magnetic fields and develop mathematical models that could enable them to record more details in eddy currents when the signal drops. In collaboration with SkyTEM,  Aarhus University developed better signal processing methodologies for a better description of the ground response simoultaneously reducing noise in the signal, making deeper and more precise mapping possible.