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Geophysical Support

Brownfields

Metal Detector Brownfields are abandoned, idled or under-used industrial and commercial sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination that can add cost, time, or uncertainly to a redevelopment project. Sites that once provided economic vitality and jobs to urban communities are now avoided by new industry, developers, and lenders.

It is to everyone's advantage to evaluate these sites quickly and efficiently to determine the extent of contamination so that they can be returned to a productive use. Nearly every industrial and commercial site has "stories" of buried tanks, drums, barrels, pipes, pits, and other sources of contamination. It is in these situations that geophysical methods could be used to rapidly evaluate these sites for unknown buried sources of contamination.

Geophysical techniques have been developed for environmental applications over the past fifteen years or so, and have proved to be fast, economical, and safe methods of non-intrusive investigation. Buried objects and waste can be remotely located by using various geophysical methods which make use of sound and electromagnetic waves, electrical currents, and magnetic properties. The most commonly used geophysical methods for environmental applications include: 1) magnetics; 2) electromagnetics (metal detection); and 3) ground penetrating radar. Other geophysical techniques such as seismic, resistivity and gravity may also have special applications at Brownfield sites.

Geophysics has been used to locate and map the following in the subsurface:

Metal Detector Survey Showing Buried Tanks

Metal Detector Survey Showing Buried Tanks

 

Please visit Region's 5 Brownfields website, for more information on Brownfields sites across the Region States.

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