Geophysical Instrumentation

An instructor stands on an iceberg, surrounded by tools
GPR Hydrology device sits on the ground
GPR Hydrology: Polarimetric GPR (50 MHz) imaging of fluid flow in fractured rock, Altona, New York.

The geophysics group has extensive field instrumentation and computing facilities to support research in near-surface seismology, exploration geophysics and ground-penetrating radar. Dr. Tsoflias is in charge of the geophysics facilities. Geophysics field instrumentation consists of: Multi-channel GPR operating in the frequency range of 25 MHz to 1 GHZ, multiple transmitters, receivers and antennas for deployment on the surface and in boreholes; Ten portable 24-bit seismographs with 408 channel recording capability, a wide range of high-resolution geophones and cable configurations, a selection of high-resolution seismic energy sources and an automated 3D-220-geophone seismic acquisition platform "autojuggie"; R-10 real time kinematic DGPS system; Two LaCoste & Romberg; One four wheel-drive field vehicle (heavy duty extended bed truck) for seismic and GPR instrumentation transport and storage during field expeditions.

A well-equipped machine shop dedicated to the geophysics program is available for instrumentation storage, repairs, maintenance and fabrication of custom components. The geophysics computer laboratory and network include eleven Windows workstations and two rugged notebook field computers. Computer software used for processing, analysis, interpretation and modeling of seismic and GPR data includes multiple licenses of Matlab, SPW, WinSeis, Kingdom Suite, Hampson-Russell, Vista, Omni, Petrel, Petra, PulseEKKO GPR software, 2D & 3D FDTD EM code.

A Seismic acquisition device sits in a parking lot
Seismic acquisition: Mobile platform (autojuggie) for automatic deployment of 72 geophones at 0.1 m spacing for ultra-high-resolution seismic imaging.