GSA WA May speaker - Dr Aaron Davis - Airborne electromagnetics and groundwater investigations

Abstract. Airborne electromagnetics (AEM) is an established discipline of geophysics for subsurface investigations. From its inception for improving the search for base metals in Shield environments, AEM is now routinely used for mineral exploration, geotechnical assessment, and groundwater investigations. In this presentation, I will discuss the use of AEM for groundwater exploration and hydrogeophysical and geological investigation. Focussing on surveys flown in Western Australia, I will demonstrate how AEM can be used to improve our understanding of the subsurface for groundwater extraction and resource estimation. I will demonstrate how AEM has been used to improve the success rate of targeting aquifers along the Gascoyne River, map palaeovalleys in the Murchison, improve geological maps in the Perth Basin, and improve our understanding of a fan system north of Newman. Biography. Aaron Davis is a Team Leader and Principal Research Scientist in CSIRO’s Mineral Resources Business Unit. He applies geophysical methods to earth science problems, most recently on near-surface techniques for groundwater exploration and aquifer characterisation. He focusses mainly on the use and understanding of frequency- and time-domain electromagnetic (EM) systems (both airborne and ground-based) for groundwater related problems, surface nuclear magnetic resonance systems (SNMR) for groundwater detection and exploration, and borehole systems for improving our understanding of the subsurface. His interests are on forward and inverse modelling methods for geophysical systems, signal processing, geostatistics, and the integration of geophysical techniques with other sources of information (such as geochemistry). His research plan is to continue to combine geophysical methods with other earth science information into comprehensive frameworks that improve our understanding of the earth.