Geophysical Facilities at Bucknell

The Geology Department at Bucknell has a variety of geophysical instruments, and has a history of incorporating them into faculty and student research, senior theses, and class projects.

     

 
Students in Dr. Kochel's Geomorphology lab lay out cables to perform a 3-D electrical resistivity survey at a farm west of Mifflinburg, PA.  They were trying to determine if an ancient stream channel of Penns Creek was at this location.

 

Geophysical instrumentation at Bucknell includes:

  • AGI Inc. Sting/Swift Earth Resistivity System for performing 2-D and 3-D electrical resistivity surveys;
  • AGI Graphite Borehole cables for performing resistivity surveys between bedrock wells;
  • Mt. Sopris MGX-II Digital Logging System (winch) for borehole geophysical instruments;
  • EG&G 12-channel seismograph;
  • Betsy Seisgun;
  • Mala Geoscience RAMAC/GPR (Ground-Penetrating Radar system with 250 and 500 mHz antennas;
  • Geometrics OhmMapper, for rapid electrical resistivity surveys;
  • EG&G Geometrics Unimag II portable proton magnetometer;
  • LaCoste and Romberg Graviton-EG gravity meter

Dan Fellon (left photo) tows the OhmMapper during a electrical resistivity survey in Geophysics Lab.

        

We try to upgrade these instruments on a revolving basis to insure that our students are provided with experiences consistent with what they will find in the job market.

    

  

     Our hydrogeophysical test site is a 5-well array drilled 150 feet into bedrock (left photo).  This test site is located just minutes from the Geology building and provides a convenient location for hydrogeologic and borehole geophysical research and lab exercises.  In the right photo, Rob Garfield (wearing the hat), an alumnus currently working in the consulting field gives a demonstration of borehole geophysical logging at our test site.  We keep close contact with many of our alumni, who can provide invaluable expertise to our students by teaching them about the use of these intruments in research and industry.

  

     

 
In the summer of 2006, Dr. Trop (shown above) and Dr. Kochel took our Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) system  to Alaska in order to examine the stratigraphic architecture of icy alluvial fans related to recent deglaciation in the McCarthy Creek Valley.

  
All in a day's work....
How many students does it take to make a hole for the Betsy seisgun (left photo), and to the right, Rob Tidmore explains electrical resistivity theory to an interested observer.