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Christopher P Ely

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Passive seismic data collection was done northwest of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique. HVSR surveys were done at 43 locations between May and September 2018 to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. Specifically, the data were collected to help determine the depth to bedrock. The HVSR method is a passive seismic technique that uses a three-component seismometer to measure the vertical and horizontal components of ambient seismic noise. Seismic noise in the range of ~0.1 to 1 Hertz (Hz) is caused by ocean waves, large regional storms, and tectonic sources....
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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) installed acoustic bedload monitoring systems at four sites along the Trinity River below Lewiston Dam to record the noise generated by mobilized bed material, known as sediment generated noise (SGN) (Geay and others, 2017). The four sites are: Trinity River at Lewiston (TRAL, 11525500), Trinity River above Grass Valley Creek (TRGVC, 11525630), Trinity River at Limekiln Gulch (TRLG, 11525655) and Trinity River at Douglas City (TRDC, 11525854). These sites were selected because bedload measurements are frequently made at these locations during restoration flows as part of monitoring done by the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP). Monitoring took place in the spring of 2015,...
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Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys were done northwest of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base. ERT surveys were done at four locations in May through June of 2018 to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. The ERT technique injects direct-current electricity with known voltage and current into the earth using a series of electrodes and measures the resulting resistivity. This technique is generally limited to investigations of aquifer properties less than 100 meters below land surface. Data from other geophysical techniques co-located with the ERT data, including time-domain electromagnetics and horizontal-to-vertical...
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Surface geophysics investigations at Edwards Air Force Research Laboratory, Antelope Valley, California, 2018
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is about 7 kilometers southwest of Boron, California, and covers 320 square kilometers of Edwards Air Force Base. The AFRL consists of 12 facilities for testing full-size rocket engines, engine components, and liquid and solid propellants. The historical release of contaminants from rocket test stands, evaporation ponds, burn pits, catch basins, and leaking waste-collection tanks has contaminated groundwater in the AFRL. Groundwater aquifers near the AFRL are mostly restricted to fractured granitic bedrock, but previous studies indicate that groundwater and associated contaminants have moved into alluvium to the north and northwest. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the...
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Time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) surveys were done northwest of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base. TEM surveys were done at 33 locations between May and October 2018 to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. TEM surveys (also called transient electromagnetic surveys) provide 1D resistivity soundings of the subsurface, which can be related to lithology and hydrogeology. In the TEM method, electrical current is cycled through a transmitter loop (Tx) wire, which in turn produces a primary magnetic field. When the current is abruptly terminated, a secondary magnetic field is induced in the earth, and it moves downward and...
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