A Field Evaluation of Airborne Techniques for Detection of Unexploded Ordnance

US Defense Department estimates indicate that as many as 11 million acres of government land in the U. S. may contain unexploded ordnance (UXO), with the cost of identifying and disposing of this material estimated at nearly $500 billion. The size and character of the ordnance, types of interference, vegetation, geology, and topography vary from site to site. Because of size or composition, some ordnance is difficult to detect with any geophysical method, even under favorable soil and cultural interference conditions. For some sites, airborne methods may provide the most time and cost effective means for detection of UXO. Airborne methods offer lower risk to field crews from proximity to unstable ordnance, and less disturbance of sites that maybe environmentally sensitive. Data were acquired over a test site at Edwards AFB, CA using airborne magnetic, electromagnetic, multispectral and thermal sensors. Survey areas included sites where trenches might occur, and a test site in which we placed deactivated ordnance, ranging in size from small ''bomblets'' to large bombs. Magnetic data were then acquired with the Aerodat HM-3 system, which consists of three cesium magnetometers within booms extending to the front and sides of the helicopter, and mounted such that the helicopter can be flown within 3m of the surface. Electromagnetic data were acquired with an Aerodat 5 frequency coplanar induction system deployed as a sling load from a helicopter, with a sensor altitude of 15m. Surface data, acquired at selected sites, provide a comparison with airborne data. Multispectral and thermal data were acquired with a Daedelus AADS 1268 system. Preliminary analysis of the test data demonstrate the value of airborne systems for UXO detection and provide insight into improvements that might make the systems even more effective

High resolution airborne geophysics at hazardous waste disposal sites

In 1994, a high resolution helicopter geophysical survey was conducted over portions of the Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee. The 1800 line kilometer survey included multi-frequency electromagnetic and magnetic sensors. The areas covered by the high resolution portion of the survey were selected on the basis of their importance to the environmental restoration effort and on data obtained from the reconnaissance phase of the airborne survey in which electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric data were collected over the entire Oak Ridge Reservation in 1992--1993. The high resolution phase had lower sensor heights, more and higher EM frequencies, and tighter line spacings than did the reconnaissance survey. When flying over exceptionally clear areas, the high resolution bird came within a few meters of the ground surface. Unfortunately, even sparse trees and power or phone lines could prevent the bird from being towed safely at low altitude, and over such areas it was more usual for it to be flown at about the same altitude as the bird in the reconnaissance survey, about 30m. Even so, the magnetometers used in the high resolution phase were 20m closer to the ground than in the reconnaissance phase because they were mounted on the tail of the bird rather than on the tow cable above the bird. The EM frequencies used in the high resolution survey ranged from 7400Hz to 67000Hz. Only the horizontal coplanar loop configuration was used in the high resolution flyovers