EM survey has high practical uses in water storage planning and dryland salinity management. It is routinely used in Australia as a planning tool in building of large irrigation storages and identification of saline areas. The cost of repairing faulty water storage is often 3 fold greater than building it correctly in the first place.  In an environment where water is expensive and limited, a poor structure will result in lost production as well as loss of water. Use of EM survey can identify potential problem areas before earthworks are commenced.

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SoilFutures uses reputable contractors to carry out EM survey and we have long experience at subsequent soil sampling developing plans for water storage construction.

 

EM Survey Development in Australia

EM survey was originally developed for finding submarines in deep waters during WW2.  This was done by towing an emitter array behind a ship that gave a return signal indicating that a current had been induced in metallic submarine hulls beneath the ocean.  

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EM survey technology was adapted for Australian conditions at the Soil Conservation Service’s Gunnedah Research Centre in the 1990’s.  

Robert Banks from SoilFutures was a key member of the team who worked on interpreting this data and making the use of EM technology practical in Australian agriculture.