Aquifer Mapping Study Over Jefferson and Gage County Skies

Beginning earlier this week, a helicopter towing a large hoop from a cable has been making low-level flights over portions of Jefferson and Gage Counties as part of a geological and aquifer mapping study.The helicopter is flying along pre-planned flight paths relatively low to the ground at 100-200 feet above the surface. A sensor that resembles a large hoop is towed beneath the helicopter to measure tiny electromagnetic signals that can be used to map features below Earth’s surface.The Aqua Geo Frameworks, LLC. (AGF) study will be conducted by the specialty airborne geophysical survey company SkyTEM ApS, under a AGF contract. The helicopter will be operated by experienced pilots from Livewire Aviation who are specially trained for the low-level flying required for geophysical surveys. The company is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure flights are safe and in accordance with U.S. law. Surveys do not occur directly above populated areas.AGF-led studies have recently used this type of aerial survey to inform groundwater investigations around the country, including Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming and California. By using cutting-edge airborne geophysical technology, AGF scientists efficiently obtain critical information about groundwater resources over large areas, without the need for intensive ground-based work.This work is part of a Lower Big Blue Natural Resources District (LBBNRD) project partly funded by the Nebraska Water Sustainability Fund.The hydrogeology of the Lower Big Blue NRD is varied across the District’s 1,700 square miles as a result of how geologic material was deposited. The LBBNRD has secured Nebraska Water Sustainability funding to complete this project over roughly 235 square miles in one mile grids Mapping of the hydrogeologic framework provides staff and directors the ability to better comprehend and therefore better manage the groundwater resources of the District.

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