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 U.S. Air Force entered into a cooperative agreement to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. As part of that effort, surface geophysical data were collected to: (1) assess changes in the depth to bedrock with increasing distance from the AFRL; (2) to provide information on shallow geologic structures near the AFRL; and (3) to assess the presence of any faults that could present partial barriers to groundwater flow. The surface geophysical methods collected northwest of the AFRL in 2018 were electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) passive seismic, and time-domain electromagnetic (TEM).

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 spectral ratio passive seismic, are made available in other child pages within this data release: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9ZGZTA4. This page contains the ERT data, spatial information for the ERT transects, and preliminary processed ERT data.

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 spectral ratio passive seismic, are made available in other child pages within this data release: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9ZGZTA4. This page contains the ERT data, spatial information for the ERT transects, and preliminary processed ERT data.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC) have entered into a cooperative agreement to refine the hydrogeology in the Northeast AFRL and Arroyos groundwater areas of the Air Force Research Laboratory of Edwards Air Force Base. As part of these efforts, two electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys- AFRL9 and AFRL10- were collected in the vicinity of the Mound Fault identified by Cyr and Miller (2022) to better determine the position of these faults. Electrical resistivity tomography is a direct current geophysical method that is used to estimate the subsurface distribution of the electrical resistivity (measured in ohm-meters; ohm-m) of a material, and is based on the assumption that measured electric potentials (voltages) near current carrying electrodes are influenced by the electrical resistivities of the underlying material (Zohdy and others, 1974; Loke, 2000). ERT is a popular technique for subsurface investigations because it is based on simple physical principles and for its efficient data acquisition (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004). A combination of the Dipole-Dipole and Strong Gradient arrays was used for this survey and combined to create an optimized dataset (Stummer and others, 2004). The Dipole-Dipole array type yields a high precision dataset, particularly of vertical structures, but can exhibit lower signal to noise ratios (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004; Binley and Kemna, 2005), while the Strong Gradient array provides more complete spatial coverage, and high signal to noise ratio with increased acquisition efficiency (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004; Dahlin and Zhou, 2006, Advanced Geosciences Inc., 2009).

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC) have entered into a cooperative agreement to refine the hydrogeology in the Northeast AFRL and Arroyos groundwater areas of the Air Force Research Laboratory of Edwards Air Force Base. As part of these efforts, two electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys- AFRL9 and AFRL10- were collected in the vicinity of the Mound Fault identified by Cyr and Miller (2022) to better determine the position of these faults. Electrical resistivity tomography is a direct current geophysical method that is used to estimate the subsurface distribution of the electrical resistivity (measured in ohm-meters; ohm-m) of a material, and is based on the assumption that measured electric potentials (voltages) near current carrying electrodes are influenced by the electrical resistivities of the underlying material (Zohdy and others, 1974; Loke, 2000). ERT is a popular technique for subsurface investigations because it is based on simple physical principles and for its efficient data acquisition (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004). A combination of the Dipole-Dipole and Strong Gradient arrays was used for this survey and combined to create an optimized dataset (Stummer and others, 2004). The Dipole-Dipole array type yields a high precision dataset, particularly of vertical structures, but can exhibit lower signal to noise ratios (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004; Binley and Kemna, 2005), while the Strong Gradient array provides more complete spatial coverage, and high signal to noise ratio with increased acquisition efficiency (Dahlin and Zhou, 2004; Dahlin and Zhou, 2006, Advanced Geosciences Inc., 2009).

Shallow soil conductivity was mapped in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, using the DualEM421 electromagnetic sensor in March 2020. Data were acquired by towing the DualEM421 sensor on a wheeled cart behind an all-terrain vehicle, with the sensor at a height of 0.457 m above the ground surface. Approximately 62 line-kilometers of data were acquired over an area of nearly 1.5 square kilometers, with 20 m separation between survey lines. Data were manually edited for noise sources (powerlines, pipelines, or other buried structures), and averaged to regular output soundings every 1 m along survey lines. Data were corrected for offset between the recorded GPS location and data locations for each coil pair, but were not corrected for pitch and roll of the sensor. The processed data were inverted to recover models of electrical resistivity structure as a function of depth at each sounding location using a spatially constrained inversion. This data release contains the raw data, processed data, and inverted resistivity models. Digital data of the laterally constrained inversions are provided and fields are defined in the data dictionary. Model results show typical depth of investigation of about 4 – 6 m.

Shallow soil conductivity was mapped in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, using the DualEM421 electromagnetic sensor in March 2020. Data were acquired by towing the DualEM421 sensor on a wheeled cart behind an all-terrain vehicle, with the sensor at a height of 0.457 m above the ground surface. Approximately 62 line-kilometers of data were acquired over an area of nearly 1.5 square kilometers, with 20 m separation between survey lines. Data were manually edited for noise sources (powerlines, pipelines, or other buried structures), and averaged to regular output soundings every 1 m along survey lines. Data were corrected for offset between the recorded GPS location and data locations for each coil pair, but were not corrected for pitch and roll of the sensor. The processed data were inverted to recover models of electrical resistivity structure as a function of depth at each sounding location using a spatially constrained inversion. This data release contains the raw data, processed data, and inverted resistivity models. Digital data of the laterally constrained inversions are provided and fields are defined in the data dictionary. Model results show typical depth of investigation of about 4 – 6 m.

Surface electrical resistivity tomography, magnetic, and gravity surveys were conducted in July 2017 in the greater East River Watershed near Crested Butte Colorado with a focused effort in Redwell Basin as part of a broader study of the role of bedrock groundwater in the hydrogeology of mineralized mountain watersheds. Approximately ten kilometers of total field magnetics data were acquired on July 29, 2017 with a Geometrics G-858 cesium vapor magnetometer that detects changes in deep (tens of meters to kilometers) geologic structure based on variations in the magnetic properties of different formations. This data release includes the raw and processed magnetics data. They are provided as digital data, and data fields are defined in the data dictionary.

Surface electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), magnetic, and gravity surveys were conducted in July 2017 in the greater East River Watershed near Crested Butte Colorado with a focused effort in Redwell Basin as part of a broader study of the role of bedrock groundwater in the hydrogeology of mineralized mountain watersheds. Five electrical resistivity tomography profiles were acquired within Redwell Basin and Brush Creek to map geologic structure at depths up to 40 meters, depending on the subsurface resistivity, using the Advanced Geosciences, Inc. SuperSting R8 resistivity meter. This data release includes the raw and processed resistivity data as well as inverted resistivity models. All are provided as digital data, and data fields for each file type are defined in the respective data dictionary.

Surface electrical resistivity tomography, magnetic, and gravity surveys were conducted in July 2017 in the greater East River Watershed near Crested Butte Colorado with a focused effort in Redwell Basin as part of a broader study of the role of bedrock groundwater in the hydrogeology of mineralized mountain watersheds. Approximately ten kilometers of total field magnetics data were acquired on July 29, 2017 with a Geometrics G-858 cesium vapor magnetometer that detects changes in deep (tens of meters to kilometers) geologic structure based on variations in the magnetic properties of different formations. This data release includes the raw and processed magnetics data. They are provided as digital data, and data fields are defined in the data dictionary.