Innovative geophysical surveying with unmanned aircraft systems

无人机系统（UAS）为我们的自然环境研究带来了新的视角。通过在较低的高度飞行，沿着间隔更近的飞行路线飞行，并且以比传统的有人驾驶飞机更慢的速度飞行，它们允许以非常高的空间分辨率获取数据。UAS在地球物理测量中的应用是一个非常活跃的研究领域，有几个正在进行的项目涉及配备不同传感器的UAS，如磁力计，放射性探测器和成像系统。*** 许多努力致力于设计专门用于地球物理测量的无人机系统。这项研究计划采取了不同的方法，旨在充分利用商业现成的UAS。通过以创新的方式飞行它们，并结合机载传感器，可以获取新的数据集来为地质解释提供信息。长期目标是将无人机系统飞行添加到地球科学家的工具箱中。重点是磁地球物理方法，对UAS电磁方法的实施有了大胆的进展。*** 无人机磁力测量的研究将集中在旋翼无人机执行的飞行计划上。在不同的高度重复的线，垂直的直线，和紧密间隔的线仔细定向在3D的飞行将被执行。将对飞行数据集进行分析，以获取有关季节性近地表地质过程、地表条件对磁测数据的影响的信息，并绘制地球磁场的空间变化图。 *** 作为实现使用无人机进行电磁勘测目标的第一步，将建立一个混合系统，其中发射器位于地面，接收器位于无人机上。主要的设计挑战是减轻UAS产生的噪声与地下电磁信号之间的干扰，严格的定位和定时限制，以及对强大发射机的要求。该系统采集的电磁数据集将以前所未有的空间分辨率捕捉地下电导率的微妙变化。*** 加拿大决心在无人机系统技术的开发和商业化方面发挥国际主导作用。在2008年至2014年期间，有一定程度的UAS参与的加拿大公司数量从88家增加到312家，2015-2024年期间加拿大民用UAS市场的经济价值预计在1亿美元至2.6亿美元之间。加拿大国家研究理事会在2014年委托编写的一份报告将石油、天然气和矿产调查确定为加拿大最有活力的三个机会之一。这项建议有助于这一努力，因为在这项研究计划期间培训的4名HQP将拥有成为这一经济部门出现的强大贡献者所需的专业技能。

Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) bring a new perspective to studies of our natural environment. By flying at lower altitude, along flight lines spaced more closely together, and at speeds slower than conventional manned aircraft, they allow the acquisition of data at very high spatial resolution. The application of UASs in geophysical surveying is a very vibrant field of research with several ongoing projects involving UASs instrumented with different sensors such as magnetometers, radioactivity detectors, and imaging systems. *** Much effort has been devoted to designing UASs specifically for geophysical surveying. This research program takes a different approach and aims at making the most of commercial off-the-shelf UASs. By flying them in an innovative fashion, and combining onboard sensors, new datasets can be acquired to inform geological interpretation. The long-term objective is to add UAS flights to the geoscientist's toolbox. The emphasis is on the magnetic geophysical method, with a bold advance towards the implementation of the electromagnetic method on UASs. *** The research on UAS magnetic surveying will be centered on a flight program performed by rotary-wing UASs. Flights with repeated lines at different altitudes, straight vertical lines, and tightly-spaced lines carefully oriented in 3D will be performed. The flight datasets will be analyzed to derive information about seasonal near-surface geological processes, the effects of surface conditions on magnetic data, and to map the spatial variations of the Earth's magnetic field. *** As a first step towards the goal of using UASs to perform electromagnetic surveys, a hybrid system where the transmitter is at the surface of the ground and the receiver on the UAS flying above will be built. The main design challenges are the mitigation of the interference between the noise generated by the UAS and the electromagnetic signal from the subsurface, stringent positioning and timing constraints, and the requirement for a powerful transmitter. The electromagnetic datasets acquired by the system will capture subtle variations in electrical conductivity in the subsurface at unprecedented spatial resolution. *** Canada is determined to play a leading role internationally in the development and commercialization of UAS technology. The number of Canadian companies with some level of UAS involvement grew from 88 to 312 between 2008 and 2014, and the economic value of the Canadian civilian UAS market for the period 2015-2024 is projected to range between $100M-$260M. A report commissioned by the National Research Council of Canada in 2014 identified oil, gas and mineral surveys as one of the three opportunities for Canada to purse the most vigorously. This proposal contributes to this effort as the 4 HQP trained during this research program will have the specialized skills needed to be strong contributors to the emergence of this sector of the economy.