Innovative geophysical surveying with unmanned aircraft systems

无人机系统(UAS)为研究我们的自然环境带来了新的视角。通过在较低的高度飞行，沿飞行路线间隔更近，速度比传统的载人飞机慢，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UAS，这些项目配备了不同的传感器，如磁强计、放射性探测器和成像系统。*已投入大量精力设计专门用于地球物理测量的UAS。这项研究计划采取了一种不同的方法，旨在最大限度地利用商业现成的UAS。通过以创新的方式飞行它们，并结合机载传感器，可以获得新的数据集，为地质解释提供信息。长期目标是将UAS飞行添加到地球科学家的工具箱中。重点是磁力地球物理方法，朝着在UAS上实施电磁法的方向迈出了大胆的一步。*UAS磁力测量的研究将集中在旋翼UAS执行的飞行计划上。将进行不同高度重复线条、直线垂直线条和精心三维定向的紧密间距线条的飞行。将对飞行数据集进行分析，以得出有关季节性近地表地质过程、地表条件对磁数据的影响的信息，并绘制地球磁场的空间变化图。*作为实现使用UAS进行电磁测量目标的第一步，将建立一个发射器在地面，UAS上的接收器在上面飞行的混合系统。主要的设计挑战是缓解UAS产生的噪声和来自地下的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。该系统获取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细微变化。*加拿大决心在无人机技术的开发和商业化方面发挥国际领先作用。2008年至2014年间，有一定程度UAS参与的加拿大公司数量从88家增至312家，预计2015年至2024年期间，加拿大民用UAS市场的经济价值将在1亿至2.6亿美元之间。2014年，加拿大国家研究委员会委托撰写的一份报告指出，石油、天然气和矿产勘探是加拿大最有潜力的三个机会之一。这项建议有助于这一努力，因为在本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.