No. The SkyTEM survey will only collect electromagnetic information about the geology beneath the helicopter. No pictures, videos, or any other measurements are collected.
FAQ Category: HTEM
Will the new map help with other non-science issues?
No. This is a scientific program concerned with subsurface geology and aquifer mapping. Information from this project will only be used to build scientific interpretations and maps that will guide sustainable groundwater-management decisions.
Will farm animals be frightened?
The noise from the helicopter has been described as the equivalent to a truck going past on a highway, and it lasts for around two to four minutes. The helicopter will fly back and forth across the county in gridlines, so it will then return near a given location approximately 30 minutes later, but at […]
Does the mapping present any risks?
The magnetic field generated by the SkyTEM system is not a risk to humans, animals, or infrastructure. A person or animal standing on the ground would experience magnetism similar to someone standing next to a typical home, and the process is actually safer than watching an LCD or plasma TV, or even blow-drying your hair. […]
Where will the SkyTEM helicopter fly?
The SkyTEM helicopter will fly along transects across Ford, Iroquois, and Vermillion Counties. Those transects are shown as yellow lines on the map below (Figure 3), and are located within the jurisdiction of Ford, Iroquois, and Vermillion Counties. The helicopter will not fly over buildings, dense infrastructure and/or populated areas due to FAA rules. Furthermore, […]
What does the SkyTEM helicopter look like?
Figure 2 shows what the SkyTEM helicopter and the geophysical equipment look like. The helicopter will fly between 100 and 150 miles per hour (160-240 km/h) in parallel lines 2,100 ft (650 m) apart and at an altitude of 100-250 feet (30-75 m). The geophysical equipment is suspended under the helicopter and will be about […]
What is SkyTEM?
SkyTEM is a company with airborne electromagnetic survey technology designed by the Danish Government and universities specifically for efficient and effective mapping of groundwater resources. The technology has been used commercially since 2003 to map large aquifer systems in countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, India, the U.S., Canada, and Australia. SkyTEM’s airborne technology is able […]
Who will perform the HTEM mapping?
This mapping effort is supported through a grant from Champaign County for the study of the Mahomet aquifer and will be conducted by the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at the University of Illinois. A specialty airborne geophysical survey company, SkyTEM, under contract with PRI, will perform the HTEM survey to acquire the data. SkyTEM has […]
Don’t you already have all this information?
Over many decades, scientists at PRI have invested vast human and financial resources to improve our scientific understanding of the complex Mahomet aquifer system. As a result, this aquifer is one of the most rigorously studied aquifers in the Midwest United States, which includes many historic geologic mapping and groundwater flow modeling projects. These studies […]
What will my county learn from the HTEM aquifer mapping project?
The scientific surveys at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) have studied the Mahomet Aquifer for decades, and they have built a robust, historic knowledge base of this water resource along with powerful predictive models of its sustainability. However, this project will give scientists and the public the most cutting-edge scientific information to even better improve […]