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 that robust knowledge base and help scientists develop one of the most detailed understandings of an aquifer resource in the world. The HTEM survey will fill gaps in geologic knowledge and show details of the aquifer at a resolution we have never seen before. We can literally look down to 1,000 ft deep in the subsurface at the highest resolution of geophysical data ever obtained within the aquifer.
Figure 1 shows an example of data collected via helicopter (and interpreted by scientists at PRI) in Champaign County in 2023 during the first phase of the Mahomet Aquifer mapping project. HTEM results like this help us to map the geology under the earth’s surface, allowing us to determine the extent of the Mahomet Aquifer and other shallow aquifer materials present in the subsurface. This information will ultimately help PRI scientists greatly improve estimates of long-term sustainability, which include addressing questions regarding groundwater recharge and water quality. This mapping effort will be the framework to develop a groundwater-management plan to enable resilient and sustainable management of our only groundwater resource.