Wireless Sensor Networks and Geophysical Monitoring Applications

Charles Oden, PhD, PE

Earth Science Systems, LLC

Earth Science Systems is developing new technologies that may be of interest to USACE
ERDC. In this talk, I will discuss small inexpensive sensors for in-situ monitoring application,
and briefly discuss passive seismic processing algorithms and a simple inversion scheme for
UXO detection system.

A significant expense in geophysical monitoring applications comes from physically

collecting data sets involving multiple field deployments. Wireless sensor networks are an
emerging technology that can reduce these costs. Today’s wireless sensors are small (typically a
few centimeters on a side), can be left in the field for long periods of time without servicing, and
are inexpensive enough to be considered disposable. Wireless sensors are a combination of
several recent technological advances including inexpensive miniature sensors, low power radio
telemetry, time synchronization techniques, localization techniques (spatial awareness), and
energy harvesting methods. Single chip sensors are available for measuring electric, magnetic,
and electromagnetic fields, temperature, pressure, mechanical displacement, chemistry, attitude,
and more. These sensors can be used in several geophysical methods including seismic, DC
resistivity, induced polarization, EM induction, magnetometry, and ground penetrating radar
(GPR). Examples of the wireless sensor network applications include the long term monitoring
and assessment of infrastructure (dams, levees, bridges, roads, etc.), tracking fluids or
contaminant migration, and investigations in ecology and environment.

Recently, there has been a flurry of research on passive seismic data processing methods using
interferometry. These techniques require a wave field with energy moving in every direction (i.e.
equipartitioned). This situation does not readily occur in unconsolidated sediments that tend to
attenuate seismic energy. I am tailoring an alternative passive imaging method based on beam
forming, polarization filtering, and cross-correlation to determine an effective wave field. This
effective wave field provides the shape of the wave fronts incident on the receiver array and their
relative arrival times. Reflector locations are then determined by reverse propagating the
effective arrivals to their foci (i.e. points of origin on the reflector). The method is designed for
sparse receiver arrays (e.g. a wireless seismometer network).

The USGS ALLTEM system has had good initial success in detecting and discriminating UXO
targets. I will briefly describe a simple inversion algorithm that has been used, and plans to
evaluate the system response to field conditions that are not addressed in the simple inversion.
The results should indicate how to improve the inversion algorithm.

Charles P. Oden received the B.S. degrees in geology and electrical engineering
from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 1989 and 1991 respectively, and the
Ph.D. degree in geophysical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines,
Golden, in 2006. He spent 13 years with Mt. Sopris Instrument Company, Golden,
CO, developing borehole geophysical instruments for the mining, groundwater,
and geotechnical industries. In 2002, he started a small software company called
Mercury Geophysics, Denver, CO, which produces software for well log analysis
and interpretation. He was a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey, Lakewood, CO,
working on electromagnetic instrumentation and interpretation methods. Currently, he is
developing electromagnetic instrumentation for geophysical applications with Earth Science
Systems, LLC, Wheat Ridge, CO, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Colorado School of
Mines.