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Borehole Services


The NSF GAGE Facility (hereafter GAGE) offers borehole services to the scientific community including advice on instrument siting, permitting, drilling, installation, data collection and analysis. The suite of instruments GAGE installs includes tensor strainmeters, 3-axis seismometers, pore pressure sensors and tiltmeters. As part of EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), GAGE has a wealth of experience in drilling, installing, and operating borehole instruments in different tectonic environments for one of the largest borehole strainmeter networks in the world. For example, the PBO borehole network has recorded episodic tremor and slip (ETS) signals in the Cascadia subduction zone, volcanic unrest on Mount St. Helens and Yellowstone, aseismic deformation along the creeping section of the San Andreas and in the Anza seismic gap to study the transfer of stress between faults.

Selection of the site and target installation zone within the borehole are critical factors in ensuring a successful installation. Permitting, power requirements and access are all factors that must be considered in addition to the scientific outcomes that are sought. Of particular importance for strainmeter installation is the choice of grout and the procedure by which the instrument is installed in the grout as strong bonding of the strainmeter to the surrounding rock is required to attain a high-quality data set. GAGE can assist researchers by providing the engineering expertize and the equipment required to select a suitable site, construct a reliable power source, drill the borehole and then determine the best installation zone within the hole using logging data. After instrument installation, GAGE will set up data flow from the on-site data logger to a data center archive and provide guidance on the maintenance required to keep the site on-line. In addition to installation and operation, GAGE provides instruction on how to process and interpret borehole data sets via short courses, workshops and individual training.

 

Last modified: 2024-07-08  14:45:08  America/Denver