Microgravity

CEE 8104- Homework 4

November 11, 20003
Brian Devine

Microgravity
While gravity is often considered a constant in engineering practice, changes of
elevation as well as ground density cause variations of up to 5 cm/s2. Gravimetric
variations can also be the result of void or changes in density within a soil profile.
Microgravity is the measurement of the variations in the earths gravitational pull.
Detailed analysis of microgravity readings can identify the size and shape of voids as
well as soil thicknesses to bedrock.
How it works
A Microgravity sensor measures gravimetric variations in units of micro gals, or
1*10-8 m/s2, meaning that average gravitational pull is 980,000,000 micro gals.
Variations caused by void generally constituted up to 200 micro gals of change.
Readings are taken by using stationing of varying distances depending on the situation.
The readings create a grid of varying gravitational pull, an example of results from a
microgravity survey is shown in Figure 1. The variations between yellow and orange
represents changing depth of bedrock as they gradually change as the bedrock might.
The blue constitutes a dramatic change in gravitational pull, and is most likely the
result of a void space. The diagram shows where the void is located and an analysis of
the bedrock depths around the void could yield an approximate depth of the void.

Figure 1: Example of Microgravity Results

Appropriate Uses
Microgravity can be utilized to determine the following variable:

Depth to bedrock

Mapping of Bedrock Channels

Location of abandoned mines

Location of void spaces filled with air/ water

Determination of bedrock anomalies

Advantages and Disadvantages

The main advantage of microgravity is that it is a non intrusive method. Because
it does not pierce the ground, it can be used in buildings and on difficult terrain areas
where intrusive methods become difficult. Also there are no residual effects of a
microgravity investigation as there may be with other void detections methods
Microgravity can be used to detect different aspects in a soil profile. Just a few of
the values that can be determined are voids and depths of layers. While the presence of a
void may be the desired result, microgravity can often be used to determine the depths
and sized of the voids. The level of detection also allows for smaller voids to be detected
as well, but only with intense analysis.
The disadvantages of microgravity are involved with the process. The hand held
device is brought into the field and discrete data points are recorded. At each point, the
exact elevation must me known, included with the calculations, and the analysis becomes
very involved. The process can become very slow as the corrections and records required
at each point can become tedious, and the analysis of data can become very tedious and
time consuming. A second disadvantage to microgravity is that any vibrations can
invalidated the data. The levels of change recorded by the sensor could be shielded by
equipment moving nearby as well as many natural phenomenons.

An Example
A national oil company looked to expand its refinery on an island in the Persian
Gulf. The engineering firms site investigation included a microgravity survey to
determine the presence of sinkholes, as well as the impending coastal erosions. The
limiting factor on the site was the topography as shown in Figure 2. Steep grades around

Figure 2: Site Topography

Figure 3: MicroGravity Data Locations

the site prevented other intrusive methods. The engineering firm produced 2000
microgravity data points, shown by blue marks in Figure 3. Figure 4 shows the
gravitational map before analysis. Each point was then corrected for elevation changes
and brought to a base value so that a comparison would reveal the negative gravity
anomalies. The final result of the survey is shown in Figure 5, the areas where sink holes
might exist were then explored using conventional boreholes. Ultimately the variations
were caused by changes in the bedrock, and there were no potential sink holes, and
construction progressed.

Figure 4: MicroGravity Data Results

Before Analysis

Figure 5: MicroGravity Data Results

After Analysis

References
http://www.technos-inc.com/Surface.html#I23
http://www.qualitygeophysics.com/adobe/Geophysical%20choices%20for%20Karst%20PrePublication.pdf
http://www.dyetracing.com/company/geophy.html
http://www.microgravity.co.uk/html/what_is_microgravity.html
http://www.microgravity.co.uk/html/middle_east.html