Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2017CA501G

The Use of NMR Logging Measurements to Estimate Hydraulic Conductivity in Glacial Aquifers

Institute: California
USGS Grant Number: G17AP00134
Year Established: 2017 Start Date: 2017-09-18 End Date: 2020-09-17
Total Federal Funds: $250,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $253,336

Principal Investigators: Rosemary Knight

Project Summary: The focus of this research is the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging as a\r\nmeans of determining the hydraulic conductivity of a glacial aquifer. Compared to other field approaches, NMR logging has important advantages: it can be performed rapidly and allows for high-resolution characterization along a vertical profile, does not require that the well be screened over the test interval, and should not be affected by insufficient well development. NMR logging has been used since the 1960s in the petroleum industry, but only recently for groundwater applications with the development of a tool specifically designed for small-diameter wells.