Abstract
Modern civilizations are at risk from natural geophysical events and from industries whose accumulated wastes release toxic substances into the environment. These environmental hazards are increasingly man-made, increasingly voluntary and diffuse in their impact. Environmental geophysics addresses the quantification and monitoring of subsurface hazards, irrespective of their origin. There are two major challenges for environmental geophysicists, firstly, to understand socio-economic and environmental factors which govern the demand for their services and, secondly, to use improved methods and develop practices which more effectively address environmental problems. Field studies on major environmental problems provide some perspective on these challenges. Salinisation of agricultural lands is arguably Australia's major environmental problem. A dryland salinity study in Victoria demonstrates the process by which electromagnetic responses of soils can be expressed in terms of crop productivities for appropriate plant species. This information is of direct use to farmers, land managers and agronomists. Conventional geophysical methods have had limited success in delineating hydrocarbon LNAPL and DNAPL contamination, both major pollutants. In South Australia, the extent of a plume produced by a large diesel oil (LNAPL) spill was mapped with a new method of Radiowave electromagnetic profiling method (R-EM) which overcomes many of the limitations of conventional electromagnetic induction and ground probing radar methods. It is concluded that environmental geophysics has a bright future provided geophysicists are willing meet these challenges, if not, other non-specialists will increasingly enter the field as has been the case in North America.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.