Answer Happy

Question 3 A large industrial development is planned for an area in the Coal River Valley. The entire site (500m x 500m) is relatively flat and the surface material is composed almost entirely of unconsolidated sand and silt. There is no bedrock exposed in this area but the underlying rocks may be either Triassic quartz sandstone or Tertiary basalt. For detailed planning of industrial infrastructure at this site it is necessary to know the thickness of the unconsolidated cover material and the nature of the underlying bedrock across the entire site. Outline a program of geophysical investigations that could potentially provide information on unconsolidated cover thickness and bedrock characteristics without need for invasive investigations such as drilling or test pits. In your answer you should initially comment on the likely physical properties of the unconsolidated and bedrock materials and then use this information to suggest appropriate geophysical methods for mapping the distribution of these units. For each geophysical technique that you recommend, briefly explain the basic physical principles, typical field procedures, and the information that this technique is likely to provide.