Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful technology for groundwater investigations, leveraging the same physics as medical MRI imaging to directly detect water and characterize subsurface hydrogeologic parameters. In geophysics, surface NMR methods can be used to non-invasively map groundwater aquifers and borehole logging NMR tools can be used to obtain high-resolution estimates of hydrogeologic properties downhole. These technologies provide valuable data for water resources, environmental, mining, and geotechnical projects. Here we consider recent uses of NMR as a tool to support managed aquifer recharge (MAR).
This article written by Vista Clara’s Elliot Grunewald and Dave Walsh starts with the above premise and goes deep to provide details on how NMR geophysics technologies are being used by a number of jurisdictions in Denver, Phoenix and Tucson to characterize and manage aquifers.
