December 2002
Seismic Surveys in Canals of Miami
By Jack Kindinger, jkindinger@usgs.gov
Image: Dana Wiese (left) and Jack Kindinger set
up
boomer acquisition system after the boat is in the
water.
Photograph by Chandra Dreher.
A cooperative study on a project to conduct a high-resolution
seismic-
reflection survey of the area around several Comprehensive
Everglades
Restoration Program (CERP) projects was begun on November 13 and
continued
on December 3.
Participants include Jack Kindinger, Chandra Dreher, Dana
Wiese, and Jim
Flocks (St. Petersburg), Kevin Cunningham (WRD, Miami), and
Cynthia
Gerfvert and Steve Kupa of the South Florida Water Management
District
(SFWMD).
The CERP projects are focused on the surficial aquifer and
ground-water
flow through the area located in the eastern part of Everglades
National
Park west of Miami. The objective of the survey is to image and
map the
limestone stratigraphy of the subsurface to 60 m.
This is not the first time we have collected boomer data from
a 16-ft Jon
boat (a flat-bottomed boat designed for shallow inland
waterways), but it
is our first attempt to acquire data from canals dug in
limestone. This
cooperative study evolved from other successful cooperative
studies
conducted in central and northeastern Florida (for previous
studies, see
Subsurface Characterization of Selected Water Bodies in the St.
Johns River
Water Management District, Northeast Florida).
Image: Satellite image of Miami and the
Everglades.
Inset shows location of canals surveyed or proposed
for surveying
(yellow).
Image: Jack Kindinger (left) and Bob Renkin
(center, WRD, Miami)
assist in lifting Jon boat from trailer and lowering
it into a canal.
Photograph by Chandra Dreher.
Image: Jack Kindinger (left) and Dana Wiese
(right) collect boomer data
from the Miami Canal. Photograph by Chandra Dreher.
The field operation presented a series of unique logistic
challenges
because many of the canals are narrow and difficult to access and
the
geology is limestone. SFWMD personnel were crucial in providing
help with
gate keys and lifts for getting the Jon boat into and out of the
canals.
Preliminary review of the seismic-reflection profiles indicates
that the
data are usable but data quality vary widely. Indications are
that some
acquisition methods need modification to improve data quality.
Stay tuned
for future updates.
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2002/01/fieldwork2.html