INNOVATION May-June 2017

2016 | ❖

2017 Project Highlights

Satellite InSAR data used to track ground displacement

The recent proliferation of high- resolution satellite imagery, coupled with improved processing algorithms, enables tracking of tens of millions of ground targets with millimetre precision in real time. 3v Geomatics applied its interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology of a project to monitor ground instabilities with high spatial detail across the Los Angeles area. The analysis tracked 65 million ground targets through 81 images acquired from 2011–2016. The results indicate both local and widespread seismic displacement. The sharp blue/red displacement boundary travelling northwest from Seal Beach is caused by the Newport–Inglewood fault. The red and blue hotspots around Long Beach indicate subsidence and uplift, respectively, due to enhanced oil recovery. Both ground subsidence and uplift are also present further north, near Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. Although this image provides an overview displacement map, any area can be zoomed into to analyze displacement histories of individual targets. APEGBC member: Parwant Ghuman, P.Eng.

Drill system reduces cost of seafloor core sampling

a drill ship, especially in deeper waters. Improved operator safety and higher-quality core samples are additional benefits. The project covered the design, integration and testing of the CRD100 and surface control van, along with the specification and procurement of a dedicated launch and recovery system. APEGBC members: Eric (James) Jackson, P.Eng., Paul Prunianu, P.Eng., Reuben Meikle, P.Eng., Dana Leslie, EIT, Dr. Peter Hampton, EIT, Breanna Hayton, EIT, Jacqueline Nichols, EIT, Mark Wells, EIT, Sina Doroudgar, EIT, Andrew Liu, EIT

In the winter of 2016, Cellula Robotics Ltd. delivered a fourth-generation CRD100 seafloor drill to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., to be used by the Japanese Agency for Marine– Earth Science and Technology. The CRD100 is designed to drill and core up to 65 metres below the seafloor, in water depths down to 3,000 metres. Seafloor drills are used for geotechnical analysis in subsea construction and for core sampling in mineral exploration. Seafloor drills can reduce the cost of core sampling compared to the costs of using

3 0 M A Y/J U N E 2 017

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