A “Model” Geophysics Program

In 1993, I tested a radio-controlled airplane designed by Jim Walker of Brigham<br>Young University for low-elevation aerial photography. Model-air photography retains<br>most of the advantages of standard aerial photography --- the photographs can be<br>used to detect lineaments, to map roads and buildings, and to construct stereo pairs<br>to measure topography --- and it is far less expensive. Proven applications on the<br>Oak Ridge Reservation include: updating older aerial records to document new<br>construction; using repeated overflights of the same area to capture seasonal changes<br>in vegetation and the effects of major storms; and detecting waste trench boundaries<br>from the color and character of the overlying grass.<br>Aerial photography is only one of many possible applications of radio-controlled<br>aircraft. Currently, I am funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Technology<br>Development to review the state of the art in microavionics, both military and civilian,<br>to determine ways this emerging technology can be used for environmental site<br>characterization. Being particularly interested in geophysical applications, I am also<br>collaborating with electrical engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to design a<br>model plane that will carry a 3-component flux-gate magnetometer and a global<br>positioning system, which I hope to test in the spring of 1994.