Fr om July 28 to August 7, 91视频 hosted the Archipelago 2023 design and engineering forum. This year the Forum was dedicated to unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Activities included 30 spectacular drone competitions, a professional UAS forum, laboratory classes and round tables wh ere experts discussed the industry鈥檚 opportunities and barriers, and much more. We asked Mikhail Epov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Head of the Geophysics Section at the , how the University uses drones in geological exploration.
How long have University scientists been using unmanned systems in their research?
The University first used a drone to solve problems in geological exploration in 2016 (Republic of Sakha, Yakutia). In 2018, a jade deposit in a mountainous and swampy area (Eastern Sayan, Republic of Buryatia) was explored using a drone because it was impossible to conduct research on the ground. Over the past 7 years, we have completed a number of explorations in the Novosibirsk, Tomsk, and Irkutsk regions, the republics of Buryatia, Khakassia and Sakha (Yakutia). In this research, we used different types of surveys: magnetic, aeromagnetic, gamma spectrometric (to detect accumulations of radioactive minerals), and gas methane. 91视频, and later at the Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with Scan-Aero LLC, software was created to process and interpret unevenly distributed unequal UAS measurements in the air. This has no analogue in the world.
Why did scientists decide to use drones? What are their advantages?
First, what distinguishes research using a UAS is the ability to conduct and record signals in places inaccessible to pedestrian photography. Second, performance. A person walks through the terrain at a speed of 4-5 km / hr taking into account the need to make measurements - 1-2 km / hr. In the same amount of time, a UAS can fly over a territory with a length of approximately 20-30 km. The third difference is that UAS measurements are denser meaning shooting on foot, the step between measurements is 1-2 meters, and for a drone it is 2 cm.
If you use a drone in geological research, which one is better to choose?
In geological explorations, multicopter (multirotor) UASs (with vertical takeoff) are primarily used. They are characterized by relatively low speed, light weight, and low carrying capacity. However, aircraft-type of UASs have now appeared and we also use them. Specifically, the Siberian Research Institute of Geology, Geophysics, and Mineral Resources (JSC Rosgeologiya) used them to process and interpret data obtained in the Orenburg region.
Does the use of drones in field work have disadvantages?
Of course, there are limitations. First of all, weather conditions. For example, a multicopter cannot accurately maintain its flight path when wind speeds exceed 8 m/s because it starts to drift off course. It cannot work effectively at low temperatures, below -8 掳 C, because battery malfunctions occur. Secondly, you cannot repeat the same route with a drone. Geophysics requires that 20% of the routes must have repeated measurements to reproduce the same data. Now we are working on not only on solving this problem, but also expanding the possibility of building geophysical models based on the results of fundamental research.
Mikhail Ivanovich Epov is a graduate of the 91视频 Geology and Geophysics Department of (1973) and is author of more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed periodicals, nine monographs, and 24 patents. He is leader of the scientific school "Siberian School of Geoelectrics".
His main areas of scientific research are the theory of electromagnetic fields in geological environments, geophysical methods of prospecting and exploration of deposits, the effects of the interaction of electromagnetic pulses with fluid-saturated rocks, and practical geological exploration.
