GroundMetrics, Inc. Announces Formation of “WAVE” Consortium

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GroundMetrics, Inc., a San Diego based, high technology start-up, announced that it has led the formation of the Wide Area Vertical Electromagnetics (WAVE) Consortium with Berkeley Geophysics Associates, Chinook Geoconsulting, TechnoImaging, and Dr. Gregory Newman of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). These organizations are the world’s leaders in electromagnetic (EM) sensing technology, data acquisition and data inversion, a sophisticated data processing technique that provides 3D images of subsurface formations and fluids.

The WAVE Consortium will introduce and advance new EM technologies and methods for surveying and monitoring the Earth’s subsurface into North America. These highly specialized techniques directly address a number of limitations in present methods. In particular, sensor system advancements offer the potential for long-term monitoring of areas such as oil and gas reservoirs, carbon sequestration sites, and fracking sites as well as observation of groundwater status and movement.

GroundMetrics offers highly innovative EM sensing technology, and TechnoImaging is at the forefront of 3D data inversion. The LBNL is a member of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) network of scientific research labs and Dr. Newman is an expert in 3D EM modeling and imaging. Berkeley Geophysics Associates is led by Professor H. Frank Morrison, Professor Emeritus at the University of California Berkeley, who is recognized as a world leading authority on EM geophysics and its use in subsurface applications. Chinook Geoconsulting, under the direction of Dr. Karen Christopherson, has extensive practical experience in planning, conducting and interpreting EM surveys. Together, the Consortium members have the necessary expertise to cover all facets of EM surveying, including equipment design, survey planning and execution, data acquisition and processing, and the creation of subsurface images through data inversion.

The initial goals of the Consortium are to develop and demonstrate a new and innovative electrical source, used to create EM fields required to generate the necessary data deep underground. The new source configuration addresses many of the present practical issues related to EM surveying and imaging, such as safety and high costs. In addition, the Consortium will demonstrate long-duration EM surveys and/or permanent deployment of equipment with automated processing and change detection.

The Consortium is targeting monitoring of oilfields during specialized extraction processes known as improved oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery, monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO₂) that has been injected into the ground for storage purposes, a process known as Carbon Capture Storage, and monitoring for induced hydraulic-fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” a modern technique for extraction of oil, gas or other substances trapped in rock. Optimization of these methods has the potential to increase domestic oil and gas production.

About GroundMetrics

GroundMetrics (www.GroundMetrics.Com) was founded in 2010 to commercialize a new class of sensing technology for geophysical applications and to provide advanced survey and monitoring services directly to energy, mining, geothermal, and environmental companies. Our sensor systems can provide high quality data while operating in challenging environments such as the desert, frozen tundra and solid rock in addition to extremely hot and cold temperatures and are suitable for long-term monitoring or permanent emplacement.