Media Alert: Low-level helicopter flights to image geology over Wyoming and Colorado
USGS surveys set to begin in February
Editor: In the public interest and in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne project. Your assistance in informing the local communities is appreciated.
RESTON, Va. — Low-level helicopter flights are planned over areas of Wyoming and northern Colorado to image geology using airborne geophysical technology.
Data collection for this survey area will be conducted starting in February 2025 for approximately three months, weather and flight restriction permitting. Surveying is expected to be completed by the summer of 2025.
Flights will cover areas within Albany, Carbon, Converse, Laramie, and Platte counties in Wyoming as well as Jackson, Larimer, and Routt counties in Colorado.
The flights will be based out of various Wyoming airports. Flights and landing areas could shift with little to no warning to other parts of the survey area as necessary to minimize ferrying distances and avoid adverse flying conditions.
The purpose of the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey is to provide images of subsurface electrical resistivity that expand the fundamental knowledge of geology underpinning an area from the Cheyenne Belt in Wyoming through to the Black Hills in South Dakota. These flights are a part of a two-year airborne data collection project, expected to finish in 2026.
The helicopter will fly along pre-planned flight paths relatively low to the ground at about 100 to 200 feet (30-60 meters) above the land surface. The ground clearance will be increased as needed and will comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Flight lines will be flown along lines of variable orientation and spacing with a typical approximate spacing of 6,500 ft (2,000 m).
A sensor that resembles a large hula-hoop will be towed beneath the helicopter to measure small electromagnetic signals that can be used to map geologic features.
None of the instruments carried beneath or on the aircraft pose a health risk to people, animals, or plant life. No photography or video data will be collected. The data collected will be made freely available to the public on ScienceBase, typically within one year of flight completion. The aircraft will be flown by experienced pilots who are specially trained and approved for low-level flying. The survey company works with the FAA to ensure flights are safe and in accordance with U.S. law.
The surveys will be conducted during daylight hours only. Surveys do not occur over densely populated areas and the helicopter will not directly overfly buildings at low altitude.
The survey is funded by the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative and is designed to meet needs related to mineral resource assessments, regional geologic framework and mapping studies, as well as water resource investigations and surficial mapping studies. The AEM survey is focused on characterizing several major mineral systems, including critical minerals associated with mafic magmatic, volcanogenic seafloor, and porphyry systems.
The new geophysical data will be processed to develop high-resolution three-dimensional representations of near-surface geology from the surface to depths up to 1,500 ft (roughly 500 meters) below the surface. The 3D models and maps derived from this project are important for improving our understanding of critical mineral resource potential, water resources, groundwater pathways near legacy mining areas, parameters for infrastructure and land use planning.
The survey fits into a broader effort by the USGS, the Wyoming State Geological Survey, the Colorado Geological Survey, and other partners - including private companies, academics and state and federal agencies - to modernize our understanding of the Nation’s fundamental geologic framework and knowledge of mineral resources. This effort is known as the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, and it includes airborne geophysical surveys like this one, geochemical reconnaissance surveys, topographic mapping using LiDAR technology, hyperspectral surveys, and geologic mapping projects.
The USGS has contracted Fugro and Xcalibur Smart Mapping to collect data.
Read the full project announcement for this survey in our newsroom here.
To learn more about USGS mineral-resource and commodity information, please visit our website and follow us on X.