ACQUISITION OF LABORATORY EQUIPMENT FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

1029118 Knight This grant supports acquisition of equipment to measure the magnetic susceptibility of prepared laboratory samples and core samples. Specific equipment to be acquired includes a Bartington Magnetic Susceptibility Meter, Bartington Dual Frequency Sensor, Bartington Core Logging Sensor, ASC manual core track, and a digital tape measure. The equipment will complement existing proton nuclear magnetic resonance instruments in the PIs lab at Stanford. The equipment will support investigations of the relationship between NMR measured spin-spin relaxation time constants of Hydrogen (1H) nuclei stimulated using standard well logging NMR tools and those measured with surface NMR (SNMR) field instruments and their relationship with the hydraulic conductivity (K) of subsurface materials in the saturated zone of uncosolidated aquifers. Down hole NMR logging has long been used in the petroleum industry to estimate the permeability of formations and the theoretical basis for the relationship between the relaxation time constant measured and pore throat length scale is well established. In contrast, the relationship between the relaxation time constant measured by SNMR and K is poorly understood but the linkage between the SNMR measured relaxation time constant and that measured down hole is related to the magnetic susceptibility of magnetic minerals in the target horizon. Should the PI be able to develop an algorithm for relating SNMR measurements to K there could be wide spread applications for rapid assessment of groundwater aquifers with implications for water resource management. The equipment would immediately supported PI funded NSF/EAR research that addresses the possibility of using SNMR for estimating K. ***