Field Report 3. GEOL 4420 Fall 2026.

The Dog Leg Take 2. (Note: This is not the title of your report).

DUE: Monday 2026-11-09, 11:59:59.999 PM

Overview

In this field data report your goals are the essentially same as in Field Report 1 (please read below for a more detailed reminder). The goals being the same as before does not imply your report structure will be the same as before. I advise you to consider this as a completely fresh report, i.e. editing your previous report will almost surely not result in a better report than if you start completely from scratch. Of course, review your previous work to stimulate ideas for your new and improved understanding of the field site.

With respect to the Dog Leg, we now have additional information:

Data

Here is a list of all our relevant data at the Dog Leg. Your goal is to make a narrative supporting your conclusions. You can use whatever data you feel best makes your points (all, or a subset). It is possible that some of the data is no longer as relevant as it might have been in the past to make your point; yet it could provide relevant historical context on the project. These are all decisions you make.

VES Data

2D ERT Data

Seismic Refraction Data

Seismic Refraction Presentation Requirements

When presenting your seismic refraction first-break travel-time curves, whether it is a FWD shot only, or both a FWD and REV shot pair, please use the image at the bottom of this page to guide you.

In addition, for the FWD/REV shot pair from 2022, you must produce an analysis of the dip of the layers detected by the data. This involves reading and understanding the appropriate formulas in the readings from the Introduction to Applied Geophysics (I2AG) book I have posted. For this book, figure files are also available. You also have the reading from Looking Into The Earth (LITE) on seismic refraction at the same location. Physical copies of both books are in the geology classroom.

Of course - cite everything you use overall in your References/Bibliography section of your report using a *.bib file in Overleaf.

Notes on Report Construction

Your report will be addressed to Dr. Jeremy James, Department Head of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences. On consideration of the promising initial results you previously communicated to Kevin Piper (Cal Poly Ag Lands manager), the project was turned over to Dr. James who approved your request to collect new seismic refraction data and make an analysis of historical seismic refraction data. The overall goal is to locate suitable site(s) for groundwater well(s) to support a student farm project.

To take advantage of the geologic expertise you have as NOPAL Geophysical, beyond the well siting an analysis of the geologic structure of the aquifer is requested. This is not just for show - the nature of the bedrock, is an important consideration since fractured bedrock could potentially enhance the water storage capacity beyond that of the alluvial system alone.

The geologic structure also includes the nature of the deposition of what we have been calling the aquifer material in our ERT images. Are there paleochannels? Can we recognize it as flood plain deposits? This is likely to still be speculative ... but have no fear, you will have another chance to write about the Dog Leg, with even more data 😉.

Email me the PDF generated by Overleaf. As you have likely figured out, LaTeX (via Overleaf in our case) is an excellent medium for final typesetting of a document. You can of course sketch out your writing in regular word processors, text files, on paper, etc. As I have mentioned, a useful tool for me is to think about things in terms of the figures and what they convey. This makes the ordering of the figures important. You can then write "around" the figures to some degree. Your mileage may vary but it is something to think about at least.

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