| The GEODIVINING METHOD The
method Doug Bates developed is designed to
achieve and maintain the highest possible success
rate.
His
philosophy from the outset has been to remove as
much as possible of the folklore and mystery from
the practise of divining, and apply and develop
the best techniques in a logical scientific way.
Geodiviners
are thoroughly trained in this method, to a high
standard that is constantly monitored by results,
and upgraded and refined by experience.
The
Geodivining approach is to take geoscience as far
as practical, technical and economic limitations
will allow, then to fill in the gaps, and vital
target-specific details using a series of
advanced precision divining techniques. Surveys
are typically conducted in 3 logical stages,
before drilling: Geological and Hydrogeological
research; Target-specific Map-dowsing; and
Target-specific Divining on site.
Our
reports provide all the information required for
digging and drilling contractors, and development
work may often be done without the Geodiviner on
site, but we do also offer a 'measure while
drilling' well logging and supervisory service.
When
commissioned to conduct a survey, the first thing
a Geodiviner does is to find out exactly what
your requirements are, and exactly what he is
being asked to find. In the case of water, we
need to know how much water you need each day,
and what your peak consumption rate is likely to
be; what water storage provision you have, if
any; what the water is to be used for, and what
particular qualities are considered ideal for
such use.
In
most cases, of course, we assume we are looking
for good quality potable water; and the quantity,
or sustainable yield, is the single most
important criterion.
From
this information we can then set the target
parameters in advance for the second and third
stages, which is vital to making the best of our
target-specific methods.
We
also ask you to send us suitable maps of the area
to be surveyed, or for your instructions to
obtain such maps from the Ordnance Survey or
other agency.
Stage
1 - Geological and Hydrogeological Research
The
first stage of all geoprospecting surveys is to
research all available maps and data on the local
geology and hydrogeology of the area to be
surveyed and its surroundings.
We
hold a large stock of British Geological Survey
1:50 000 scale, and older 1:63 360 scale,
geological maps covering most of the land area of
the U.K. Although some areas are not covered on
this scale, or are currently in the process of
being re-surveyed, less detailed 1:250 000 and
1:625 000 scale maps are available covering the
whole country. Hydrogeological maps of Scotland,
England and Wales are also published by the
B.G.S. in the 1:625 000 scale, and a few select
aquifer areas are more comprehensively covered in
the 1:100 000 scale.
Regional
Geology and Hydrogeology guides are also
available for immediate reference, and the B.G.S.
has a very useful National Well Archive and
enquiry service, as well as a wealth of other
unpublished information to which we can refer
when the need arises.
We
also have hundreds of our own unpublished surveys
relating to all parts of Scotland including the
islands, along with proven drilling results from
many of these, where we have found water in every
rock formation that occurs in Scotland's richly
varied geology.
We
also hold a substantial collection of Geological
and Hydrogeological maps of other parts of the
world, especially North America, Southern Africa,
and Australia
We
research all the available information relevant
to the survey, and produce a Geological Report
with maps and cross-sections to illustrate
geological formations and structures, and their
relationship to the target resource we have been
asked to find.
From
this geological study, and largely from our own
experience, we can formulate a clear idea of what
to expect from the survey area, establish what
chances we have of finding our specified target
in that geological environment, determine what
formations and obstructions to avoid, and decide
what structures we should be looking for in the
second and third stages of the survey.
The
geological report helps us, you, and the drillers
to understand what ground conditions we are
likely to be dealing with. It prevents
misunderstandings and misconceptions, and is
instrumental in saving us from many of the
pitfalls that await the unwary and geologically
uneducated diviner.
Stage
2 - Target-specific Map-dowsing ( Divining on
maps )
Having
got the general picture of what the geological
environment has to offer us, we next get down to
the brass tacks of accurately locating,
delineating and assessing underground formations
and structures that match the specified target.
The
target can be as specific as you want; in
fact the more specific the target is, the more
precisely the divining can be done, and the
greater the likelihood of achieving a successful
result becomes.
Clarity
is vital, and generalisation and ambiguity must
be avoided.
Such
is the nature of the Geodivining process.
This
is where Geodivining reaches beyond conventional
prospecting, using the Diviner's mind as a
highly tuned and versatile geophysical sensor
that operates in a way quite unlike any physical
technology.
Unlike
most geophysical instruments which detect
anomalies of various kinds that must be analysed
and interpreted for patterns and configurations
that are characteristic of certain types of
formation or structure, that raise the
probability of the target being found or achieved
within the anomalous zone with variable degrees
of reliability and accuracy; Geodivining goes
right to the point of identifying the exact
location of almost any specified geophysical
target and assessing its dimensions and qualities
with precise efficiency.
Whatever
requested target the Geodiviner sets his mind to,
he will find with uncanny reliability, if it is
there to be found.
Instead
of employing an expensive and time-consuming
series of narrow-range or single-parameter
geophysical instruments, a Geodiviner has only to
re-focus his or her mind to re-calibrate to a new
target or parameter.
In
a typical survey, a Geodiviner makes over 1000
individual measurements, up to 10 per minute, and
mentally re-calibrates at will, from one
target-specific parameter to another, any number
of times.
Ideally,
of course, the use of instruments and
Geodivining should be integrated, to achieve
the highest possible level of certainty about the
target and its qualities; and indeed, we are
actively working towards this aim in our more
advanced mineral exploration and oil & gas
exploration programs.
Water
prospecting budgets, however, seldom extend to
the use of geophysical surveying equipment;
so the cheaper and (we believe we can prove) more
effective Geodivining steps neatly into the
breach.
Before
setting about map-dowsing, therefore, we
must define as specifically as possible, the
target you want us to locate for you. Once
this has been decided, the Geodiviner focuses his
or her mind on the representative relationship
between the map and the real area of the Earth's
surface that is identified thereby, to the extent
that in his or her mind they become a unified
reality.
We
then apply a series of goal oriented scanning and
probing techniques, covering the whole survey
area in as much detail as is required to search
out and delineate all the formations and
structures that match the target. (If the
ideal target can't be found, we may re-calibrate
to find the very best that is available.)
Detailed
map-dowsing typically achieves high resolution
limited only by the scale of the map. In the
1:2500 scale accuracy to 2.5m can be achieved,
with a variable multi-directional scan line
density of 1000-3000m / hectare, and with areal
survey rates of about 10-30 hectares / hour.
Map-dowsing
is done using a variety of techniques, but always
with reference to an exact position on the map,
and therefore also on the ground. The Geodiviner
may use his or her fingertips to quickly scan a
map, but for accurate work he or she will always
use a pencil point in contact with the map, to
mark either a fixed or moving position that
relates instantaneously to the mental signals he
or she transmits and receives through whichever
dowsing technique is being employed at that
moment.
For
map-dowsing we employ a pendulum held in one hand
to give us physical visual signals, instead of
the two handed divining rods that we use in the
field.
Most
of the map-dowsing work involves horizontal
scanning, which gives us a complete picture of
structural features and their continuity over a
wide area that is almost impossible to
achieve in the field without spending several
days doing it, and walking exhausting distances
in the process.
Obviously
there is a great saving in time and effort, and
such efficiency is also very economical.
Site-specific
depths and flow rates can also be measured by
map-dowsing, and although we usually leave
these measurements to stage 3, this ability is an
important element of Geodivining training, and is
especially useful for advanced 3-dimensional
mapping on offshore targets and other inaccesible
sites.
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