Students find water with sledgehammer
JUST BEAT IT: Brock Dunn creates some seismic waves with the help of his trusty sledgehammer. Students will repeat the process 200 times and send the data to Sydney to be analysed. Photo: Geoff O'Neil 260716GOC02
FARRER Memorial Agricultural High School students are hitting a metal plate with a sledgehammer in the name of science.
The students are conducting an aquifer mapping project on the school’s 190-hectare property, which will help them pick the best spots for new bores.
The school is the first high school in Australia to commission a 3D aquifer map, through Sydney-based groundwater explorers Geo9.
The company has a unique and world-leading scientific process, to map subsurface conditions in any location – the seismic waves created by the sledgehammer striking the metal plate travel down into the earth, generating an electrical signal that interacts with nearby water molecules.
Farrar principal Clint Gallagher, said the project created a variety of learning and skills development opportunities for students.
“Our aim is to integrate the information from the groundwater study into our curriculum and train the next generation of farmers in the latest scientific groundwater study techniques,” Mr Gallagher said.