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    DWR Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Surveys Data

    Metadata Updated: March 30, 2024

    Statewide AEM Surveys Project Overview

    The Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) Statewide Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Surveys Project is funded through California’s Proposition 68 and the General Fund. The goal of the project is to improve the understanding of groundwater aquifer structure to support the state and local goal of sustainable groundwater management and the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

    During an AEM survey, a helicopter tows electronic equipment that sends signals into the ground which bounce back. The data collected are used to create continuous images showing the distribution of electrical resistivity values of the subsurface materials that can be interpreted for lithologic properties. The resulting information will provide a standardized, statewide dataset that improves the understanding of large-scale aquifer structures and supports the development or refinement of hydrogeologic conceptual models and can help identify areas for recharging groundwater.

    DWR is collecting AEM data in all of California’s high- and medium-priority groundwater basins, where data collection is feasible. Data are collected in a coarsely spaced grid, with a line spacing of approximately 2-miles by 8-miles. AEM data collection started in 2021 and will continue over the next several years. Visit the AEM Survey Schedule Webpage to get up-to-date information on the survey schedule: https://gis.water.ca.gov/app/AEM-schedule.

    Additional information about the Statewide AEM Surveys can be found at the project website: https://water.ca.gov/Programs/SGMA/AEM.

    Survey Areas

    AEM data are being collected in groups of groundwater basins, defined as a Survey Area. See the Survey Area Map in the Data and Resources Section below to see the basins in each Survey Area.

    • Survey Area 1: 180/400 Foot Aquifer (partial), East Side (partial), Upper Valley, Forebay Aquifer, Paso Robles, Atascadero (limited), Adelaida (limited), Cuyama Valley.
    • Survey Area 2: Scott River Valley, Shasta Valley, Butte Valley, Tulelake, Fall River Valley (limited), Big Valley (Modoc/Lassen County).
    • Survey Area 3: Big Valley (Lake County), Ukiah Valley, Santa Rosa Plain, Petaluma Valley, Sonoma Valley.
    • Survey Area 4: White Wolf, Kern County, Tulare Lake, Tule, Kaweah.
    • Survey Area 5: Pleasant Valley, Westside, Kings, Madera, Chowchilla, Merced, Turlock, Modesto, Delta-Mendota
    • Survey Area 6: Cosumnes, Tracy, Eastern San Joaquin, East Contra Costa, Solano, Livermore, South American, North American, Yolo, Sutter, South Yuba, North Yuba
    • Survey Area 7: Colusa, Butte, Wyandotte Creek, Vina, Los Molinos, Corning, Red Bluff, Antelope, Bowman, Bend, Millville, South Battle Creek, Anderson, Enterprise, Eel River, Sierra Valley
    • Survey Area 8: Seaside, Monterey, 180/400 (partially surveyed Summer 2021), Eastside (partially surveyed Summer 2021), Langley, Pajaro, Santa Cruz Mid-County, Santa Margarita, San Benito, and Llagas (partial).
    • Survey Area 9: Basin Characterization Pilot Study 1 - Madera and Kings.
    • Survey Area 10: San Antonio Creek Valley, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Los Osos Area, Warden Creek, Chorro Valley (limited), Morro Valley (limited)
    • Survey Area 11: Indian Wells Valley, Rose Valley, Owens Valley, Fish Slough, Indio, Mission Creek, West Salton Sea (limited), East Salton Sea (limited), Ocotillo-Clark Valley (limited), Imperial Valley (limited),Chocolate Valley (limited), Borrego Springs, and San Jacinto

    Data Reports

    Data reports detail the AEM data collection, processing, inversion, interpretation, and uncertainty analyses methods and procedures. Data reports also describe additional datasets used to support the AEM surveys, including digitized lithology and geophysical logs. Multiple data reports may be provided for a single Survey Area, depending on the Survey Area coverage.

    Data Availability and Types

    All data collected as a part of the Statewide AEM Surveys will be made publicly available, by survey area, approximately six to twelve months after individual surveys are complete (depending on survey area size). Datasets that will be publicly available include:

    AEM Datasets

    • Raw AEM Data
    • Processed AEM Data
    • Inverted AEM Data
    • Inverted AEM Data Uncertainty Analysis
    • Interpreted AEM Data (for coarse fraction)
    • Interpreted AEM Data Uncertainty Analysis

    Supporting Datasets

    • Flown Survey Lines
    • Digitized Lithology Logs
    • Digitized Geophysical Logs

    AEM Data Viewers

    DWR has developed AEM Data Viewers to provides a quick and easy way to visualize the AEM electrical resistivity data and the AEM data interpretations (as texture) in a three-dimensional space. The most recent data available are shown, which my be the provisional data for some areas that are not yet finalized. The Data Viewers can be accessed by direct link, below, or from the Data Viewer Landing Page: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/aem/resource/29c4478d-fc34-44ab-a373-7d484afa38e8

    AEM 3D Viewer (Beta) (computer only): https://dwr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/3dviewer/index.html?appid=f781b14f42ab45e5b72f32cf07af899c

    AEM Profile Viewer: https://dwr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/attachmentviewer/index.html?appid=65f0aa6db8124aeda54e1f33c5dfe66c

    AEM Depth Slice and Shallow Subsurface Average Maps

    As a part of DWR’s upcoming Basin Characterization Program, DWR will be publishing a series of maps and tools to support advanced data analyses. The first of these maps have now been published and provide analyses of the Statewide AEM Survey data to support the identification of potential recharge areas. The maps are located on the SGMA Data Viewer (under the Hydrogeologic Conceptual Model tab) and show the AEM electrical resistivity and AEM-derived texture data as the following:

    • Shallow Subsurface Average: Maps showing the average electrical resistivity and AEM-derived texture in the shallow subsurface (the top approximately 50 feet below ground surface). These maps support identification of potential recharge areas, where the top 50 feet is dominated by high resistivity or coarse-grained materials.

    • Depth Slices: Depth slice automations showing changes in electrical resistivity and AEM-derived texture with depth. These maps aid in delineating the geometry of large-scale features (for example, incised valley fills).

    Shapefiles for the formatted AEM electrical resistivity data and AEM derived texture data as depth slices and the shallow subsurface average can be downloaded here:

    Electrical Resistivity Depth Slices and Shallow Subsurface Average Maps: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/aem/resource/7d115ac3-d7b8-47fa-ab8b-a078b2525bbe

    Texture Interpretation (Coarse Fraction) Depth Slices and Shallow Subsurface Average Maps: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/aem/resource/0952506a-1ad8-4c04-9372-ded45148e6a6

    SGMA Data Viewer (Hydrogeologic Conceptual Model tab) - Depth Slices and Shallow Subsurface Average Maps: https://sgma.water.ca.gov/webgis/?appid=SGMADataViewer#hcm

    Technical Memos

    Technical memos are developed by DWR's consultant team (Ramboll Consulting) to describe research related to AEM survey planning or data collection. Research described in the technical memos may also be formally published in a journal publication.

    Provisional Statement

    Data Reports and datasets labeled as provisional may be incomplete and are subject to revision until they have been thoroughly reviewed and received final approval. Provisional data and reports may be inaccurate and subsequent review may result in revisions to the data and reports. Data users are cautioned to consider carefully the provisional nature of the information before using it for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational consequences.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. Non-Federal: This dataset is covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov. License: No license information was provided.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date August 12, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date March 30, 2024

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from State of California

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date August 12, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date March 30, 2024
    Publisher California Department of Water Resources
    Maintainer
    Identifier f84cad8a-24f5-4ad3-a0e5-a9e63642acab
    Data First Published 2021-12-21T15:14:41.303134
    Data Last Modified 2024-03-22T18:09:57.733420
    Category Natural Resources, Water
    Public Access Level public
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Harvest Object Id ea2e9a35-cb37-40f5-850b-4744267441ea
    Harvest Source Id 3ba8a0c1-5dc2-4897-940f-81922d3cf8bc
    Harvest Source Title State of California
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 6b9d7cbcbef8b532ee340b0e32f8e005ca550474b90d1c1bcaa8b79d69fc8030
    Source Schema Version 1.1

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