Geophysical and Utility Surveys

Our Expertise

• Ground penetrating radar

  Applications of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) are broad and varied owing to the versatility of use in urban environments. GPR is most commonly used to confirm the position of buried utilities, with specific benefits to locate non-metallic utilities that electromagnetic locators cannot detect.

• Seismic techniques

  Seismic techniques, including refraction, reflection and multichannel analysis of surface waves, rely on the propagation of an acoustic signal through the ground to determine variations in the subsurface properties. The techniques can be applied well to rural and greenfield environments, and to redevelopment sites and ground stiffness investigations. Seismic techniques can also be deployed within boreholes.

• Electrical resistivity

  Injecting an electrical current into the ground and measuring the potential difference between varying sets of electrodes allows an image of the subsurface to be compiled. The technique is best applied in a greenfield setting or areas of soft standing and can be used to assess varying geological conditions, including faults, depth to bedrock, and man-made and natural cavities.

• Microgravity

  This technique can be used to determine the presence of voided or low-density ground. An expert survey design with high-quality data acquisition and processing allow for features such as historical mine workings, collapse and dissolution features, faults and other man-made subsurface structures to be identified.

• Electromagnetic

  Often deployed for quick and economical site reconnaissance surveys, electromagnetic techniques and instrumentation provide versatile survey tools to map variable ground conditions. Uses include locating buried infrastructure and obstructions, and mapping variations in shallow geological conditions and variations and extents of made ground and waste.

• Safeground utility clearance

  Safeground is RSK’s buried infrastructure detection and mapping service. Providing on-site mark-out surveys ahead of ground-breaking activities, Safeground’s aim is to keep the workforce safe by reducing cable strikes and promoting safe digging practices.

• PAS128 Utility Mapping

  Utilising GPR technologies, RSK can offer PAS-128-compliant utility surveys, often utilising post-processed GPR to ensure that we can deliver information to the highest standards in the PAS guidelines. Drawings can be issued in 2D or 3D as required.

  All of our utility drawings integrate record information with on-site survey data, and we always assign quality levels to detected features. This approach allows end-users a greater understanding of, and confidence in, our final deliverables.

• Desk-based utility reports

  RSK can obtain statutory service records for a site. Providing a full report to list affected and unaffected providers in the context of a combined report, we are also able to digitise records to provide a combined digital record of the searches. Records are delivered in line with PAS 128 recommendations for Level D searches.