MARINE MAGNETOMETERS HELP POLICE & UTILITIES
Oil
and utility companies have been laying pipelines under the ocean
for many years. Before the introduction of GPS, marking their
position was a difficult and tedious task, fraught with error.
Over time the position and burial depth of a pipeline was often
changed due to storms and other environmental forces. Today,
there is a pressing need to accurately map the location of these
lines to ensure they are not damaged by dredging, dropped
anchors, and other potentially hazardous operations. With a
large number of these pipelines decades old, there is also an
urgent need to examine their condition and perform a thorough
inspection. The problem is; many can not easily be located.
One of the best devices to help find these lost
lines is a magnetometer. A “mag”, as it is often called, is a
super sensitive metal detector that can locate iron and steel
objects at ranges in the hundreds of feet. When Bay County
Utility Services in Panama City, Florida needed to locate an old
water line that runs under Grand Lagoon, it turned to commercial
diving company HT Marine Services for assistance. Equipped with
a JW Fisher Diver Mag 1 hand-held magnetometer, HT’s divers
entered the area where they suspected the pipeline was buried
under several feet of mud and silt. They began working a grid
pattern and soon the mag began to indicate the presence of a
significant steel mass. Divers were alerted to presence of a
target by strong readings on the instrument’s visual and audio
alarms.
“With the help of the magnetometer our team was able to
quickly locate and track the pipeline over several hundred
feet”, said project supervisor Rudy Watts. “Once we knew the
exact position of the pipeline, the burial depth could easily be
determined.”
Another company successfully using the magnetometer to
find pipelines is Algosaibi Diving in Saudi Arabia. The company
is regularly contracted to locate and track oil pipelines in the
Persian Gulf. Operations supervisor Ray Genese reports the
Diver Mag is invaluable in these operations.
In addition to their use in the commercial diving
industry, mags have also become popular with law enforcement
agencies and military units. The Underwater Crime Scene
Investigation team at Florida State University has developed a
unique training opportunity for public safety dive teams. Their
program provides advanced training in crime scene investigation
for aquatic environments. The focus is on operational
techniques and protocols available to the underwater
investigator. According to training director Banyon Pelham
students learn how to use a variety of the high tech tools
including Fishers Diver Mag and the Pulse 8X metal detectors to
locate weapons and explosive devices. The US Navy has also
discovered the benefits of using these detectors in their search
operations. At the Facilities Engineering Service Center in
California, navy divers are using the Diver Mag and Pulse 8X to
track pipelines, locate moorings and anchor chains, and find
lost tools.
For more information on marine magnetometers and metal detectors go to www.jwfishers.com.
