Geophysical exploration using proton nuclear magnetic resonance

A portable proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) surface scanner for geotechnical engineering is developed. The proton NMR refers to a spectroscopy to observed the precession of the proton or nucleus of hydrogen. As there are many hydrogen atoms in the underground as water molecules, NMR is expected to enable to obtain useful information of subsurface water. The scanner is expected to be applied to detect the water-saturated hidden fractures in tunnels, shafts, and galleries and to estimate the fracture aperture in terms of the safe maintenance.