Low-flying Helicopter Scanning Great Sand Dunes National Park

Citizens and visitors should not be alarmed if they witness a low-flying helicopter, with a large wire-loop contraption hanging from a cable underneath, flying over the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the next couple of weeks.

Starting on or about Monday, Oct. 10, and lasting for one to two weeks, a low-flying helicopter under contract to the U.S. Geological Survey will begin collecting and recording geophysical measurements over the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo., for scientific research purposes. This is the first in a series of airborne geophysical surveys to be conducted in San Luis Valley this fall.

The helicopter will collect measurements over the Great Sand Dunes National Park located northeast of Alamosa and will also include a 13-mile-wide by 18-mile-long area south of the Park. The helicopter will fly low to the ground in a back and forth pattern to measure the electrical properties of the Earth’s crust. This effort is part of a larger study of the geology of the San Luis Valley that has been active since 2005. The National Park Service is a cooperator in the project.