Mapping protected groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields, San Joaquin Valley, California

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys are a major component of a regional study of groundwater quality adjacent to oil and gas fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California, USA. AEM resistivity models are being used to delineate groundwater salinity in an effort to locate groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields that could have future beneficial use. AEM models are also being used to improve our understanding of the hydrogeologic controls that may influence fluid transport between oil and gas operations and protected groundwater.