Case Study - Selecting the right location for well drilling in Kansas

Day one: method, equipment, and first measurements
Training began with an introduction to the transient electromagnetic method, explaining how the tTEM transmits a controlled electromagnetic pulse into the ground and measures the decaying response to map subsurface resistivity. Understanding basic physics is important not only for operating the system but also for interpreting field data.

From there, the training moved to hardware. The tTEM was assembled and power connected via the 12V/100Ah transmitter battery, and all components were checked and connected. Pre-survey planning included using TEManalyze to model the expected subsurface response before going into the field and to design line spacing and layout appropriate to the geology of the survey area.

The afternoon was fieldwork. Curtis’s team deployed the system, ran the first measurements, and used the tTEM controller app to monitor data quality in real time. The day finished with the collected data downloaded using TEM Data Manager, covering the full acquisition-to-file workflow.

Day two: processing and inversion
Day two introduced TEMimage for data processing. After a repeat field session to build operational confidence, the team imported data into TEMimage and processed it using stacking, filtering, and laterally constrained inversion to produce resistivity sections along each survey line.

The team worked through interpreting the outputs and identifying conductive zones associated with water-bearing formations, resistive layers indicating rock or dry material, and lateral changes in subsurface geology. By the end of the day, they had produced a complete set of resistivity models from their own field data.

Day three: review and outputs
The final day covered the complete workflow again from start to finish: assembly, measurement, processing, and inversion, addressing questions and refining technique. The focus was on producing client-facing outputs: exporting processed models as KMZ files for overlay in Google Earth Pro and placing resistivity data directly within the survey site’s geographic context.

On 27 May, Curtis’s team ran their survey at the training site in Maize, covering 16 lines and 5.7 kilometres, generating over 5,000 individual soundings in roughly an hour. Data was processed in TEMimage, and the resulting resistivity sections were exported as KMZ files for review in Google Earth Pro.

The models show clear subsurface layering across the site: a shallow resistive unit in the near surface, transitioning to progressively more conductive material at depth, consistent with saturated sedimentary formations. Lateral variation across the survey lines is clearly resolved, identifying where geology changes across the property, the kind of information that directly informs where a well should and should not be placed.

For Curtis, the tTEM adds a valuable step in the drilling process before his rig arrives on site. Rather than relying solely on local knowledge and nearby well records to select a drill site, a pre-drilling survey can map the subsurface across the entire property, identify the most promising targets, and produce georeferenced, visual resistivity models overlaid on satellite imagery that can be shared directly with the client.

In Sedgwick County, where geology varies and drilling in rocky terrain incurs real costs, knowing what’s beneath a site before committing to a location has straightforward, practical value. Better-targeted wells mean fewer complications, more efficient use of drilling time, and clearer conversations with clients about what the ground is likely to deliver.