Bidding Scenario

The proposed development north of Golden includes an elementary school that must conform with strict building codes. Foundation design for stability, earthquake resistance, etc. depends on bedrock depth and configuration. The client is concerned that other anomalies in the gravity data might represent bedrock variations that would change the foundation design with significant impact on their cost estimates.

Bedrock over the survey area consists of a variety of rock types including shales, sandstones, intrusives, and possibly Precambrian granites. Because magnetic susceptibilities differ greatly between sandstones, shales, granites, and igneous intrusives, bids are being sought to collect and interpret magnetic observations over the entire survey area to document bedrock anomalies within the survey area. The contractor will be responsible for all aspects of survey design, fieldwork, processing, and interpretation.

The client would like the survey to consist of a series of east-west oriented magnetic profiles. One of these profiles must correspond to the location of the gravity profile collected previously. In terms of the coordinate system established by the client, this line must run from (-250,0) to (250,0). Other than these constraints, the contractor is free to specify the north-south spacing of the magnetic profiles, the spacing of magnetic observations along each line, and the number of readings made at each location.

Your submitted bid should contain:

• A brief description of the problem including an interpretation of the gravity observations collected previously,
• A brief discussion of survey design considerations,
• A survey plan including:
  • North-south interval of the east-west directed lines (in meters),
  • Magnetic station interval along each east-west line (in meters),
  • Diurnal data corrections should be made using a separate meter continuously recording the magnetic field at a base station. Specify the location of the base station, and
  • Number of magnetic observations collected at each magnetic station,
• A brief discussion of the survey design limitations and an estimate of the probability of success for this type of survey given the problem at hand,
• An appendix that contains a list of "if-then" statements that describes the physics of the problem under consideration, and
• A break down of the survey costs and a total bid for the project. For this break down, note that the client will contract with a surveying company to establish the absolute locations of each of your magnetic stations. You do not need to include the cost of location surveying in your bid.

Your bid should be composed in the format of a memo and be no longer than two type-written pages. Feel free, however, to include as many appendicies as necessary.

Magnetics Survey Design ❯❯