Page 46 - fall2017

Besides the quality of

the footage they return,

drones offer impressive

speed.

landslide has its own anatomy in shape and
morphology,” Gootee says, “so we want to
capture that.” The AZGS will soon release
a statewide landslide database, providing
priceless information for emergency officials
across Arizona.
Massive wildfires, which are becoming
more common, also provide work for drones:
examining the burned debris and naked,
erosion-ready slopes they leave behind.
Following a fire, entire hillsides can wash away,
dragging along branches and brush in a deadly
slurry. The worst threat is from fires just before
the deluges of monsoon season. “Then there
is nothing protecting that burned landscape,”
Gootee says. “Everything runs off very quickly.”
Drones are used to pinpoint areas most at
Brian Gootee flies an AZGS drone. risk so officials can concentrate their limited
resources. “We go in and identify an area and
“Even airplanes can’t provide the perspective that say, ‘Here are some real hotspots that you can
a drone does.” identify prior to runoff.’”
Besides the quality of the footage they return, “Ideally, once an area is safe to go into, and
drones offer impressive speed. Following heavy you can capture it from above, we would identify
rains, for instance, they can quickly assess whether the area has thicker or thinner soil,”
landslide-prone areas to determine the potential says Gootee. “We also look for areas that have a
for an emergency. And soon, they will become stockpile of debris in proximity to stormwater
more autonomous, allowing researchers to attend runoff.”
to other tasks while the preprogrammed devices Amazing as they are, drones do require a deft
buzz off to investigate sites. human touch — and operators who know what
For all these reasons, the use of drones in to look for. “They’re super-cool,” says Gootee.
geology is exploding. The AZGS is now among “But if you don’t have expertise to back it up,
more than 15 state agencies across the country they’re useless.”
using them to streamline otherwise costly and When they are teamed with human
time-consuming fieldwork. In regions with knowledge, however, the potential is dazzling.
extensive oil and gas drilling, for instance, drones “We’re excited that we can now do things very
hunt for dangerous abandoned wells. Elsewhere, quickly, on-demand and at very low cost,” says
they help find undiscovered paleontological sites Gootee. “We can deploy very quickly and deliver
and monitor critical public structures, such as quickly. What before took weeks and months
dams and bridges. now takes hours and days.
Drones also offer geologists unprecedented “Drones have really changed the way we do
information about landslide sites. “Every science.”

44 ARIZONA ALUMNI MAGAZINE