If you look up in Northern Drenthe in the coming period, you can just see a very special object flying. No, no UFO, but a helicopter with a hexagonal framework underneath. This does research into the deep clay layers and groundwater. This is necessary, according to Jan Gunnink from TNO, the Dutch organization for applied-natural scientific research.
“Around 60 percent of our drinking water comes from groundwater. Due to climate change and more intensive use of groundwater, it is becoming increasingly scarce,” Gunnink explains. “That is why we look for places in the deep soil layer where there is still available water. Thanks to these measurements, we can see the sweet and salty water very detailed.”
“But also the clay layers that protect the groundwater. With that knowledge we can tell the provinces where there are still undiscovered groundwater areas and on which they must be extra economical.”
This morning the special scaffolding could be viewed up close in a meadow in the Frisian Ouwsterhaule. The measuring instrument broadcasts an electromagnetic signal, which is comparable to the signal used for mobile telephony. That is sent in the soil and the reflected signals will be absorbed again. “Klei guides, not sand,” says Gunnink.
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