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A data acquisition campaign on water resources by helicopter

The government of New Caledonia and the Pacific Community are organising, through the PROTEGE project funded by the European Union, a data acquisition campaign on water resources in Poum.

The aim of this campaign is to identify possible new groundwater resources, particularly for drinking water in this area, which has been highly affected by drought.

The lack of data on the situation of the salt wedge sometimes imposes on managers a "blind" exploitation of groundwater. However, saline intrusions into these resources could be irreversible on a human scale. A better knowledge of the subsoil can also allow to locate resources to be exploited.

Airborne geophysics consists in flying a helicopter equipped with sensors at low altitude. It will fly during the day over the sectors of the area away from the mining massifs between 7 and 17 December 2020. The helicopter will travel at around 80 km/h, at an altitude of 70 metres, it will cover a soccer field length in four seconds.

The low-frequency electromagnetic waves produced by the antenna do not pose any risk to the population and wildlife. The waves produced are more than a million times less than those of a mobile phone worn at the user's ear.

A public meeting, in the presence of the Mayor of Poum, the DIMENC and the PROTEGE team, was organised on December 4th at 10 am at the town hall of Poum in order to inform and answer any questions the population may have had.

For further information :

DIMENC, Geological Service of New Caledonia | Tel : +687 27 02 30

PROTEGE Project, Pacific Community (SPC) l Tel: +687 26 20 00

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