h a l f b a k e r yVeni, vedi, fish velocipede
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Magentometric geophysics is a useful tool for surveying; it's mostly used for archaeology but there are other
applications.
It's usually done by humans walking backwards and forwards along planned tracks to build up a grid of
readings.
Using vehicles is difficult, because the magnetic field
of the vehicle can swamp the weak field variations that
the magnetometry is searching for; and the terrain may not be easy to traverse.
The solution is obvious; use sheep. Sheep are agile, easily available, and inexpensive. They are rugged and
operate in all weathers.
The plan would be to equip a flock of sheep with harnesses carrying magnetometric instruments, the necessary electronics,
and a package containing a data logger, a gps receiver, and a power source. It would be simple to put a solar
panel on the top too. Then just turn the sheep loose in the area to be surveyed. They will wander around in semi-random
ways, grazing whatever's edible, and as they move they will carry out the survey. Many points will be sampled multiple times,
and there will be gaps, but over time the average will be that the whole site will be sampled to an acceptable density.
Every day, data from the backpacks can be uploaded by radio without approaching the sheep, and the results collated. Should specific
areas require more intensive scanning, electric fences can be deployed to contain the sheep to a smaller area, or for high
precision one or more sheepdogs can contain the herd in a very small area.
When the survey is complete, the sheep can just be moved on to the next site. In addition there will be an annual
supply of wool, and should any individual fall below the expected productivity level, roast mutton will be a menu
item.
Title revised subsequent to [hippo]'s annotation.
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Annotation:
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//Magentometric geophysics// |
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"Well, we've got a band of reddish-purple running parallel to
the first trench, and a sort of mauvier red square that looks
like it could have been a building at one time." |
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Sheep and ye shall find. I've wanted to find a good
use for that statement for years. [+] |
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Let's not start with sheep-puns. They'll be no ewes. |
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For sites near populated areas, special non-bleating sheep will be selectively bred, and their training will start as soon as they are mature enough. They will be well treated, so even animal rights enthusiasts need not be concerned about The Silence Of The Lambs ... |
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Won't bother Sturton. He's Mutt'n'Jeff. |
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Sheep-based magentometric geophysics might best be described as The Science Of The Lambs |
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Idea title revised to recognise quality wit. |
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This is a nice idea but instead of GPS loggers and radio transmitters I would equip each sheep with a light bulb. |
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The output of the magnetometer sensor would feed into the lightbulb, probably an RGB LED, and change its colour to match the reading. Then, to do your survey, you simply take a long exposure photograph of the area and the resulting image is a colourmap of the field strength. |
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There's another version of this product which uses geophysical sensors to survey ground geology to determine where oil deposits might be found. The team creating this found that sheep were too slow and didn't cover a large enough area and so an airborne sensor approach was devised and the product name changed from "The Science of the Lambs" to "A Flock Of Seagulls". Inevitably, when it was discovered that the best geological conditions for the product existed in Iran but also that this place was too far away for the technical support team to be able to offer high-quality on-site support, the marketing manager was heard to exclaim "Iran (So Far Away)!" |
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