People along rivers in seven states from Missouri to Louisiana may see a low-flying helicopter towing a long cylinder, starting late this month and going into July.
The 30-foot-long tube, called a bird, holds an electromagnetic instrument that the U.S. Geological Survey uses to make maps of aquifers — underground areas from which water can be drawn. Other instruments are in the helicopter.
Past flights have taken parallel paths to cover about 54,000 square miles (about 140,000 square kilometers) of land in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, research geophysicist Burke Minsley said. He said this year, the helicopter will generally fly along 6,500 miles of rivers in those states.