(KLZA)-- Southeast Nebraska residents should not be alarmed if they see a low-flying helicopter over areas of the Nemaha Natural Resources District  in mid-April.

Beginning around April 13 and lasting up to 3 weeks, instruments mounted below a helicopter will collect and record geologic measurements to learn more about buried aquifer materials.

The Nemaha NRD and other members of the Eastern Nebraska Water Resource Assessment, a coalition of six NRDs in the eastern third of Nebraska, have planned the flights with supplemental sponsorship from the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR).

According to Katie Cameron, coordinator of ENWRA, the flights will improve our understanding of the available ground water resource and potential ground water/surface water connections in an area of the state made more complex by the presence of glacial deposits.

Exploration Resources International LLC. (XRI) will oversee the flights, process the data and information, and produce a final report. 

The helicopter will fly a grid-like pattern over parts of 13 counties including Otoe, Johnson, Nemaha, Richardson, Pawnee, and Gage Counties. 

Scientific equipment is towed about 100 feet below the helicopter in a ’spider web’ array and is designed to map geologic structures beneath the earth. The helicopter will be manned by experienced pilots who are specially trained for low-level flying with this equipment.

This scientific program is designed to study the area’s water resources such as sand and gravel aquifers using an airborne perspective. It is part of an ongoing program to identify physical occurrences such as changes in geologic materials and sediment types in the subsurface across the region.