Low-level airplane flights in county part of geology study

Low-level airplane flights are planned over a broad region in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas to image geology using airborne technology. The work includes Texas County, U.S. Geological Survey officials said.

The survey will be conducted from early October for approximately eight months, weather and wildfire restrictions permitting.

The purpose of the survey is to provide images that expand the fundamental knowledge of geology underpinning the Ozark Plateau.

By imaging surface and concealed geology, data from this survey will facilitate geologic mapping related to mineral resource potential, as well as provide insight into the underlying structures.

This region is renowned for its world-class Mississippi Valley-type deposits and has an extensive mining history associated with a variety of mineral commodities.

The flights will be based out of Rolla National Airport, West Plains Regional Airport, Springfield-Branson National Airport and Clinton Memorial Airport in Missouri.

The flights could shift with little warning to other parts of the survey area as necessitated by adverse flying conditions.

The airplanes will fly along pre-planned flight paths relatively low to the ground at about 260 feet above the surface. The ground clearance will be increased to 1,000 feet over populated areas and will comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

The survey will use Piper Navajo aircraft equipped with an elongated “stinger” mounted to the back of the aircraft. Instruments in the stinger and inside the cabin will measure variations in the Earth’s magnetic field and natural low-level gamma energy created by different rock types.

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