Quality Assurance

Quality Objectives: McPHAR maintains the highest quality in the data sets that it provides to its Clients.

Client Participation: It is understood that the Client’s personnel may be involved in the QC, Processing and Interpretation phases of the survey.

Quality Team: McPHAR insures Quality Control by using a team concept. The instrumentation on board the survey aircraft facilitates basic quality control procedures. The team concept is continued at the Survey Base where a McPHAR geophysicist undertakes a more comprehensive QC analysis of the data, and performs preliminary data processing. The data are then given a second, and more complete review, wherein all the systems on board the aircraft are tested for compliance to the survey’s specifications. Any problematic or unacceptable data is identified and flagged for re-flying by the survey crew. On a daily basis, this preliminary processed data is sent to McPhar’s data processing centre via satellite broadband internet, where other Geophysicists further QC the data and perform preliminary data processing.

Field Testing: All instrumentation is completely tested and calibrated prior to the beginning of the survey. As noted above, the daily transfer of data to the data processing centre allows McPHAR to keep a close watch on the integrity of each system on board the aircraft.

Data Quality Control, Infield and Interim Data Processing: Data Quality Control (QC) and the interim data processing of the airborne geophysical data is performed in the field at the survey bases using fully automated techniques, Geosoft MONTAJ airborne QC and data processing software and PC computers. All data is verified upon receipt, and checked against the flight logs. The pre-processing or infield processing sequence includes the following quality control measures:

• Examination and checking of all incoming data to ensure completeness of data sets
• Post-processing of the differential GPS system (when required), correcting and leveling the acquired geophysical data, the production of preliminary flight path maps, speed checks, terrain clearance checks
• Full profile quality control of all acquired traces for noise levels, data completeness, spike editing, and adherence to contract specifications

In addition to the infield processing and quality control, the processing centre receives from the field operations on a regular basis the following data sets:

• Readable digital data on a time basis of all recorded channels, including radar and barometric altimeter data, plus the necessary line identification and header information
• Digital data on a time basis, synchronized to the aircraft data, of recorded diurnal data
• Digital location data of both the inflight GPS and the base station GPS (when a base station is used)
• A copy of the flight log showing daily record of lines flown, appropriate time and fiducial information