Woman collapses after sinkhole fall, sparking ambulance review

Ambulance Victoria is reviewing why a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

The 45-year-old woman fell about three metres into a pool of water in a Springvale backyard as she hung out washing yesterday.

more…

What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home

in some kind of hand held device

CrazyNeutrino said:

Woman collapses after sinkhole fall, sparking ambulance review

Ambulance Victoria is reviewing why a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

The 45-year-old woman fell about three metres into a pool of water in a Springvale backyard as she hung out washing yesterday.

more…

What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home

in some kind of hand held device

Divining rod

CrazyNeutrino said:

Woman collapses after sinkhole fall, sparking ambulance review

Ambulance Victoria is reviewing why a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

The 45-year-old woman fell about three metres into a pool of water in a Springvale backyard as she hung out washing yesterday.

more…

What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home

in some kind of hand held device

Ground Penetrating Radar would probably be the easiest hand-held device… else, maybe a shovel.

diddly-squat said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Woman collapses after sinkhole fall, sparking ambulance review

Ambulance Victoria is reviewing why a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

The 45-year-old woman fell about three metres into a pool of water in a Springvale backyard as she hung out washing yesterday.

more…

What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home

in some kind of hand held device

Ground Penetrating Radar would probably be the easiest hand-held device… else, maybe a shovel.

Does anyone sell them

sink holes are becoming a big problem all over the world

CrazyNeutrino said:

diddly-squat said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Woman collapses after sinkhole fall, sparking ambulance review

Ambulance Victoria is reviewing why a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

The 45-year-old woman fell about three metres into a pool of water in a Springvale backyard as she hung out washing yesterday.

more…

What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home

in some kind of hand held device

Ground Penetrating Radar would probably be the easiest hand-held device… else, maybe a shovel.

Does anyone sell them

sink holes are becoming a big problem all over the world

I’d hardly call sink holes a “big problem all over the world”; but yes, shovels are available at a great many outlets

diddly-squat said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

diddly-squat said:

Ground Penetrating Radar would probably be the easiest hand-held device… else, maybe a shovel.

Does anyone sell them

sink holes are becoming a big problem all over the world

I’d hardly call sink holes a “big problem all over the world”; but yes, shovels are available at a great many outlets

No, I’m thinking someone should develop a handheld device for locating potential sinkholes

CrazyNeutrino said:

diddly-squat said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Does anyone sell them

sink holes are becoming a big problem all over the world

I’d hardly call sink holes a “big problem all over the world”; but yes, shovels are available at a great many outlets

No, I’m thinking someone should develop a handheld device for locating potential sinkholes

like I said, shovels are available everywhere… no development required…

Get a dog to dig some random holes. Put a harness on the dog so you can pull them up from any sinkholes.

Divine Angel said:

Get a dog to dig some random holes. Put a harness on the dog so you can pull them up from any sinkholes.

I like your thinking, thats good forward planning

but Im not in the mood to go around the home digging lots of holes

when I could be walking around holding a device that tells me

> a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

Well duh, the two events are unrelated.

> What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home in some kind of hand held device

Gravity deviation sensors aren’t sensitive enough. Ground penetrating radar only works in really dry weather, which is not when sinkholes form. X-ray and gamma ray backscatter doesn’t work deep enough. Ditto neutron moisture meters. Electrical resistance sensors aren’t good enough. Metal detectors aren’t anywhere near good enough.

But there is a way. Infrasound. Set up an explosive charge on the surface and measure the waves as they bounce off deep rock strata – like the oil companies do when prospecting. The alternative to using explosives is to hit something solid with a BIG sledgehammer at the surface and record the reflections.

The only three ways I know in which sinkholes can form is:
1) Limestone bedrock.
2) Old mine
3) Burst water main
I’m pretty sure my house is not on any of the three.

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

mollwollfumble said:

> a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

Well duh, the two events are unrelated.

> What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home in some kind of hand held device

Gravity deviation sensors aren’t sensitive enough. Ground penetrating radar only works in really dry weather, which is not when sinkholes form. X-ray and gamma ray backscatter doesn’t work deep enough. Ditto neutron moisture meters. Electrical resistance sensors aren’t good enough. Metal detectors aren’t anywhere near good enough.

But there is a way. Infrasound. Set up an explosive charge on the surface and measure the waves as they bounce off deep rock strata – like the oil companies do when prospecting. The alternative to using explosives is to hit something solid with a BIG sledgehammer at the surface and record the reflections.

The only three ways I know in which sinkholes can form is:
1) Limestone bedrock.
2) Old mine
3) Burst water main
I’m pretty sure my house is not on any of the three.

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

This was an old well, my property has a storm water drain, it’s at ground level and eventually could get covered over and forgotten about, its concrete with a thick metal grate so its not going to rust anytime soon. Much of our block is built on an old saw mill, whilst its unlikely to have sinkholes its does have all manner of junk buried a couple of feet underground, nothing exciting though.

mollwollfumble said:

Ground penetrating radar only works in really dry weather, which is not when sinkholes form.

GPR works by using differences in dielectric constant moisture differences.. that is it works best were there is a difference in moisture content.

It would be perfect for identifying voids the the immediate subsurface and is in-fact used for this very purpose.

mollwollfumble said:

> a woman who plummeted three-metres into a sinkhole and later suffered a heart blockage was not taken to hospital.

Well duh, the two events are unrelated.

> What sort of technology could be used to discover potential sinkholes around your home in some kind of hand held device

Gravity deviation sensors aren’t sensitive enough. Ground penetrating radar only works in really dry weather, which is not when sinkholes form. X-ray and gamma ray backscatter doesn’t work deep enough. Ditto neutron moisture meters. Electrical resistance sensors aren’t good enough. Metal detectors aren’t anywhere near good enough.

But there is a way. Infrasound. Set up an explosive charge on the surface and measure the waves as they bounce off deep rock strata – like the oil companies do when prospecting. The alternative to using explosives is to hit something solid with a BIG sledgehammer at the surface and record the reflections.

The only three ways I know in which sinkholes can form is:
1) Limestone bedrock.
2) Old mine
3) Burst water main
I’m pretty sure my house is not on any of the three.

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

what about using low frequency sound waves like those doof doof loud speakers in cars ie 500 watts +

I can feel them from 100 meters away

mollwollfumble said:

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

Yes, I think of doing that … usually when I’m out digging up a garden bed. I give it up as a bad joke when I’m only a foot or so deep. But then, most of my soil is clay.

AussieDJ said:

mollwollfumble said:

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

Yes, I think of doing that … usually when I’m out digging up a garden bed. I give it up as a bad joke when I’m only a foot or so deep. But then, most of my soil is clay.

I have yet to run a gold detector over my place. You can rent them in town and being in the middle of the goldfields there is always a chance.

Cymek said:

Much of our block is built on an old saw mill …

Are we neighbours? My street was the site of an old saw mill, too. Although, in my case, we had part of a tennis court under our property. Go down a couple of feet, and you find old, broken up bitumen.

AussieDJ said:

Cymek said:

Much of our block is built on an old saw mill …

Are we neighbours? My street was the site of an old saw mill, too. Although, in my case, we had part of a tennis court under our property. Go down a couple of feet, and you find old, broken up bitumen.

Do you live in WA?

AussieDJ said:

mollwollfumble said:

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

Yes, I think of doing that … usually when I’m out digging up a garden bed. I give it up as a bad joke when I’m only a foot or so deep. But then, most of my soil is clay.

Soil? You have soil? Mine is almost all basalt. I once gave mz Tamb 10 tonnes of topsoil for her birthday.

AussieDJ said:

Cymek said:

Much of our block is built on an old saw mill …

Are we neighbours? My street was the site of an old saw mill, too. Although, in my case, we had part of a tennis court under our property. Go down a couple of feet, and you find old, broken up bitumen.

Mind out for fires. If fire gets into deep sawdust buried piles it can burn for weeks.

Tamb said:

AussieDJ said:

mollwollfumble said:

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

Yes, I think of doing that … usually when I’m out digging up a garden bed. I give it up as a bad joke when I’m only a foot or so deep. But then, most of my soil is clay.

Soil? You have soil? Mine is almost all basalt. I once gave mz Tamb 10 tonnes of topsoil for her birthday.

Thats a good present, we have water repellant sand on our property, some of the most poorest quality in the world for growing things in.

Cymek said:

Tamb said:

AussieDJ said:

Yes, I think of doing that … usually when I’m out digging up a garden bed. I give it up as a bad joke when I’m only a foot or so deep. But then, most of my soil is clay.

Soil? You have soil? Mine is almost all basalt. I once gave mz Tamb 10 tonnes of topsoil for her birthday.

Thats a good present, we have water repellant sand on our property, some of the most poorest quality in the world for growing things in.

We have cycads which seem to live where other plants can’t survive.

Cymek said:

AussieDJ said:

Cymek said:

Much of our block is built on an old saw mill …

Are we neighbours? My street was the site of an old saw mill, too. Although, in my case, we had part of a tennis court under our property. Go down a couple of feet, and you find old, broken up bitumen.

Do you live in WA?

No. Other side of the continent – Vic.

Tamb said:

AussieDJ said:

mollwollfumble said:

Every now and again I think of drilling into my yard with an augur or corer, just to see whether my house is sitting on a gold mine.

Yes, I think of doing that … usually when I’m out digging up a garden bed. I give it up as a bad joke when I’m only a foot or so deep. But then, most of my soil is clay.

Soil? You have soil? Mine is almost all basalt.

Correction … under the dust that makes up the topsoil, I either have broken bits of bitumen mixed in with the clay, or solid clay.

Oh, and the topsoil is only a couple of inches deep. I’m surprised I have anything growing on my place – apart from the weeds, that is.