Borehole

Borehole

A borehole is the generalised term for any narrow shaft drilled in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes including the extraction of water or other liquid (such as petroleum) or gases (such as natural gas or methane), as part of a geotechnical investigation or environmental site assessment, for mineral exploration, or as a pilot hole for installing piers or underground utilities. Boreholes used as water wells are described in more depth in that article.

In the engineering and environmental consulting fields, the term is used to collectively describe all of the various types of holes drilled as part of a geotechnical investigation or environmental site assessment (a so-called Phase II ESA). This includes holes advanced to collect soil samples, water samples or rock cores, to advance "in situ" sampling equipment, or to install monitoring wells or piezometers. Samples collected from boreholes are often tested in a laboratory to determine their physical properties, or to assess levels of various chemical constituents or contaminants.

Typically, a borehole used as a well is completed by installing a vertical pipe (casing) and well screen to keep the borehole from caving. This also helps prevent surface contaminants from entering the borehole and protects any installed pump from drawing in sand and sediment. When completed in this manner the borehole is then more commonly called a well: whether it is a water well, oil well or natural gas extraction well.

Installation

Boreholes may be drilled using a drilling rig, or by a hand-operated rig. The machinery and technique to advance a borehole varies considerably according to manufacturer, geological conditions, fluid to be extracted, and job specification.

Climate proxy

Borehole temperatures can be used as temperature proxies. This is because heat transfer through ground is slow, so that by measuring temperature (and using the proper mathematical formulae) past temperatures can be inferred several hundred years prior (Huang et al. 2000).

ee also

* Boring (mechanical)
* Deep borehole disposal
* Drilling rig
* Water well

References

* Huang, S. P., Pollack, H. N., Shen, P. Y. "Temperature trends ever the past five centuries reconstructed from borehole temperatures". Nature, 403, 6771, pp 756-758, 2000. doi:10.1038/35001556.

External links

* [http://www.rshydro.co.uk/water-quality-monitoring.shtml Borehole Monitoring]
* [http://www.geologicboreholes.co.uk/water-boreholes/ Boreholes as a personal water supply]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • borehole — ► NOUN ▪ a deep, narrow hole in the ground made to locate water or oil …   English terms dictionary

  • borehole — [bôr′hōl΄] n. a hole drilled in the earth to explore for or release oil, gas, water, etc. or to study the crust of the earth …   English World dictionary

  • borehole — UK [ˈbɔː(r)ˌhəʊl] / US [ˈbɔrˌhoʊl] noun [countable] Word forms borehole : singular borehole plural boreholes a very deep narrow hole in the ground made in order to get water or oil …   English dictionary

  • borehole — [[t]bɔ͟ː(r)hoʊl[/t]] boreholes N COUNT A borehole is a deep round hole made by a special tool or machine, especially one that is made in the ground when searching for oil or water …   English dictionary

  • borehole — gręžinys statusas Aprobuotas sritis geologija apibrėžtis Gręžiant įrengtas įrenginys, skirtas požeminiam vandeniui, angliavandeniliams išgauti arba žemės gelmių tyrimo ar kitiems tikslams. atitikmenys: angl. borehole; well šaltinis Lietuvos… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Borehole mining — (BHM) is a remote operated method of extracting (mining) mineral resources through boreholes by means of high pressure water jets. This process can be carried out from land surface, open pit floor, underground mine or floating platform or vessel… …   Wikipedia

  • borehole conservation — gręžinio konservavimas statusas Aprobuotas sritis geologija apibrėžtis Gręžinio sandarinimas, siekiant išsaugoti laikinai nenaudojamo gręžinio būklę ir apsaugoti požeminio vandens išteklius. atitikmenys: angl. borehole conservation; well… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • borehole driling — gręžinio gręžimas statusas Aprobuotas sritis geologija apibrėžtis Technologinių operacijų ir darbų visuma gręžinio ertmei uolienose padaryti ir parengti naudoti. Gręžiant gali būti atliekami žemės gelmių tyrimai, imami požeminio vandens, uolienų… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • borehole passport — gręžinio pasas statusas Aprobuotas sritis geologija apibrėžtis Lietuvos geologijos tarnybos prie Aplinkos ministerijos patvirtintas nustatytos formos dokumentas, kuriame įrašomi duomenys apie gręžinį. atitikmenys: angl. borehole passport; well… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • borehole redrilling — vandens gavybos gręžinio pergręžimas statusas Aprobuotas sritis geologija apibrėžtis Naujo vandens gavybos gręžinio gręžimas toje pačioje gręžinio griežto režimo sanitarinės apsaugos juostoje arba esamo gręžinio gilinimas. atitikmenys: angl.… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”