NMR Technology
Water Controls Everything
We Do with the Earth
From the stability of construction excavations to the movement of contaminants through soil, from agricultural productivity to mining safety—subsurface water governs the success or failure of nearly every project that interacts with the ground beneath our feet.
Yet for decades, we’ve been forced to infer water content indirectly, relying on electrical conductivity, seismic velocity, or electromagnetic response to guess at what’s really happening below the surface.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR):
Direct Measurement of Subsurface Water
NMR geophysics is the only technology that directly detects and quantifies hydrogen atoms in subsurface water molecules—delivering precise, lithology-independent measurements of the critical hydrogeologic parameters that control how water behaves underground.
What makes NMR different:
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Direct water measurement – No interpretation guesswork; NMR measures actual water content
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Distinguishes mobile vs. bound water – Calculate hydraulic conductivity and specific yield on-site
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Lithology-independent – Accurate in sand, clay, fractured rock, or mixed formations
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Non-invasive profiling – Characterize aquifers before drilling, reducing exploratory costs
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Flexible deployment – Surface systems, borehole logging tools, and direct-push configurations
Critical Parameters
NMR Delivers
Applications
Across Industries
Water Resources
Optimize well placement, assess aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) feasibility, support sustainable groundwater management, and strengthen water supply resilience.
Mining & Geotechnical
Characterize dewatering requirements, monitor slope stability, optimize tailings management, support solution mining operations, and reduce exploration risk.
Environmental & Remediation
Map contaminant distribution and migration pathways, evaluate remediation effectiveness, define recharge and discharge zones, and provide defensible data for regulatory compliance.
Agriculture & Land Management
Characterize dewatering requirements, monitor slope stability, optimize tailings management, support solution mining operations, and reduce exploration risk.
Better Data
Better Modeling
Better Decisions
NMR provides the high-resolution, quantitative input parameters essential for accurate groundwater flow models, contaminant fate and transport analyses, geotechnical stability assessments, and environmental impact predictions.
This leads to:
- Reduced project uncertainty and risk
- Enhanced regulatory compliance
- Minimized environmental footprint
- Improved stakeholder confidence
- Optimized capital and operating expenditures
Ready to See What's Below?
Whether you’re developing water resources, characterizing contaminated sites, optimizing mining operations, or managing agricultural water—COLUMBIA Technologies provides the subsurface intelligence that transforms uncertainty into opportunity.
Contact us to discuss how NMR can strengthen your next project:
Jim Chamness
LATAM Business Manager
jchamness@columbiatechnologies.com
+55 (21) 96776-7779
São Paulo, Brasil
Mateus Knabach Evald
CTO / Senior Project Manager
mateus.evald@columbiatechnologies.com
+55 (53) 98437-1010
São Paulo, Brasil
Partnership and Technology
Vista Clara Inc. supplies the NMR instrumentation and technical support. COLUMBIA Technologies serves as consultant, representative, and service provider in Brazil and Latin America.