Geophysical Survey Company – TerraDat (UK) Ltd

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An interview with TerraDat co-founder Nick Russill

TerraDat co-founder Nick Russill

In this interview with Alan Wick, originally broadcast on his radio show, you will hear from TerraDat co-founder Nick Russill about:

  • How to continue to grow your business by innovating and staying agile
  • Why it’s important to sometimes say ‘No’ to new business
  • The value of honesty, when it comes to ensuring repeat business
  • How to work in harmony with your partner, by knowing your strengths and weaknesses
  • The benefits of sticking to what you’re good at in business

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/nick-russill-of-terradat/id1640665980?i=1000576581286

Update, January 2023: Nick recently gave a talk in Midsomer Norton outlining his sense of purpose and lessons learned from over 30 years as a geoscientist. Here’s the recording:

Related Services and Applications

Seismic Reflection survey undertaken on a beach

Seismic Reflection

TerraDat has specialist experience in designing and implementing high-resolution seismic reflection surveys for onshore and shallow marine environments. The company routinely carries out seismic survey work for geotechnical and environmental applications as well as larger-scale work for oil/mineral exploration. … Read More

How we brought the evocative story of Swansea’s copper heritage to life using 3D Reality Capture

How we brought the evocative story of Swansea’s copper heritage to life using 3D Reality Capture

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Electrical Resistivity survey

Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT)

The Resistivity technique is useful for characterising the sub-surface materials in terms of their electrical properties. Variations in electrical resistivity (or conductivity) typically correlate with variations in lithology, water saturation, fluid conductivity, porosity and permeability, which may be used to … Read More

Surveyors at a wndfarm

Wind Farms: Investigation the Subsurface for Wind Farm Projects

Over recent years TerraDat have gained a wealth of experience providing geophysical services to the wind energy industry. By working alongside many major wind farm developers TerraDat have developed a suite of geophysical techniques ideally suited to the needs of … Read More

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Meet Bison “Thumper” – our seismic weight drop…

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How can geophysical techniques be used to investigate and monitor leaking dams?

Dams are vital structures that contribute to vital infrastructure including drinking water, crop irrigation, and hydroelectric power. These structures, often over a century old are also put under huge stress by the large quantities of water they retain as well … Read More

TerraDat regularly carries out soil resistivity measurements for earthing installation design and corrosion engineering

Electrical Earthing: Advanced Soil Resistivity Measurements for Electrical Earthing Design

As part of our services for energy and infrastructure, TerraDat regularly carries out soil resistivity measurements for earthing installation design and corrosion engineering. These resistivity measurements are made by passing a DC electrical current through the ground using a pair … Read More

Karst surveying using resistive thermography

Karst Geology: Void detection & Karst Mapping using Geophysics

TerraDat is regularly contacted by ground engineers asking about our void detection surveys using geophysics. The benefits of our geophysical surveys in terms of maximum area coverage and minimal ground disturbance provide an ideal solution. The best geophysical methods for … Read More

image showing collapsed slope and damage to roadway above

Slope Stability: Understanding Slope Stability using Geophysics

TerraDat has developed a strategy for investigating slope stability that provides key engineering properties for managing and monitoring existing and potential landslides. While each site is considered unique with respect to the survey design, the methods that most often prove … Read More

example of a team undertaking a seismic refraction survey

Specialist Seismic Refraction Survey Company

TerraDat is a specialist Seismic refraction survey company with many years of experience applying and researching its use in shallow engineering and geotechnical work. Seismic survey methods provide a useful tool for investigating geological structure and rock properties. The technique … Read More

Mapping Geology along Pipeline Routes

Geophysics for Mapping Geology along Pipeline Routes

Pipelines and cable routes present a set of unique developmental and geotechnical challenges. TerraDat has designed an integrated survey approach, providing data useful to all stages of the project design. Archaeological assessments and UXO detection: Due to the large distances … Read More

Microgravity survey

Experts in Microgravity Surveys

A TerraDat microgravity survey is based on measuring localised variations in the Earth’s gravitational field using an extremely sensitive gravity meter. We own and operate the latest Scintrex gravimeters. A microgravity survey targets physical contrasts between materials of contrasting density. … Read More

aerial view of a large solar farm

Solar Energy: Investigating the Subsurface Beneath Solar Farms Using Geophysics

Click for more information on investigations for Solar Farms Archaeology beneath solar farms TerraDat provides geophysical services to the renewable energy industry, including wind and solar farms. We employ techniques for investigating the ground beneath these developments to assist with … Read More

Peat trench ready as part of a peat mapping survey using ground radar to provide high-resolution images of the deposit beneath discrete profiles or with a resistivity survey

Peat Mapping using Geophysics (Peat Surveys)

Mapping peat is a common requirement for proposed developments such as wind farms and pipeline routes where they cross remote and/or sensitive areas. There are several geophysical methods that can provide plan and cross-sectional information to map the distribution of … Read More

Shallow-mineworks-microgravity

Mapping Shallow Abandoned Mineworkings using Geophysics

The problem of mapping shallow abandoned mine workings is significant in the re-development of brownfield sites or land reclamation in former mining areas. A TerraDat Geophysics survey can mitigate the risks of mapping mine workings using conventional ground investigation methods. … Read More

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Ground Conductivity (EM)

A ground conductivity or electromagnetic (EM) survey involves the generation of an EM field at the surface and subsequent measuring of the response as it propagates through the subsurface. The main components of the instrument are a transmitter coil (to … Read More

Image showing microgravity techniques used for brownfield surveying on a construction site

Brownfield Site Investigation using Geophysics

Most former industrial sites have a legacy of buried structural hazards and contamination. Geophysical surveys can detect buried targets without the need to excavate. Many industrial contaminants, such as salinisation by acids and hydrocarbon plumes, can leave a significant geophysical … Read More

TerraDat co-founder Nick Russill

An interview with TerraDat co-founder Nick Russill

In this interview with Alan Wick, originally broadcast on his radio show, you will hear from TerraDat co-founder Nick Russill about: How to continue to grow your business by innovating and staying agile Why it’s important to sometimes say ‘No’ … Read More

Magnetics

Magnetics

The magnetic survey technique is based on mapping localised variations in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by sub-surface magnetic materials, which range from naturally occurring magnetic minerals to man-made ferrous objects. This leads to a wide range of applications, from … Read More

TerraDat has innovated established geophysical survey techniques (resistivity tomography & seismic refraction) specifically for river and stream crossing investigations

River Crossings: Profiling Geology using Geophysics

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Blog post

TerraDat uses state-of-the-art geophysical mapping techniques to map the subsurface. The benefit of geophysics is that it is non-invasive and can rapidly map large areas and reduce the chance of missing buried targets. We’ve been offering our services for over 25 years to clients from the engineering, environmental, energy and construction markets. Here are four case study booklets showing how geophysics can be applied to your ground investigations.