Detecting buried glass and clay bottles.

[blue yonder]

Gidday lads and ladies.I posted the query below in the "Side scan" forum.
That was the wrong place for it but Glennk had a few suggestions including GPR and Sub Bottom Profilers.I have contacted a couple of manufacturers.
"I am hunting for antique bottles on mud flats(sea estuary).I am tired of using a metal probe rod and was wondering if there is an electronic system that will show up glass and/or ceramics in wet mud or dry soil.Would appreciate any info or links..Cheers..Dave"
So far the info has not been encouraging.
From Edgetech
"Our 3100P 424 is the highest resolution system on the market. A SB system
will not give clear images of targets like bottles but will probably show an
anomaly that should be different from the bottom around it. It will work in
shallow 3 feet deep water but will not work in air.
Budgetary price for a 3100P 424 system is $45,000."
And from Knudsen..
"Thank you for your email and interest in Knudsen products.
Our systems are for marine applications only not for dry land use. Unfortunately we can not guarantee any definite results for your project. Good luck with your requirement."
Anybody using an imaging system to find bottles? Or is it back to the probe?..Cheers..Dave

[Tinkerer]

Gidday lads and ladies.I posted the query below in the "Side scan" forum.
That was the wrong place for it but Glennk had a few suggestions including GPR and Sub Bottom Profilers.I have contacted a couple of manufacturers.
"I am hunting for antique bottles on mud flats(sea estuary).I am tired of using a metal probe rod and was wondering if there is an electronic system that will show up glass and/or ceramics in wet mud or dry soil.Would appreciate any info or links..Cheers..Dave"
So far the info has not been encouraging.
From Edgetech
"Our 3100P 424 is the highest resolution system on the market. A SB system
will not give clear images of targets like bottles but will probably show an
anomaly that should be different from the bottom around it. It will work in
shallow 3 feet deep water but will not work in air.
Budgetary price for a 3100P 424 system is $45,000."
And from Knudsen..
"Thank you for your email and interest in Knudsen products.
Our systems are for marine applications only not for dry land use. Unfortunately we can not guarantee any definite results for your project. Good luck with your requirement."
Anybody using an imaging system to find bottles? Or is it back to the probe?..Cheers..Dave

blue yonder,

actually the chances are fairly good for detecting antique bottles in the mud.

There is lots of organic stuff in estuary mud. Organic stuff is eaten by bacteria. The bacteria produce gas. CO2 and Methane. The gas stays accumulated in the glass bottle, unless it stands upright.

Now, any sonar expert can tell you that air or gas bubbles give a very strong response.

In the mud, there are gas bubbles all over, as you probably noticed while wading, but, unless there is an obstruction, like glass, the bubbles work their way up to the surface and never grow large.

So what you need is a hand carried sub-bottom profiler running at something like 24 to 48 kHz. This should work for the depth that you are concerned with.

Tinkerer

[blue yonder]

Thanks very much for your help Tinkerer.I will look into that device and hopefully it will be less than $45,000! And thanks in advance to the bacteria.Humans are always trying to kill them off but they definitely have their uses.I think I read that we have about 2 kilos of them in our bodies. mmmm..so that's where all that marsh gas comes from!
Cheers..Dave

[Tinkerer]

Thanks very much for your help Tinkerer.I will look into that device and hopefully it will be less than $45,000! And thanks in advance to the bacteria.Humans are always trying to kill them off but they definitely have their uses.I think I read that we have about 2 kilos of them in our bodies. mmmm..so that's where all that marsh gas comes from!
Cheers..Dave

Please keep us updated on the subject. If you do not find anything, we could think of designing one. This would be a very interesting challenge.
Something of the same ergonomics, like a metal detector, but with a sonar search head, to be used by divers or waders.

Tinkerer