Magnetic Storms and Real Experience

by Harvey Ng

I am cursing the magnetic storm. It has disrupted production for the last several days, leaving me with little to do, save for re-reading "Quality Control Procedures in the Field", and familiarizing myself with the finer points of the moving average filter.

My name is Harvey Ng, and I am a UWO intern working for Fugro, a company known for their electromagnetic and magnetic airborne surveys. I am a data processor.

In the office, the job is a matter of producing colour maps and profiles from the data collected in the field. In the field, I am the first to work with the raw data acquired from the flight. I am responsible for ensuring that the data collected is within required specifications, and I apply preliminary filters to isolate the signal responses- usually conductive bodies- that we want.

Training is an ongoing exercise. Basic training in the software and procedure can be learned in no time at all, but I am told that understanding the details of the acquisition system, and every step in the processing stage can take years of hands-on experience. The hands-on experience, of course, is precisely why I signed on the internship in the first place.

It is a different world here in the workplace- I mean that literally. Although I've only been with the company since August, I have already spent a month in Peace River, Alberta, and I am currently into my second week in Gillam, Manitoba. So here I am, in probably the most remote place I have ever been, cursing at the magnetic storm. And I laugh at the absurdity of my frustration- and the proof that I really have been integrated into this industry.

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