Dr. Andrew Stolte, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been using the Trimble R2 GNSS Receiver and the TSC5 equipment extensively over the past few months to help geolocate sensors he uses in geotechnical site characterisation. Andrew’s work involves the placement of arrays of seismograph sensors to measure the propagation of seismic waves across sites and give insight into soil properties for geotechnical earthquake engineering purposes. The seismographs record vibration timeseries, enabling an understanding of wave arrival times at each sensor. However, to evaluate wave propagation velocities the researchers need accurate locations for the sensors. The Trimble GNSS kit, using services such as VRS Now, enables quick, accurate, and precise measurement of sensor locations, which otherwise could only be accomplished with a total station or tape measures to establish relative sensor positions — both cases are cumbersome and slow for field deployments lasting a few hours.
Andrew used the TTL’s Trimble GNSS kit at liquefaction case history sites in Napier in June 2024 and at 8 sites near Hamilton for the chracterisation of the Waikato Sedimentary Basin in February, 2025. Throughout the summer (2024-2025), Andrew and Professor Liam Wotherspoon used the Trimble GNSS kit at GeoNet Strong Motion Stations, as they characterised the soil under earthquake recording instruments.
A seismograph in the field. Knowing their precise location (thanks to TTL kit) allows researchers to assess properties of the soil beneath and between seismographs.
The research team in the field. Dr. Andrew Stolte is on the right with the TTL’s Trimble R2 GNSS receiver and TSC5 controller.
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