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does moisture increase target depths?
- Thread starter ojm bc
- Start date
Uncle Willy
New member
Yes it makes targets more conductive.
Bill
Bill
I recently had a weird experience in this vein. I have always though that detecting was better after a rain. We had a severe thunder storm over night last week with lots of heavy lightening. After it stopped storming and the rain let up the next morning, I noticed my markers for my coin garden were knocked over. I picked up my closest detector, an inexpensive but reliable Tesoro and went out to relocate the coins and put the markers (golf tees) back. I couldn't find the coins and they were only 4 to 6 inches deep! So, I grabbed my ACE 250, and same results. Just couldn't get a both ways signal to save my soul. Now I was determined! I grabbed my mery expensive deep seeking brandX detector and went after them. I could just barely get a signal this time even with it! I don't know why unless the lightening had something to do with it? First time anything like this ever happened. Any ideas? Onus
RickIowa2009
New member
n/t
It is theorized that it does, yes. The idea being that the moisture enhances the propagation of electrical signals, and so makes your detector more effective.
I don't know of any scientific evidence that supports the concept, but there is enough anecdotal thinking that agrees with it.
I know I believe it does.
I don't know of any scientific evidence that supports the concept, but there is enough anecdotal thinking that agrees with it.
I know I believe it does.
Uncle Willy
New member
I imagine the static electricity changed something in the ground. Lightning ( static elecricity ) does strange things to many things.
Bill
Bill
Uncle Willy
New member
Yeah the ground has to soak it up and surround the target to enhance conductivity. Like standing in water and sticking your finger in a light socket.
Bill
Bill
My experience is that immediately after heavy or soaking rain, where there is a lot of water in the soil,
target depth seems to be reduced.
Once some of the water gets away, or soaks further down, and the top layers of soil are still nice and
damp, depth seems to increase, and target response is sharper and clearer.
My theory as to why this is so, is that when there is a lot of water present in the soil, the dirt or earth
becomes less dense (to accommodate the water). Thus signal response is reduced.
But once the water (or most of it) gets away, the soil can again compact, and that factor, together
with the increased conductivity created by the presence of some water actually helps to increase
the conductivity in the soil. My theory only...based on my experiences. Best of Luck.
target depth seems to be reduced.
Once some of the water gets away, or soaks further down, and the top layers of soil are still nice and
damp, depth seems to increase, and target response is sharper and clearer.
My theory as to why this is so, is that when there is a lot of water present in the soil, the dirt or earth
becomes less dense (to accommodate the water). Thus signal response is reduced.
But once the water (or most of it) gets away, the soil can again compact, and that factor, together
with the increased conductivity created by the presence of some water actually helps to increase
the conductivity in the soil. My theory only...based on my experiences. Best of Luck.
Were your coins in plastic bags for easy retrieval ? Its only a theory at this point but I am pretty sure that moisture content only helps if the moisture and soil is in contact with the metallic target. If its wrapped and insulated in plastic it shouldnt be affected by the increased conductivity from extra moisture.
As for why they were actually harder to find after the rain even tho they were shallow targets I will throw out an untested and unproven thought ,........rainwater is soft water and has no disolved minerals in it at all and is not a good conductor , so is it possible that until it soaks into the ground really well and evens out , it actually dilutes the natural ground minerals & content to the point that conductivity is lost ?
As for why they were actually harder to find after the rain even tho they were shallow targets I will throw out an untested and unproven thought ,........rainwater is soft water and has no disolved minerals in it at all and is not a good conductor , so is it possible that until it soaks into the ground really well and evens out , it actually dilutes the natural ground minerals & content to the point that conductivity is lost ?
Water, of course, is the universal solvent. If we are going to talk about soil water and it's relationship to detection depth, we cannot ignore this constant.
As a metal item lies in the earth, ground moisture and chemical action has the effect of slowly eating it away.In other words, there is a solvent effect. On a molecular level, this results in metallic ions being leached into the soil, around the buried item. This creates what has been called a "halo" and thus the term, 'the halo effect'.
The end result of this "halo" is that the item appears larger to the detector. Looked at another way, this ionized halo makes it easier for the detector to react to it when it is deeper, essentially giving increased depth.
In theory, an item buried in soil devoid of moisture will not exhibit this halo effect. Conversely, the more bound moisture there is in the soil, the greater the effect will be. But there is one other element in this, and that is the composition of the soil itself.
If the soil matrix is not chemically neutral (pH of 7), the halo effect should be enhanced. Nearly all soils are either acid or alkaline to some degree, due to mineral content and the decomposition organic matter within the soil. The presence of moisture in this chemically active matrix accelerates the erosion of the object, and thus the metallic ionization of the soil surrounding that object... increasing the size of the halo.
So the longer an item lies in a chemically active soil in the presence of moisture, the larger the item is likely to appear to the detector. And the more detection depth you will perceive. If there is more soil moisture at a given time, then one can expect the propagation of electrical currents to be greater (Uncle WIllys "standing in water puddle with you finger in a light socket," effect).
Add the halo effect, and the result is very likely to be deeper detection, as opposed to a dry soil condition.
As a metal item lies in the earth, ground moisture and chemical action has the effect of slowly eating it away.In other words, there is a solvent effect. On a molecular level, this results in metallic ions being leached into the soil, around the buried item. This creates what has been called a "halo" and thus the term, 'the halo effect'.
The end result of this "halo" is that the item appears larger to the detector. Looked at another way, this ionized halo makes it easier for the detector to react to it when it is deeper, essentially giving increased depth.
In theory, an item buried in soil devoid of moisture will not exhibit this halo effect. Conversely, the more bound moisture there is in the soil, the greater the effect will be. But there is one other element in this, and that is the composition of the soil itself.
If the soil matrix is not chemically neutral (pH of 7), the halo effect should be enhanced. Nearly all soils are either acid or alkaline to some degree, due to mineral content and the decomposition organic matter within the soil. The presence of moisture in this chemically active matrix accelerates the erosion of the object, and thus the metallic ionization of the soil surrounding that object... increasing the size of the halo.
So the longer an item lies in a chemically active soil in the presence of moisture, the larger the item is likely to appear to the detector. And the more detection depth you will perceive. If there is more soil moisture at a given time, then one can expect the propagation of electrical currents to be greater (Uncle WIllys "standing in water puddle with you finger in a light socket," effect).
Add the halo effect, and the result is very likely to be deeper detection, as opposed to a dry soil condition.
