Borehole logging with an eight-arm caliper–inclinometer probe

A newly designed eight-arm caliper–inclinometer probe for borehole logging is presented. The caliper sounding gives eight points of cross-sections of the borehole at 1 cm intervals along its axis. Regression circles and ellipses are calculated and used as obvious hypotheses to be tested in order to obtain information on strain rates in the horizontal planes and isotropic or anisotropic borehole closure. The scratching of identifiable marks into the wall of the borehole enables material displacement to be tracked, in particular in the vertical direction, thus providing information for determining vertical strain rates along the borehole. Measurements in two boreholes drilled on high-altitude glaciers in the Swiss Alps are used to demonstrate both the potential and the limitations of the probe and of the mathematical methods presented.