At first glance, it looks like the helicopter is carrying some spooky technology. Or maybe it’s a device to capture large drones, or even a getaway car. The device looks like the perfect contraption to highlight on your site if you were into large governmental conspiracies. If you have ever wondered why a helicopter might be flying with such a device attached to it, the answer may surprise you.

So seriously, what is it?

The device is called a geophysical device. Ever find the answer to something and it still makes you scratch you head and say, “huh”? Us too. So we went digging to find out a little bit more about this unique contraption. What we found was this video:

The long and short is that the helicopter makes a number of passes over a designated area. The helicopter flies about 200 feet over the ground and executes AEM observations also known as airborne electromagnetic surveys. It send signals into the ground which allows it to better understand the makeup of the subsurface to include identifying ground water. This information is used to better understand the rate of usage of ground water–both for where it is being depleted and when it is recharged after rainy season.

According to the California Department of Water Resources, the emitters from the device are safe with the only annoyance (for non-avgeeks) being the sounds of the helicopter making repeated passes over land.