GEOPHYSICS. VOL. 42, NO. 4 (JUNE 1977): P. 811-822, 13 FIGS.

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INTERPRETATION OF APPARENT RESISTIVITY DATA

FROM APODI VALLEY, RIO GRANDE DO NORTE, BRAZIL

LUIZ RIJO*, W. H. PELTON*, E. C. FEITOSAS. AND S. Il. WARD*

One hundred and twelve Schlumberger vertical culty in the interpretation of data where very large
electrical soundings were made as part of a hydro- receiver electrode (MN) spacings have been used
geological study in the Apodi Valley, Brazil. Most or where discontinuities have been introduced by
of the data have been interpreted using an auto- changing the MN spacing on a layered earth con-
matic ridge regression inversion algorithm in con- taining large resistivity contrasts.
junction with a fast digital filter forward al- The soundings were conducted primarily to
gorithm. As a result, the inversion costs are very map the thicknesses of a known alluvial aquifer
low. The increase in speed and accuracy in the and a potential sandstone aquifer. These thick-
evaluation of the forward problem has also al- nesses have been determined to within an error of
lowed calculation of the Schlumberger apparent 20 percent as estimated from analysis of the
resistivity from potential differences, instead of parameter standard deviations and comparison
the electric held. Consequently, there is no diffi- with available drill hole information.

Ilr;TRODC:CTION
There are at least two main approaches to com-
In February I97 I and February 1974 the Super- puterized interpretations of VES data. One ap-
intendencia do Desenvolvimento do Nordeste and proach (Zohdy, 1975) assumes that nothing is
the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco con- known about the number of subsurface layers,
ducted resistivity soundings during an in- their thicknesses, or resistivities. This approach
vestigation of the groundwater resources of the has advantages when a survey is being made in
Apodi Valley, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. A areas where absolutely no geologic information is
total of II2 Schlumberger vertical electrical available: no initial guess is required, and the
soundings (VES) were made with a maximum processing costs are very low (less than $1 per
electrode spacing (A B/2) ranging from I50 to 500 sounding). However, in most hydrogeological ap-
m. The objectives of the electrical survey were to plications, at least some rudimentary geologic in-
determine the thicknesses of the underlying allu- formation is available. This may only consist of a
vial and sandstone horizons and to determine the rough idea of the layering sequence: overlying
basement topography. Instead of using time-con- sediments, aquifer, and basement. Or, in areas
suming traditional methods of interpretation such where wells have been drilled, very detailed infor-
as auxiliary point techniques (Zohdy, 1965) and mation may exist regarding the number of distinct
curve-matching procedures using albums of theo- lithological units and their thicknesses. In these
retical curves (Compagnie general de Geophy- situations it is usually desirable to obtain an inter-
sique, 1973; Orellana and Mooney, 1966; Rijkwa- pretation which has the same number of layers as
terstaat, 1969) the data were automatically pro- there are distinct lithological units, as opposed to
cessed on a Univac 1108 computer at the Uni- the first approach where the number of layers is
versity of Utah. often equal to the number of input data points.

Presented at the 44th Annual International SEG Meeting, November 14, 1974 in Dallas. Manu\cript received by the
Editor June 30. 1976; revised manuscript received December IO, 1976.
* University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
Umversidade Federal de Pernambuco. Recife. Brazil 50000.
E’
C 1977 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved.

811
 812 Rijo et al

In view of the fact that considerable geologic Table I. Values of ABj2 and MN which were used during
the field survey.
information was available in our survey area, and
that the main objective of the survey was to map
spccificmhorizons, we decided to use in our inter-
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I.0 40.0 5.0

pretation a ridge regression algorithm similar to I .5 1: 50.0 5.0
that used by inman (1975). This approach usually 2.0 50.0 20.0
3.0 1: 70.0 5.0
results in interpretations which are more compat- 3.0 2.0 100.0 20.0
ible with the known geology and. in addition, 5.0 2.0 150.0 20.0
provides statistical information on the resolution 7.0 2.0 150.0 80.0
10.0 2.0 200.0 20.0
of the layering parameters. Disadvantages of the 10.0 5.0 200.0 80.0
method are that it requires an initial guess and 15.0 5.0 300.0 80.0
20.0 5.0 400.0 80.0
that the computer costs are higher. We have at-
30.0 5.0 500.0 80.0
tempted in this paper to reduce these two disad-
vantages by (I) logarithmic parameterization of
the problem and careful selection of the ridge
regression variable, so that initial guesses may be presence of lateral inhomogeneities and thus were
extremely poor yet still result in convergence, and discarded.
(2) implementation of an existing linear digital
THE FORWARD PROBI,EM
filter for the forward problem (Ghosh. 1971; An-
derson. 1973) which results in a decrease in com- The traditional method of calculating the theo-
puter costs from our earlier $80 to approximately retical apparent resistivity (pa) for the Schlumber-
$4 per inverted sounding. ger array on the surface of a layered earth assumes
In order to take full advantage of the statistical that the potential electrode separation (MN) is so
information provided by the inversion scheme, it small, relative to the current electrode separation
was necessary to contend with discontinuities in (AL?), that the potential difference divided by MN
the data introduced by changing the MN spacing. represents the electric field at the midpoint be-
Each such discontinuity is referred to as a tween A and B (Sunde, 1968; Keller and
“clutch” by some Schlumberger VES prac- Frischknecht, 1966; Orellana, 1972).
titioners. The classic solution to this problem in- While this assumption decreases the computa-
volves smoothing the data and then using the tion time required for the forward problem, it
smoothed curve in the interpretation. Although places the usual restriction on field measurements
expedient for curve-matching techniques, this that MN < AB/5. Even with thin requirement,
method was not used since it actually discards there is always a small discontinuity or “clutch”
useful information and biases the resuliing statis- in the apparent resistivity data (Depperman, 1954;
tics. The forward problem instead was formulated Kunetz, 1966: Zohdy et al. 1973) introduced when
to calculate potentials about a point source over a MN is changed during the course of the field
layered earth. In this way a finite MN spacing is survey (Table I ), When strong vertical variations
involved in the calculations and any convenient in resistivity are encountered, this erect can be-
MN, as long as it is not exactly equal to AB. may come quite prominent, even larger than the usual
be used in the field work. “noise” caused by small lateral inhomogeneities.
The inversion scheme presented in this paper is Thus, in order to include the effects of finite MN
“automatic” irr ihe sense that only limited inter- spacing, we decided to calculate the theoretical pa
action between interpreter and data is necessary. from the two potentials at M and M and not from
However, if the geophysicist is familiar with VES the electric field at this midpoint. .Although the
interpretation, he can use his experience to min- forward problem becomes twice as time-consum-
imize computer time by choosing “good” initial ing computationally, it has the added advantage
guesses and by interpreting groups of very similar of allowing greater versatility during field mea-
sounding curves from the results of one inversion. surements: MN may be extended larger than
AS a consequence, only about 60 percent of the AB/S in order to take advantage of increased
II2 VES curves studied here were actually in- voltage levels.
verted: the remainder were interpreted by com- The potential U(Y, p) at a distance r from a
parison with previously inverted curves. A few point current source 1 on the surface of a layered
soundings (5 percent) were very noisy due to the earth is given by
 Resistivity Data from Apodi Valley 813
_
( I ) becomes,
ur, P) = &
*I 0
R(& P) J,(Xr) dh, (1)

where J,(hr) is the zeroth order Bessel function of

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the first kind, and R(X, p) is a kernel function

determined from the parameter vector p describ-
The term R(_v,p) may now he considered as an
ing the subsurface layering. The Schlumberger ap-
input function and the term r’J,(e’) as the im-
parent resistivity can now be expressed as
pulse response of a stationary filter. lfwe evaluate
R(J, p) only at II discrete points, (4) may be ap-
(2) proximated by

where
c/(r, p) = f& $ c, R(lnr - 7‘ ,. p), (5)
rl = A B/2 - MN/2, rz = A B/2 + MN/2,
I 1
where 9, are the abscissas of the stationary filter
and coefficients c,.
I
_----+-
I By dividing the transforms of carefully chosen
AM BM AN BN known input and output functions and inverse
transforming. Anderson (1973, 1975) has deter-
Equation (2) contains two integrals and thus is
mined impulse responses or filter coefficients for
more time-consuming to evaluate than the famil-
the evaluation of the integrals in both (I) and (3).
iar expression (Stefanesco et al, 1930) for Schlum-
In this paper we have used two of Anderson’s
berger resistivity

1,
digital filters: one defined by 61 points and the

Ye,(x)J,(Lx)m other by 436 points for the calculation of (2).

p\ = p, I + 2LZ (3)
r .10 The 61 point filter provided adequate accuracy
which does not include the effects of finite MN as long as the maximum resistivity contrast did
spacing. not exceed 200: I. For larger contrasts, it was
Since a typical ridge regression inversion re- necessary to use the longer filter which increased
quires several thousand forward problem eval- the computer cost from $4 to :tpproximately $15
uations, the length of time required to calculate per inversion.
one theoretical apparent resistivity is very impor-
THE INVERSE PRORI.Ekl
tant. inman (1975) has used in his ridge regression
algorithm a method developed by Mooney et al A thorough account of the ridge regression
(1966) for evaluating (3): however, the resultant method has been given by Inman (1975); con-
computer costs were about $80 per inversion. sequently. most of the details uill not be repeated
Use of a similar method for the evaluation of here. Instead, vve will discuss some modifications
(2) would result in computer costs more than that we have adopted in our approach. The first of
twice as great since each of the integrals in (2) these concerns weighting. Since the error in ap-
would need to be evaluated very precisely in order parent resistivity (pa) measurements is usually a
to ensure that the required accuracy was main- fixed percentage of pa, it is expedient to transform
tained after taking their difference. Because the immediately from P,, to log f)(,. This transforma-
computer costs would be prohibitive for the inter- tion then eliminates the requirement for a weight
pretation of I I2 soundings, we decided to use an vector containing the data error at each point. A
entirely different method employing digital filter- further useful result is achieved if log thicknesses
ing in the evaluation of the integrals, and log resistivities, instead of layer thicknesses
It has been demonstrated by several in- and resistivities, are determined in the inversion
vestigators (Kunetz, 1966; Ghosh, 1971; Koefoed process. This parameterization has the beneficial
et al. 1972; Anderson, 1973) that the integral in effect of completely excluding negative thick-
(I) may be written as a convolution integral. In- nesses and negative resistivities from consid-
deed, if we substitute eration as possible solutions.
After transforming to log apparent resistivities
G and log parameters P, we may write an approxi-
and
mate linear expression relating changes in P to
changes in G:
 814 Rijo et al

AC = AAP + t, (6) t = (IO” - I). loo’?,

in terms of the matrix A, where where

0 = (X”Z)L!Z.
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From the estimate of data variance, vve may

If (a) A is overdetermined; (b) the departure also estimate the uncertainty in our determination
from linearity t is small; and (c) the initial guess P, of P. Since the covariance matrix (Hamilton,
is close to the best-fitting vector of log parameters 1964; Stnith. 1975) is given by,
P, we may obtain AP = P - P, very simply from
c*v (P) = )c:?(.CA_) ,‘
the algorithm,

AP = (A“A)- A“
‘ AG. (7) the estimated standard deviation for [PI, may be
obtained from [cov (P)]:{2. Here the advantage
where the superscripts T and - 1 denote transpose of using log parameters in the inversion is clearly
and inverse, respectively. Although (7) is ex- demonstrated. For example, if the resistivity of
ceedingly fast when it converges. it is unfortu- one layer is only poorly determined by the data,
nately highly unstable and usually diverges unless the analysis using log parameters may result in an
the data error is small and the initial guess is very estimate of log resistivity equal to 3.0 with a
accurate. standard deviation of 0.7. This is readily inter-
In order to ensure convergence from poor ini- preted as a best fil value of actual resistivity equal
tial guesses, we generally sacrifice some speed and to 1000 with an uncertainty amounting to a factor
modify (7) as follows, of 5: i.e., the resistivity could be as low as 200 and
AP = (A’rA + kI) A’
‘ AG, as high as 5000. Inversion using linear parameters,
(8)
however. would tend to give a much dill’erent
where I is the identity matrix and k is some posi- result. The best fit would again be 1000 but the
tive quantity (Levenberg, 1944: Foster, 1961; standard deviation would be about 4000. suggest-
Marquardt, 1963). If k is very large, (8) ap- ing that the resistivity might take on negative
proaches the gradient method (Bevington, 1969, values. Since this is obviously not possible, it is
p. 236), which is slow but always converges. At often necessary to construct solution spaces to
the other extreme, if k is very small (8) approaches determine the true confidence interval for the re-
(7) which is very fast but may diverge. The tech- sistivity. The entire problem of possible negative
nique of altering the value of k during the process resistivities and nonelliptical confidence regions,
of inversion in order to ensure stable, fast con- however. is largely avoided by merely inverting
vergence is known as ridge regression. As Inman with respect to log parameters.
(1975) points out, large values of k in the initial Another important statistical quantity which
iterations tend to damp out the small eigenvalues we will discuss here is the correlation matrix,
of A’rA so that only broad features in the data are whose elements are determined by normalizing
initially fitted. After each iteration the value of k the off-diagonal entries of cov (P).
is carefully modified such that the smaller eigen-
[cov (P)l!,.~
values in A”A may be allowed to fit more subtle
]cor (p)]U = [cov (P)];j2[cov (P)]:;*
features in the data, without causing divergence.
When the algorithm eventually converges, AP Often in VES inversion, a thin layer will pro-
+ 0 and we may obtain an estimate of the data duce a correlation very close to 1.0 between the
variance from the reduced chi-square (Bevington, layer thickness ! and layer resistivity p, This in-
1969; Smith, 1975) dicates that only the longitudinal conductance

AGTAG ,=’
.$?Z = ___
n-m’ P

where n - m is the expression for the degrees of is accurately known, Alternately, if the correla-
freedom (n being the number of data points and tion is close to ~ 1.O, only the transverse resistance
m the number of parameters). Since the inversion
T= pt
has been carried out in log apparent resistivity
space, we may obtain an estimate of the average is well determined.
percent data error c, from Perhaps one more subject regarding inversion
Downloaded 07/19/15 to 130.132.123.28. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/ resistivity Data from Apodi Valley
FIG. I. Index map showing the survey area, location of electrical soundings(black dots), and water
wells A and B.
should be treated beforewe illustrate applications
of the method. Glenn (1973) suggestedthat it is
preferable to evaluate the derivative matrix from
the analytical expression for each derivative.
While this approach may produce more accurate
entries in A, it involves a considerableincreasein
programming. In this paper we have found that
transforming to log apparent resistivitiesand log
parametersresultsin sufficientlinearization of the
problem such that the derivatives may be eval-
uated numerically, by taking the first forward dif-
ference, with minimal loss in accuracy.As a con-
sequence,it is not necessaryto provide additional
routines for evaluating the integrals encountered
in the analytical derivatives.
GEOLOGY
The Apodi Valley is a flat alluvial region ap-
proximately 100 kma in area at an elevation of
about 40 m in the western part of the state of Rio
Grande do Norte, Brazil (Figure I). It is bounded
on the east and westby a sandstoneplateau of the
Acu formation. It extends northward into the
limestone scarpsof the Jandaira formation (Poti-
guar basin) and southward into Precambrian
metamorphic rocks.
The general geology (Reboucas et al, 1967) is
comprisedof fcur maIn units; gneiss-andmigma-
tites of Precambrian age, the CretaceousJandaira
815
and A9u formations, and Quaternary alluvial de-
posits.The limestone of the Jandaira formation is
not of direct importance in this work, becausein
the Apodi Valley area the Quaternary deposits
rest directly on the A9t.1formation or on the crys-
talline basement.
The Quaternary alluvial depositsconsistof un-
consolidated dark organic soil, clay, sand, and
gravel. Groundwater is stored in the sand and
gravel horizon, and the delineation of this aquifer
was the principal motivation for the resistivity
survey.
The sandstone of the A9u formation is fine-
grained at the top but it becomescoarsetoward
the bottom of the formation. Since the hydro-
geological potential of the sandstone had never
been studied in detail in this area, a secondary
motivation for the resistivity survey was mapping
of the sandstonethickness.
Two deepwells located at VES 18B and 35 sites
shown in Figure 1 provide information on the
subsurface geology and furnish control for the
geophysicalinterpretation.
GENERAL FEATURES OF THE SOUNDING
CURVES
The I I2 VES which we have interpretedmay be
divided into three main c!acms-correspondingtc
distinctly different electricaland geologicsections.
 818 Rijo et al

Class I
The first group of soundings we will discuss
were those which were made in areas where the
basement was very shallow. As shown in Figure 2,
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the curves are of type H (trough) or KH (ridge-

trough), indicating basically a resistive-con-
ductive-resistive sequence of layers (Orellana,
1972). The first layer has a resistivity which varies
from 50 to 400 R-m, reflecting the variable com-
position and moisture content of the topsoil. The
second layer with a resistivity of 2 to 6 Q-m corre-
sponds to a conductive clay horizon which plays a
very important role in the hydrogeology of the
area. Since the clay is relatively impermeable, it
prevents waste surface water from contaminating
the underlying groundwater. Beyond AB/2 = 10
m, the curves begin to rise with a uniform slope of AB/2 METERS
45 degrees indicating the presence of crystalline
basement at shallow depth.
FIG. 3. Typical VES curves obtained from para-
Class2 metric soundings in areas of sandstone outcrop.

This group of soundings was conducted in areas

of abundant sandstone outcrop primarily to ob-
tain information on the true resistivity of the A9u
formation. As illustrated in Figure 3, the sound-
ings typically show a relatively shallow layer of
overburden (weathered sandstone) followed by a
considerable thickness of conductive sandstone
overlying the resistive basement. The “flat bot-
tom” of VES 69 provides a particularly good esti-
mate (8 Q-m) for the sandstone resistivity at one
site; however, this value varies slightly in other
sections of the survey area.
Class3
By combining knowledge of the general geology
with the information displayed in the first two

AW2 METERS
AW2 METERS
FIG. 4. Ty ical VES curves showing the usual
sequence 0 P topsoil, clay, alluvial aquifer, poten-
FIG. 2. Typical VES curves obtained in areas tial sandstone aquifer and basement encountered
where the basement was very shallow. over most of the survey area.
 resistivity Data from Apodi Valley 817

groups of curves, it is possible to interpret qual- X:=1.38 10-3(8.9%)

itatively the more complex curves of type HKH
and KHKH shown in Figure 4. Several of the
curves demonstrate a resistive first layer corre-
~1
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sponding probably to dry topsoil or sand. For

VES 86 and VES 93, however, the conductive clay
horizon mentioned in connection with the first
group of curves probably extends to the surface. I

This conductive feature is indicated by the first VES 69

prominent H segment of VES 34 and by the slight

inflections in VES 27 and VES 103. Beyond AB/2
= 50 m. the curves tend to have the same general
shape. The K component or “bump” near AB/2
= 100 m is interpreted as being caused by a layer
of relatively high resistivity which corresponds to
the primary target of the survey, the alluvial aqui-
fer. Underlying the alluvial aquifer is the con-
ductive A9u sandstone, a potential aquifer, and 5c
the resistive basement which impart the final ris-
ing branch to all the sounding curves.

QUANTITATIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE

VES

It is evident from visual inspection, and trial

calculations, that the small “bumps” and in-
flections in the curves belonging to Class 3, cannot
provide unambiguous quantitative information
on both the thicknesses and resistivities of the
alluvial aquifer and the sandstone. Since the lay-
ers are thin relative to their depth, only informa-
tion on the T and S parameters is displayed in the
curves. Thus, in order to map the thicknesses of
these layers throughout the survey area, we must
know their resistivities.
We have obtained estimates of the layer resis-
tivities in two ways. One method was to interpret
the soundings near well A and well B, and to
solve for the resistivities, given the known thick-
nesses.The other method was to use the informa-
tion provided by soundings which were made in
locations where some of the layers were very shal-
low. For example, from curves belonging to class
I, which were extended to relatively large A B/2 in
a nearby area, we know that the basement resis-
tivity is about 2000 n-m, and this value was used
in all the inversions.
VES 69
In order to obtain estimates of the sandstone
resistivity, curves belonging to class 2 were in-
verted. Shown in Figure 5 is VES 69 and the
estimated layer parameters. Since the sandstone
layer is thick and shallow at the sounding site, its
FIG. 5. Four layer interpretation of VES 69. The
table gives “best estimates” for layer thicknesses
(m) and resistivities (G-m) as well as “low” and
“high” estimates corresponding to one standard
deviation departure in log parameter space. The
section at the bottom displays estimated resistivity
and depth.
true resistivity is well determined by the “flat bot-
tom” of the sounding curve. The estimated resis-
tivity is 7.9 Q-m with an estimated uncertainty of
3.9 percent. Overlying the sandstone is a thin layer
of dry soil with a resistivity of about 1000 8-m.
Another significant feature of Figure 5 is the
good agreement between calculated and observed
clutches. Evidently, in this example, the clutches
are caused by the layering and not by two-dimen-
sional inhomogeneities.
VES 18B
Sounding l8B was centered within 5 m of well
A which extends all the way to the basement. As
shown in Figure 6, accurate estimates for the
sandstone resistivity (10 Q-m) and alluvial aquifer
resistivity (146 Q-m) were possible using the layer
thicknesses known from the geologic well log. The
resistivity of the clay layer (about 2.8 Q-m) was
not as well determined, nor were the resistivities
of the two layers nearest the surface; however, it is
 818 Riio et al

X;= 1.14 la3 (8.1%) estimates could be made of the resistivities of

these layers.
VES 35B was the first of the two soundingsto
be inverted sinceit was the smoothest.Indeed, the
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estimated averageerror in the field measurements

is only 4 percent. The inversion determined rea-
sonable resistivity values for the shallowestthree
layers, as well as for the resistivity of the alluvial
aquifer.
Since the first six data points of VES 35A were
badly contaminated by “geologic noise,” we dis-
carded these points, adopted the near-surface
model determined by VES 35B, and solved only
for the sandstonethicknessand the resistivitiesof
the alluvial aquifer and the clay layer.

VES 25
The closeagreementbetweenthe widely spaced
soundings VES 35B and VES 18B suggeststhat

X;= 1.00 16”(7.6%)

FIG. 6. Seven layer interpretation of VES 18B ~~

compared with geological information from well
A.

evident that the poor resolution of theselayershas

relatively minor effecton the main objectiveof the
survey: the determination of the parametersof the
aquifer and sandstonelayers.

VES 35A and35B

Figure 7 showsthe data from VES 35A which
was made within 5 m of well B. The very large
discontinuity at AB/2 = 3 m indicates the pres-
ence of a lateral inhomogeneity near the potential
electrodes; consequently, another orthogonal
sounding, VES 35B (Figure 8), was made in order
to obtain a more accurate interpretation of the
near-surface layers and to provide additional in-
formation on the layers at depth.
Unfortunately, well B did not extend to the
basement so that the sandstone thickness is not
known in the vicinity of the sounding. Instead, we FIG. 7. Six layer interpretation of VES 35A. The
used the best average estimate of the sandstone table gives “best estimates” for layer thicknesses
resistivity(9 Q-m) given by VES 18B(10 Q-m) and (m) and resistivities(Q-m) as well as “low” and
VES 69 (7.9 Q-m) in order to solve for the un- “high” estimates corresponding to one standard
deviation departure in log parameter space. The
known thickness. The thickness of the alluvial section at the bottom comparesestimated resist-
aquifer was known, however, as were the thick- ivity and depth with geologicalinformation from
nessesof the shallower layers, so that additional well B.
 Resistivity Data from Apodi Valley 819

the resistivity of the alluvial aquifer is relatively

constant in the survey area and that its value is
probably within about I5 or 20 percent of I16 Q-m.
Similarly, the good agreement between the inter-
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pretation of VES 69 and VES 18B suggests that

the sandstone resistivity is relatively constant with
a mean value of about 9 Q-m. The clay resistivity
is less accurately known, but is probably within
about 30 percent of 4.2 Q-m.
Using these “best estimates” for the layer resis-
tivities, we proceeded to solve for the thicknesses
of the clay, alluvial aquifer, and sandstone in
other sections of the survey area. Shown in Figure
9 is the curve for VES 25 and the calculated thick-
nesses. The only unknown resistivity which was
determined in the inversion was the resistivity of
the second layer. The true resistivity of the very
thin first layer cannot be determined from the
curve since no asymptote is reached; therefore, it
was arbitrarily fixed at 3 i2-m.
Due to the high correlations between the sec-
ond layer resistivity and the thicknesses of the first
two layers, these parameters are not very well
determined. The statistical estimates for the allu- FIG. 9. Five layer interpretation of VES 25. The
table gives “best estimates” for layer thicknesses
(m) and resistivities (Q-m) as well as “low” and
“high” estimates corresponding to one standard
deviation departure in log parameter space. The
section at the bottom displays estimated resistivity
and depth.

vial aquifer thickness and sandstone thickness,

however, are very good-in fact, too good. We
must remember that these statistics represent the
hypothesis that the best estimates of layer resis-
tivities are indeed exactly the given values. Thus,
since the estimated standard deviation for the re-
sistivity of the sandstone is about IO percent, a
more reasonable estimate for the uncertainty in
the determination of the sandstone thickness. is
about IO to I5 percent, instead of the 4 percent
presented in Figure 9.
Behind all these calculations, of course. is the
original assumption that the number of layers
used is indeed correct and that the basement re-
sistivity is about 2000 Q-m. Fortunately, the exact
resistivity of the basement, as long as it is greater
than a few hundred ohm-m, is not at all critical to
the determination of the thickness and resistivity
of the overlying conductive sandstone layer.

VES 30

FIG. 8. Six layer interpretation of VES 35B com- The last specific sounding curve we will discuss
pared with geological information from well B. is VES 30 shown in Figure IO. Since the alluvial
 820 Rijo et al

xf= 1.41 Io-3(9.0%) sentially displays the estimated depth to the top of
r- ~- KY the alluvial aquifer. This depth reaches its max-
p^ h I
imum in close proximity to the Apodi River,
where recent unconsolidated sediments have been
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deposited from floods. In general, these overlying

sediments are not good sources of groundwater
due to the abundance of clay.
Figure 12 is the contour map for the thickness
of the alluvial aquifer, and as such it fulfills the
primary purpose of the resistivity survey. We ob-
serve that the alluvial aquifer is elongate in shape,
coinciding with the regional morphology of the
valley. It ranges in thickness from zero at the
corners of the valley to a maximum of 17 m in the
center between well A and well B (Figure I ).
As shown in Figure 13, the sandstone thickness
steadily increases from zero in the southern part
of the survey area to 220 m in the north. The
gradient of the increase is relatively constant.
ranging between 20 and 40 m/km. Due to the
relatively great thickness of sandstone underlying
most of the survey area, its contribution to the

FIG. 10. Six layer interpretation of VES 30. The

table gives “best estimates” for layer thicknesses
(m) and resistivities (Q-m) as well as “low” and
“high” estimates corresponding to one standard C
deviation departure in log parameter space. The
section at the bottom displays estimated resistivity 1
and depth.

aquifer is quite thin in the region of the VES, its

presence is barely discernible in the sounding
data: it appears only as a slight inflection near the
trough of the curve. Interpretation of this feature
by standard curve-matching techniques would be
very difficult, yet the inversion determines this
layer thickness, as well as that of the overlying
thin clay layer, to a reasonable accuracy.

DISCL’SSION OF RESULTS
Based on the results of the VES interpretation,
three contour maps have been prepared. The
thickness values used in constructing the maps are
believed to be within about 20 percent of the
actual values: however, this belief relies on the
assumption that the resistivities of the alluvial t-
c
aquifer and sandstone layers are relatively con-
stant throughout the region.
The’map for overburden thickness in the survey
area is shown in Figure I I. The “overburden” is
tacitly assumed to include all top soil, clay, and
sandy superficial layers overlying the ground- FIG. I I. Map displaying estimate of overburden
water-bearing gravel horizon. Thus, the map es- thickness (depth to aquifer). Contours in meters.
 Resistivity Data from Apodi Valley 821

versions were essentially automatic, requiring

minimal interaction between interpreter and data.
yet computer costs were very low, less than $4 per
inversion or about I/20 of previously reported
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costs for similar methods of interpretation.

Partly as B consequence of the increased speed
and accuracy available in the digital filter forward
routine, the apparent resistivities were calculated
from di’&ence.v in potential at the receiver MN
spacing used during the survey. This forward
problem formulation differs from the traditional
VES approach and allows, for the first time accu-
rate interpretation of the finite discontinuities or
“clutches” arising from a change in MN spacing
over a layered earth containing strong resistivity
contrasts. It also relaxes the usual restriction that
MN < A B/5. enabling larger AB/2 separations
and consequent deeper soundings with existing
equipment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was partially supported by National

Science Foundation grant GA 24421. We are

FIG. 12. Map displaying estimate of alluvial aqui-

fer thickness. Contours in meters.

hydrogeological potential of the valley could be

substantial, and should be investigated further.
Although the resistivity of the sandstone is quite
low, this is believed due to clayey sequences at the
top and bottom of the sandstone, rather than
brackish water content. The formation acts as ;1
good aquifer in adjacent areas.

The purpose of this paper was to present the

results of a reasonably thorough interpretation of
the I I2 VES soundings conducted during a hydro-
geological study, It was found that typical VES
data do not usually provide sufficient information
for unambiguous determination of both layer re-
resistivities and thicknesses. However, if additional
information is available from well logs and sound-
ifigs conducted on outcrops. the remaining thick-
nesses or resistivities may be determined to within
about 20 percent.
The interpretation scheme made use of a fast FIG. 13. Map displaying estimate of potential
digital filter forward algorithm. The resulting in- sandstone aquifer thickness. Contours in meters.
 822 Rijo et al

grateful to the Superintendencia do Desenvolvi- estimation, hypothesis testing, and least squares: New
York, Ronald Press Co.
mento do Nordeste and the Universidade Federal
Inman, J. R., 1975, Resistivity inversion with ridge re-
de Pernambuco for permission to use the field gression: Geophysics, v. 40, p, 789-8 17.
data. Thanks are due to Paulo Pedrosa and Jose
Downloaded 07/19/15 to 130.132.123.28. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org/

Inman, J. R., Ryu. T., and Ward, S. H., 1973, Resis-

Carlos de Olivera for assistance with field mea- tivity inversion: Geophysics, v. 38, p. 1088-l 108.
Keller, G. V., and Frischknecht. F. C., 1966, Electrical
surements. We would also like to thank Allan methods in geophysical prospecting: New York, Per-
Tripp for numerous constructive discussions; gamon Press, 513 p.
Koefoed, O., Ghosh, D. P., and Polman, G. J., 1972,
Donald F. Pridmore, Bruce D. Smith, and Walter
Computation of type curves for electromagnetic
L. Anderson for providing the digital filter rou- depth sounding with a horizontal transmitting coil by
tine; and to Sandra Lovato for typing the manu- means of a digital linear filter: Geophys. Prosp. v. 20,
p, 206-420.
script. Kunetz. G., 1966, Principles of direct current resistivity
Thanks are due to Adel A. R. Zohdy and prospecting: Berlin, Gebriider Borntraeger, 103 p,
George V. Keller for making constructive com- Levenberg. K.. 1944. A method for the solution of cer-
tain nonlinear problems in least squares: Quart.
ments during the revision process. Appl. Math., v. 2, p. 164-168.
Finally, one of the authors (L.R.) is very grate- Marquardt, D. W., 1963, An algorithm for least squares
estimation of nonlinear parameters: J. Sot. Indust.
ful to USAID and Conselho National de Desen-
Appl. Math., no. 2, p. 431-441.
volvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico do Brazil for Mooney, H. M., Orellana. E., Pickett, H., and Torn-
financial support of his research. heim, L., 1966. A resistivity computation method for
layered earth methods: Geophysics, v. 31, p. 192-203.
Orellana. E., 1972, Prospeccion geoelectrica. en cor-
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