ABSTRUCT

Geophysical investigation involving electrical resistivity and

gravity methods are intended to be used to delineate
groundwater in Mavoloni-Machakos county. The area receives
low rainfall per annum and there is scarcity of water for both
domestic and agricultural use. Our study intends to determine
the area with potential groundwater, its depth and aquifer using
electrical resistivity and gravity methods. We will use
Schlumberger configuration to determine the variation of
resistivity with depth, Wenner configuration and gravity method
to map the extent of the aquifer.
In resistivity method we will use ipi2win software to analyse
data and for gravity method we will use suffer10.

1.1PROBLEM STATEMENT
There is scarcity of water especially in this area of Mavoloni
as the place is located in dry semi-arid in Eastern region of
Kenya. Water resources are of critical importance to society
because these resources sustain our livelihood and ecosystem.
The increasing population is causing strain to the available
water resources therefore there is need to find a way to avail
the resource. Previous prospects have been done using local
method to detect groundwater but the boreholes that have
been drilled later ended up drying up within a span of months.
 We are coming up with two methods that is resistivity and
gravity in order to come up with solution.

1.2 JUSTIFICATION
Considering the high demand of the resource above it will be
appropriate to use electrical resistivity method more
especially vertical resistive sounding to investigate the
potential areas to be drilled as it is cost effective for exploring
long distance for a short time. With the modern terrameter
and software for analyzing data, it can give very good and
reliable results.
OBJECTIVE
General objective
 To determine occurrence of groundwater in Mavoloni-
Machakos county using electrical resistivity and gravity
methods.
Specific Objective
 To determine the variation of resistivity of the subsurface
using resistivity method.
 To delineate possible aquifers in the region and their
inferred geometry using resistivity and gravity methods
  To determine the subsurface density variation using gravity
method.

METHODOLOGY
RESISTIVITY METHOD
Ohm’s law provides fundamental equation for resistivity survey.
In Figure 2.1, ρ is resistivity, R is resistance, L is length of
homogenous conducting cylinder and A is cross-sectional area.
Ohm’s law provides fundamental equation for resistivity survey.
In Figure 2.1, ρ is resistivity, R is resistance, L is length of
homogenous conducting cylinder and A is cross-sectional area.

Figure : Electrical conducting elements of the earth material (Smith

and Alley, 1992)
R of a cylindrical material is directly proportional to the length
of the cylinder, L, and inversely proportional to the cross
sectional area, A.

R= ρL/ A………………… (i)

where ρ is the electrical resistivity of the cylindrical material.

The intrinsic property of the earth material, electrical resistivity,
(ρ), can be defined from the formula:
ρ = RA/ L…………………………………(ii)
where R (Ω) is the resistance of the element and is directly
proportional to its length, L (m) and inversely proportional to
the cross-sectional area A (m2). From Ohm‟s law

I= V / R =1/ ρ A ΔV/ L ……………………………(iii)

From which;

V= Iρ/4πr………………………………(iv)

For homogeneous half space, the potential at any point due

to a current source at the surface of a homogeneous earth is
given as;
 V = Iρ/2πr…………………………(v)

where ρ is the resistivity of the ground and I is the current

injected into the ground.

For solid earth, which is anisotropic and not like a straight

wire, equation (v) is customized to;

 V/I2r…………………(vi)

whereby ∆V is change in voltage.

Since the solid Earth is not homogeneous then equation (vi) is

re-written as;

a  V/I 2r………………(vii)
Equation (vii)denotes the resistivity of the earth if it were
homogeneous.

The2πr in equation (vii) is defined as the geometric factor(K).

This factor is usually configuration dependent.
Vertical electrical sounding, VES, is used to determine the
resistivity variation with depth. Single VES should only be
applied in areas, where the ground is assumed to be horizontal
layered with very little lateral variation, since the sounding
curves only can be interpreted using a horizontally layered earth
(1D) model. To measure the apparent resistivity values a
resistivity meter is used. Resistivity meters normally give a
resistance value, R = V/I, so in practice the apparent resistivity
value is calculated by pa = k R.
The calculated resistivity value is not the true resistivity of the
subsurface, but an “apparent” value which is the resistivity of a
homogeneous ground which will give the same resistance value
for the same electrode arrangement. The relationship between
the “apparent” resistivity and the “true” resistivity is a complex
relationship. To determine the true subsurface resistivity, an
inversion of the measured apparent resistivity values using a
computer program must be carried out. The measured apparent
resistivity values are normally plotted on a log-log graph paper.
To interpret the data from such a survey, it is normally assumed
that the subsurface consists of horizontal layers.
The array that am going to use is schlumberger array.
SCHLUMBERGER ARRAY
 This array is the most widely used in electrical
prospecting. It
Four electrodes are placed along a straight line on the earth
surface with AB> or = 5 MN.
 Two closely spaced measuring electrodes (M & N) are
placed midway between two current electrodes (A & B).
 In lateral exploration with the Schlumberger array, it is
permissible to measure potential somewhat off the line
between fixed current electrodes.
 In addition to the potential associated with current
introduced into the earth by the current electrodes, the
potential difference as read may include spurious
electrochemical potentials between the electrodes and
electrolytes in the earth.

In this case and according to the above equation, the

configuration factor can be proved as follows:
If MN = l and AB= L then
ρa = 2π .∆V/I { 1/ [(1/L/2-l/2) – 1/(L/2+l/2) - 1/(L/2+l/2)
+ (1/L/2-l/2)]}
ρ = 2π .∆V/I { 1/ [(2/L - l) – 2/(L + l) - 2/(L + l) +
(2/L - l)]}
ρ = 2π .∆V/I { 1/[4/(L-l) – 4/(L+l) ]}
ρ = 2π .∆V/I { 1/ [(4L + 4l – 4L + 4l)/(L2-l2)]}
ρ = 2π .∆V/I { 1/[8l / (L2 – l2]}
ρ = π .∆V/I { 1/[(L2 – l2) / 4l]}
ρa = π {[(AB)2 – (MN)2] / MN} .∆V/I
ρa = K .∆V/I
K is the configuration factor.
The number (4) in the last equation is removed because:
L2 = (AB)2 or 4(AB/2)2 &
l2 = (MN)2 or 4(MN/2)2.
Wenner array

The Wenner array is relatively sensitive to vertical changes in

the subsurface resistivity below the centre of the array.
However, it is less sensitive to horizontal changes in the
subsurface resistivity. The Wenner array has a moderate depth
of investigation. For the Wenner array, the geometric factor is
2(22/7)a, which is smaller than the geometric factor for other
arrays. Among the common arrays, the Wenner array has the
strongest signal strength. This can be an important factor if the
survey is carried in areas with high background noise.
In the Wenner array four electrodes are equally spaced
along a straight line so that AM = MN = NB = a.
 It was known before that:
ρ = ∆ V/I { 2π/ (1/AM – 1/BM - 1/AN + 1/BN)}
 For this configuration, the apparent resistivity reduces to:
ρa = ∆ V/I { 2π/ (1/a – 1/2a - 1/2a + 1/a)}
ρ = ∆ V/I { 2π/ (2/a – 1/a)
ρ = 2π.∆V/I (a)
ρa = 2πa.∆V/I
2πa is called geometrical factor
WORKING SCHEDULE
DATE EVENT
29th October Reconnaissance

BUDGET
ITEM COST

Terra meter 7,000

Transport 3,000
Printing & Photocopying 500