Electrical Methods

0Principles &

Applications

0 Graeme Taylor 0 GTaylor@Plymouth.ac.uk

Info On Applied Geophysics

Field Geophysics By John Milsom, Published by John Wiley and Sons, 2003 (or any of the previous versions) Reynolds, J. M. 1997. An Introduction to Applied and Environmental Geophysics, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester,796 pp. (includes examples from Sourton !) An Intro. To Geophysical Exploration Kearey, Brooks & Hill Blackwell 2002.

Material that contains explicit info about the Sourton Area

*****BEER, K.E. and FENNING, P.J. 1976. Geophysical anomalies and mineralisation at Sourton Tors, Okehampton, Devon. Institute of Geological Sciences, Report 76/1.***** Taylor, G.K., Hake, D.M., King, I.R., & Bowers R. (2001). The Sourton Tors geophysical anomaly revisited. Geoscience in south-west England, 10, 166-171.
http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/sheet_1c-b.pdf Which also contains all the references for the regional geology

http://galitzin.mines.edu/INTROGP/index.jsp

And if you have access to it >>>

Electrical Methods
0Resistivity Methods 0Self Potential SP 0Electromagnetic Methods EM 0Induced Polarisation IP 0Ground Probing Radar GPR

Electrical Methods Applications

0 Depth to bedrock

0 Lithology/lithological boundaries
0 Depth to the water table 0 Groundwater contamination

0 Buried targets e.g. 0 mineralised targets 0 archaeological artifacts 0 UXB and other metallic objects

Resistivity ?
0 What is it ?

0 How can we exploit variations in ground resistivity to show geology, fluids or other targets?
(Some intro ideas on how current flows in the ground)

0 How do we apply such ideas in the field ?

(Survey types, basic interpretation)

0 Fieldwork, Equipment & Applications/Case

Histories?

Resistance An analogy

Measuring Resistance- Ohms Law

Ohm found that the current, I, was proportional to the voltage,V, for a broad class of materials that we now refer to as ohmic materials. The constant of proportionality is called the resistance of the material and has the units of voltage (volts) over current (amperes), or ohms.

Ohms Law
0V = I *R
or

V - is Voltage in Volts
I is Current in Amperes R is the resistance in Ohms

0R= V/ I

BUT will this work in the Earth ?

It's Resistivity, NOT Resistance

Resistance depends not only on the material but also the geometry of the wire. i.e. length and cross sectional area

We want to define a property that describes a material's ability to transmit electrical current that is independent of the geometrical factors. RESISTIVITY

Earth Materials as Conductors

0 Conductors
0 native metals, some sulphide minerals e.g. Chalcopyrite,

Pyrrohotite, Pyrite + graphite

0 Semi Conductors
0 Rock salt

0 Insulators
0 silicate minerals

This means that the vast majority of rocks will not be good conductors in their own right

Poor conductors

Good insulators

Resistivity

Conductivity

Good conductors

Poor insulators

How then does electricity flow in rocks?

0 In metals by the flow of electrons which can be stripped

from the outer atomic shell of a metallic atom

0 this is known as Ohmic or electronic conduction

0 In a liquid this is not possible instead we have

0 Ionic or electrolytic conduction

- this is the flow of current by the movement of +ve and -ve ions

Ionic Conduction in Rocks and sediments

0 Pore Space - to contain the Fluid

0 Water saturation - you have to have fluid

or the ions cannot flow

0 Salinity - no Salts = no Ions

0 Temperature - affects a salts ability to

break down into ions and ability to move 0 Permeability - the pores have to be connected

Archies Equation?

The Controlling Factors

0 Porosity - depends upon
0 Grain size 0 Sorting/Packing 0 Diagenesis/cementation 0 Normally expressed as a fraction or perecentage 0 Total Void / Total Rock Volume

0 Water Saturation
Sw = Volume filled with fluid / Total Porosity

0 Salinity
The equivalent concentration of common salt (NaCl) that would give rise to the same resistivity of fluid as is actually filling the pore space.

Implications of Electrolytic Conduction

0 Resistivity is the most variable property of rocks

because

0 it depends upon three important factors which all vary

themselves i.e. Porosity, Sw and Salinity

0 It is not possible to say what the resistivity of the rock might be even if you know 2 of the 3 e.g. A sandstone with high porosity and salinity will still have a very high resistance if it is dry !!!

Summary I
0 Ionic (Electrolytic) conduction is much more common in

rocks than Electronic 0 Electrolytic conduction depends on Porosity, Sw and salinity 0 We will need to measure the grounds resistivity (not resistance)

Current Flow in a uniform medium

N.B. Potential = Voltage

I V 2r
resistance, R equal to over 2r

An expression for the apparent resistivity

The voltage change from a single current electrode to any point in the half space representing the earth is given by the expression above. In this expression, V is voltage, I is current, (rho) is resistivity, and r is the distance between the current electrode and the point the voltage is measured. Notice that this expression is nothing more than Ohm's law with the

Constant Resistivity Experiment

Current flow from 2 electrodes

Path % Current
1 2 17 32

3
4 5 6

43
49 51 57

Actually Measuring Resistivity

Potential distribution in a uniform World

+
C P P

The potential computed along the surface of the earth is shown in the graph. The voltage we would observe with our voltmeter is the difference in potential at the two voltage electrodes, V.

Measuring Resistivity - What happens if we change the distance between current electrodes?

What happens if the Earth is not uniform ? Current Flow in a Layered Earth

Electrode Spacing and Apparent Resistivity Plots

Variation in Apparent Resistivity: Layered Versus Homogeneous Media

Current Density

Current Flow in Layered Media v Current Electrode Spacing

A 2nd Example of current Flow in layered media

Summary II
0 The measurements made are V (potential difference

between 2 electrodes) and the applied current 0 50% of the current or more will penetrate no deeper than the current electrode separation 0 We calculate the measured apparent resistivity using a modified form of Ohms Law that allows for the geometry of the electrode array 0 Current will preferentially flow in the low material 0 Current penetrates deeper into the ground with expansion of the electrode distance

Electrode Arrays
SCHLUMBERGER

WENNER

Asymmetric

Overview of surveys
0 Vertical Electrical Sounding V.E.S.
0 Electrical Sounding, Drilling

0 Constant Separation Traversing

0 Profiling, Trenching

0 Tomography or 2D Surveying
0 which is a combination of both the

above methods

Expanding Arrays for V.E.S. 1

C a a a P a a P C a

Wenner

e.g. 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 32, 48, 64.. metres

Expanding Arrays for V.E.S. 2

A M N B

Sclumberger

Wenner Sounding
VES-1

Schlumberger Sounding
VES-1
AB/2=1.5, MN/2=0.5 AB/2=2, MN/2=0.5 AB/2=3, MN/2=0.5 AB/2=4, MN/2=0.5 AB/2=5, MN/2=0.5 AB/2=5, MN/2=1

a=1m
a=2m a=3m a=4m

a=5m

Data Table
a,m 1 2 3 4 a Field Curve a R a

Data Table
AB/2 1.5 2 3 4 R a

Field Curve

a,m

AB/2

Multilayered Earth Models I

Relatively thin middle layer Varying half-space resistivity

Multilayered Earth Models II

Varying the thickness of the second layer

VES Data Plotting Convention

Plot apparent resistivity as a function of the log of some measure of electrode separation. Wenner a spacing Schlumberger AB/2 Dipole-Dipole n spacing Asymptotes: Short spacings << h1, a=1. Long spacings >> total thickness of overlying layers, a=n To get a=true for intermediate layers, layer must be thick relative to depth.

Multilayer Curves Summary

0 There is always at least one more layer than there are

turning points on the sounding graph 0 If three layers and 1 > 2 > 3 the it may well appear as if you only have 1 > 2 Equally the same thing happens for 1 < 2 < 3 0 Also very thin layers or layers with resistivities similar to those above or below may disappear

Resistivity Profiling/CST
Constant Separation Traversing

Maps Profiles Locate Boundaries

Constant Arrays for C.S.T. I

Wenner
C
a

C P

P P C

a a a

C P P

C P

Wenner array

Profiling: a-spacing is fixed, move the whole array

Constant Arrays for C.S.T. II

C P P C

Schlumberger

1 2 3 4 5 6 n

Single Contacts
Sclumberger
0 Some

simplified responses to boundaries

Double Dipole Wenner Transverse

1 > 2

Double Contacts
Sclumberger Wenner
Double Dipole

2 > 1

Profiling Summary
0 Symmetric arrays give symmetric anomalies 0 Assymmetric arrays give assymetric anomalies 0 A rule of thumb is that the boundary usually lies under the

steepest slope in the anomaly curve

Resistivity
Equipment, Fieldwork, and sample applications

Operation for Constant Separation Traversing

0 Pick electrode spacing (e.g. 10m) 0 Electrodes in ground at 0,10, 20, 30 m (assuming 10m station spacing) 0 Measure point middle of array so 15m

0 Take measurement move on 1 spacing so 10, 20, 30, 40 >>

measurement point 25 0 repeat as needed, if you like you can always infill extra data points at critical places so 15,25,35,45 would give an extra data point at 30m along traverse

Operation for Vertical Electrical Sounding

0 Pick location from other surveys 0 Place two tapes on the ground back to back 0 Electrodes in ground at 0,10, 20, 30 m (assuming 10m station spacing)

Operation for Vertical Electrical Sounding

0 Spacings

0(0.25), 0.5,1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32,

64 metres

C1

P1

P2

C2

Try not to get the wires crossed !

Start of line GRID REFERENCE End of Line

GRID REFERENCE

Ground surface dry but soil damp should be no problems with

Conditions connection
Resistivity CST survey using an electrode separation of 10m in a standard

Method WENNER configuration Equipment SAS 300 used Terrameter

OPERATOR GKT
Distance Apparent Midpoint of Reading resistivity Array 15 45.4 2852.6 25 37.8 2375.0 35 35.6 2236.8 45 12.6 791.7 55 9.45 593.8 65 9.31 585.0 75 6.54 410.9 85 2.345 147.3 95 2.136 134.2 105 1.965 123.5 115 1.456 91.5 125 1.23 77.3 135 1.115 70.1 145 1.345 84.5 155 1.689 106.1 165 2.43 152.7 175 5.56 349.3 185 12.3 772.8 195 45.6 2865.1

Reading
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Reading

0
0 50 100 150 200 250

Start of line GRID REFERENCE End of Line

GRID REFERENCE

Ground surface dry but soil damp should be no problems with

Conditions connection
Resistivity CST survey using an electrode separation of 10m in a standard

Method WENNER configuration Equipment SAS 300 used Terrameter

OPERATOR GKT
Distance Apparent Midpoint of Reading resistivity Array 15 45.4 2852.6 25 37.8 2375.0 35 35.6 2236.8 45 12.6 791.7 55 9.45 593.8 65 9.31 585.0 75 6.54 410.9 85 2.345 147.3 95 2.136 134.2 105 1.965 123.5 115 1.456 91.5 125 1.23 77.3 135 1.115 70.1 145 1.345 84.5 155 1.689 106.1 165 2.43 152.7 175 5.56 349.3 185 12.3 772.8 195 45.6 2865.1

Apparent resistivity Line 1

10000.0

Log App. Res. rho.m

1000.0

100.0

10.0 0 50 100 Distance (m) 150 200 250

Equipmen t

Sub-Surface Imaging or Electrical Tomography

0 A combination of V.E.S. and C.S.T. That provides an image

conveying information both vertical and horizontal changes in resistivity

0 Needs many readings > must be fast > must be automated

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.1 Wenner array

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Forward modelling Example 1

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Forward modelling Example 1

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Forward modelling Example 2

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Forward modelling Example 3

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Forward modelling Example 4

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Inversion Example 1

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Inversion Example 2

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

C6.2 Wenner pseudosections of some simple 2-D resistivity models Inversion Example 3

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

Case Studies - Mineralisation

St. Erth Formation, Cornwall Evidence for an unconformity, evidence of the clay/brickworks workings >Undisturbed site for future excavation

Engineering Applications

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C6.3 Dipole-dipole array

C7.1.1 Cavity detection

C7.1.1 Cavity detection

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

C7.1.2 Environmental geophysics

C7.1.2 Environmental geophysics

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

C7.1.2 Environmental geophysics

3-D DC resistivity inversion

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

C7.1.3 Hydrocarbon exploration

Shallow gas exploration with DC resistivity. Data courtesy of KOMEX

C7.1.4 Geothermal exploration

Low resistivity clay cap

Low resistivity reservoir http://iga.igg.cnr.it/geo/geoenergy.php

C7.1.4 Geothermal exploration

More details http://geothermal.marin.org/GEOpresentation/

Tongonan geothermal field, Leyte

Bacman geothermal field, Bicol

Mayon Volcano, Bicol

C7.1.5 Geotechnical exploration

Figure courtesy of M.H. Loke

Time lapse variations

Case Studies V

Summary
0 All fieldwork requires ground contact so relatively slow

0 provides quantitative results in terms of depths/location

0 modern equipment provides for more rapid surveying and

2D and 3D approaches