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Characterization and Monitoring of Porous Media with Electrical Imaging: A Review

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Abstract

Electrical geophysical imaging is a widely used noninvasive technology for visualizing porous media at scales larger than individual pores. Originally developed for medical applications, the technology has been applied to investigate flow and transport properties/processes in a wide range of fields including earth sciences, civil and environmental engineering, agricultural sciences and biology. Conventional electrical imaging measures electrical conduction processes occurring through the fluids filling the interconnected pores and within the electrical double layer at the solid–fluid interface. Complex electrical imaging, an extension of the methodology, also measures electrical polarization processes within the electric double layer and in the presence of metals. Electrical imaging has been used to determine the spatial distribution of physical properties controlling flow/transport in porous media, image fluid dynamics, observe solute transport phenomena and capture matrix transformations. The method has been applied to investigate porous media processes in soils, rocks, concrete, engineered barriers, wastewater filters and living trees. Advances in the technology will result from (1) improving the understanding of the relationship of complex conductivity measurements to more processes occurring in porous media and (2) developing new instrumentation that will support longer-term autonomous electrical monitoring.

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Fig. 1

Modified from Gray (1918), Paulsen et al. (2006), Martin and Günther (2013), Busato et al. (2016)

Fig. 2

Modified from Al Hagrey (2006), Kuras et al. (2007), unpublished sources

Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Modified from Busato et al. (2016)

Fig. 5

Modified from Yang et al. (2015)

Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Modified from Martin and Günther (2013)

Fig. 8

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Acknowledgements

The case study shown in Fig. 3 was partly supported by the former Christina River Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) directed by Anthony Aufdenkampe (formerly at the Stroud Water Research Center). The case study shown in Fig. 6 was performed in collaboration with Anthony Buda (US Department of Agriculture [USDA]), Amy Shober (University of Delaware) and Amy Collick (University of Maryland—Eastern Shore) under funding from the USDA. The case study shown in Fig. 8 was supported by the US Department of Defense under award ER-201430 (Kent Sorenson, PI, CDM Smith). The review comments received from two anonymous reviewers improved the quality of this manuscript. We also thank Sina Saneiyan (Rutgers University Newark) for insights into the complex conductivity response to calcite precipitation.

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  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University Newark, 101 Warren St, Newark, NJ, 07043, USA

    Samuel Falzone & Lee Slater

  2. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99354, USA

    Judy Robinson

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Falzone, S., Robinson, J. & Slater, L. Characterization and Monitoring of Porous Media with Electrical Imaging: A Review. Transp Porous Med 130, 251–276 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1203-2

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