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2D electrical resistivity inversion and ground penetrating radar investigation of near surface cave in New Netim area, southeastern Nigeria

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Abstract

2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data inversion and ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques were used to investigate a cave in New Netim area, southeastern Nigeria. The aim of the research was to apply the non-destructive geophysical techniques in delineating a cave in New Netim. The Wenner electrode configuration was used during the electrical resistivity tomography data acquisition while the common-offset mode was used in the ground penetrating radar scanning. The ERT inversion and GPR results quantitatively show strong contrast in electrical resistivity and dielectric permittivity between the host rock (i.e., limestone) and the void. The differences in the electrical properties and dielectric permittivities of the top loamy soils, weathered limestone and the host rock (i.e., Mfamosing limestone) observed, in contrast to the response from the void were explored. The two combined geophysical techniques with their inversion results gave a reliable near surface geologic model, where both methods show relatively good correlation with regards to delineating the depth to top of the cave (~2.7 m). The joint interpretation of the ERT and GPR was effective in reducing the uncertainty associated with geophysical methods used in locating cavities on a standalone basis. The low cost, fast, environmental friendly and high resolving abilities though at shallow depths of the ERT and GPR techniques have continued to favour their usage in resolving near surface environmental and engineering problems. Generally, caves provide important geotourism attraction sites, hence certain recommendations were put forward that can guide further studies, like the application of Steiner’s geostatistical inversion techniques and other post-exploration development strategies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the opinion leaders and the entire New Netim community for granting them access to their sacred land. We also express thanks to the Department of Physics, Applied Geophysics Unit, University of Calabar for releasing the equipment used for this research. This paper is to remember the late Professor Ferenc Steiner, who invented the Most Frequent Value (MFV) method as a robust statistical estimator, which gained a lot of applications after his death. The first author like also to thank Prof. I. Othman, General Director of Syrian Atomic Energy Commission for allowing Prof. J. Asfahani to participate in this research paper. His participation is really appreciated. Also, we acknowledge with thanks the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. V. Wesztergom, the Editor of the Special Issue, Prof. N. P. Szabó, the Guest Editor, Prof. M. Dobróka and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments during the different stages of the review process that have improved the quality of our manuscript.

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No funding was received for conducting this study. The authors declare they have no financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Geophysics Programme, Department of Physics, University of Calabar, Calabar, PMB 1115, Nigeria

    Ebong D. Ebong, Anthony M. George, Stephen E. Ekwok & Anthony E. Akpan

  2. Geology Department, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, P.O. Box 6091, Damascus, Syria

    Jamal Asfahani

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  1. Ebong D. Ebong
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  2. Anthony M. George
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  3. Stephen E. Ekwok
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Correspondence to Ebong D. Ebong.

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Ebong, E.D., George, A.M., Ekwok, S.E. et al. 2D electrical resistivity inversion and ground penetrating radar investigation of near surface cave in New Netim area, southeastern Nigeria. Acta Geod Geophys 56, 765–780 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-021-00364-2

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