Definition
Electrical survey. Mapping the subsurface resistivity by injecting an electric current into the ground.
Electrode. Commonly a metal rod through which current is injected into the ground, or is used to measure the induced voltage on the ground surface.
Least-squares resistivity inversion. Finding the subsurface resistivity model that minimizes the sum of squares of the differences between the measured and calculated apparent resistivity values.
Introduction
Electrical resistivity surveys map the subsurface structure by making electrical measurements near the ground surface. An electric current is injected into the ground through two electrodes and the voltage difference is measured between two other electrodes (Figure 1a). The true subsurface resistivity can be estimated by making the measurements of potential difference at different positions of the current and potential electrodes, converting these values into apparent resistivity and then inverting the data set. The...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Acworth, R. I., 1987. The development of crystalline basement aquifers in a tropical environment. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 20, 265–272.
al Hagrey, S. A., Meissner, R., Werban, U., Rabbel, W., and Ismaeil, A., 2004. Hydro-, bio-geophysics. The Leading Edge, 23, 670–674.
Auken, E., and Christiansen, A. V., 2004. Layered and laterally constrained 2D inversion of resistivity data. Geophysics, 69, 752–761.
Barker, R. D., 1978. The offset system of electrical resistivity sounding and its use with a multicore cable. Geophysical Prospecting, 29, 128–143.
Bingham, D., Nimeck, G., Wood, G., and Mathieson, T., 2006. 3D resistivity in the Athabasca basin with the pole-pole array. In Geophysical methods and techniques applied to uranium exploration workshop proceedings. SEG Annual General Meeting 2006, New Orleans.
Chambers, J. E., Loke, M. H., Ogilvy, R. D., and Meldrum, P. I., 2003. Non-invasive monitoring of DNAPL migration through a saturated porous medium using electrical impedance tomography. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 68, 1–22.
Chambers, J. E., Kuras, O., Meldrum, P. I., Ogilvy, R. D., and Hollands, J., 2006. Electrical resistivity tomography applied to geologic, hydrogeologic, and engineering investigations at a former waste-disposal site. Geophysics, 71, B231–B239.
Chambers, J. E., Weller, A. L., Wilkinson, P. B., Burke, H. F., Ogilvy, R. D., Aumonier, J., Penn, S., Kuras, O., and Meldrum, P. I., 2007. The Development of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) for Sand and Gravel Resource Visualisation: Case Histories. Nottingham: British Geological Survey Commissioned Report, CR/07/175.
Dahlin, T., and Zhou, B., 2004. A numerical comparison of 2D resistivity imaging with ten electrode arrays. Geophysical Prospecting, 52, 379–398.
Dahlin, T., Bernstone, C., and Loke, M. H., 2002. A 3D resistivity investigation of a contaminated site at Lernacken in Sweden. Geophysics, 60, 1682–1690.
deGroot-Hedlin, C., and Constable, S., 1990. Occam’s inversion to generate smooth, two-dimensional models from magnetotelluric data. Geophysics, 55, 1613–1624.
Edwards, L. S., 1977. A modified pseudosection for resistivity and induced-polarization. Geophysics, 42, 1020–1036.
Farquharson, C. G., 2008. Constructing piecewise-constant models in multidimensional minimum-structure inversions. Geophysics, 73, K1–K9.
Ghosh, D. P., 1971. The application of linear filter theory to the direct interpretation of geoelectrical resistivity sounding measurements. Geophysical Prospecting, 19, 192–217.
Inman, J. R., 1975. Resistivity inversion with ridge regression. Geophysics, 40, 798–817.
Kim, J. H., Yi, M. J., Park, S. G., and Kim, J. G., 2009. 4D inversion of DC resistivity monitoring data acquired over a dynamically changing earth model. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 68, 522–532.
Koefoed, O., 1979. Geosounding Principles 1: Resistivity Sounding Measurements. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishing Company.
Li, Y., and Oldenburg, D. W., 1992. Approximate inverse mappings in DC resistivity problems. Geophysical Journal International, 109, 343–362.
Loke, M. H., 2001. Constrained time-lapse resistivity imaging inversion. In Proceedings of the 2001 Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP). EEGS, Denver, Colorado, March 4–7.
Loke, M. H., and Barker, R. D., 1996a. Rapid least-squares inversion of apparent resistivity pseudosections using a quasi-Newton method. Geophysical Prospecting, 44, 131–152.
Loke, M. H., and Barker, R. D., 1996b. Practical techniques for 3D resistivity surveys and data inversion. Geophysical Prospecting, 44, 499–523.
Loke, M. H., and Lane, J. W., Jr., 2005. Inversion of data from electrical resistivity imaging surveys in water-covered areas. Exploration Geophysics, 35, 266–271.
Loke, M. H., Acworth, I., and Dahlin, T., 2003. A comparison of smooth and blocky inversion methods in 2D electrical imaging surveys. Exploration Geophysics, 34, 182–187.
Marquardt, D. W., 1963. An algorithm for least-squares estimation of nonlinear parameters. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, 11, 431–441.
Park, S. K., and Van, G. P., 1991. Inversion of pole-pole data for 3-D resistivity structures beneath arrays of electrodes. Geophysics, 56, 951–960.
Pellerin, L., and Wannamaker, P. E., 2005. Multi-dimensional electromagnetic modeling and inversion with application to near-surface earth investigations. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 46, 71–102.
Rucker, D., Loke, M. H., Levitt, M. T., and Noonan, G. E., 2010. Electrical resistivity characterization of an industrial site using long electrodes. Geophysics, 75, WA95–WA104.
White, R. M. S., Collins, S., Denne, R., Hee, R., and Brown, P., 2001. A new survey design for 3D IP modelling at Copper hill. Exploration Geophysics, 32, 152–155.
Wilkinson, P. B., Chambers, J. E., Lelliott, M., Wealthall, P., and Ogilvy, R. D., 2008. Extreme sensitivity of crosshole electrical resistivity tomography measurements to geometric errors. Geophysical Journal International, 173, 49–62.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the British Geological Survey and Tarmac Ltd for permission to use the figures for the Ingham survey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Loke, M.H. (2011). Electrical Resistivity Surveys and Data Interpretation. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_46
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_46
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8701-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8702-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences