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Electrical (Resistivity) Methods (Principles, Electrode Configurations/Arrays,

Field procedures, Pseudosections and Instrument)

Poster · January 2020

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Ali M. Al-Rahim
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 Prof. Dr. Ali M. Al-Rahim
Electrical (Resistivity) Methods (Principles, Electrode Configurations/Arrays, Field procedures, Pseudosections and Instrument) Department of Geology - College of Science -
University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.

Electrical Surveys in Geophysics Electrical Resistivity of Earth Materials

Electric current flows in earth materials at shallow depths through two main methods;
Some Pseudosections Cases
Electrical prospecting involves detection of surface effects produced by electrical current flow in the ground. •electronic conduction-current flow via free electrons, such as in metals,
• Electrical resistivity method. • Induced polarization (IP) method. • Self potential (SP) method. important when conductive minerals are present, such metal sulfides and graphite in mineral exploration
• Electromagnetic (EM) method. •electrolytic conduction-current flow via the movement of ions in groundwater, common mechanism for environmental and
engineering surveys
Electrical Resistivity Survey Electrical Resistivity y of Rocks, Soils, and Minerals
• To investigate the subsurface resistivity distribution beneath an area of interest. •Igneous and metamorphic rocks typically have high resistivity values. The resistivity of these rocks is greatly dependent on the degree of
• In general, an electric current is injected into the ground, and the resulting voltage differ- fracturing, and the percentage of the fractures filled with ground water. Thus a given rock type can have a large range of resistivity, from
ences are measured at the surface of the Earth about 1000 to 10 million ohm-m, depending on whether it is wet or dry. This characteristic is
• True resistivity of the subsurface can be estimated from this voltage measurement. useful in the detection of fracture zones and other weathering features, such as in engineering
• Anomalous conditions or inhomogeneities within the ground, such as relatively conducting and groundwater surveys.
or resistive zones, are inferred from the fact that they deflect the current and distort surface •Sedimentary rocks, which are usually more porous and have higher water content, normally
potential readings. have lower resistivity values compared to igneous and metamorphic rocks. The resistivity val-
• The ground resistivity is related to various geological parameters such as the mineral and fluid content, porosity and de- ues range from 10 to about 10000 ohm-m, with most values below 1000 ohm-m. The resistivity
gree of water saturation in the rock. values are largely dependent on the porosity of the rocks, and the salinity of the contained wa-
ter.
• Have been used in hydrogeological, mining, and geotechnical investigations, and for environmental surveys. •Unconsolidated sediments generally have even lower resistivity values than sedimentary rocks, with
•Electrical resistivity is a measure of how a material resists a steady values ranging from about 10 to less than 1000 ohm-m. The resistivity value is dependent on the
Fundamental Resistivity Theory porosity (assuming all the pores are saturated) as well as the clay content. Clayey soil normally has
•Electrical resistivity is a measure of how a material resists a steady electrical current flow. a lower resistivity value than sandy soil. Note the overlap in the resistivity values of the different
•The electrical resistivity of a cylindrical sample of length L (m) and uniform cross-section area A (m2), having resistance R between classes of rocks and soils. This is because the resistivity of a particular rock or soil sample depends
the end faces, is given by: ρ = RA/ L on a number of factors such as the porosity, the degree of water saturation and the concentration of
•The unit of resistivity ρ is ohm–meter (Ωm). dissolved salts.
•The resistance R is given in terms of the electric potential V •Groundwater has resistivity values vary from 10 to 100 ohm-m depending on the concentration of dissolved salts. Note the low resistivity (about
applied across the ends of the cylinder and the resultant current I flowing through it, by Ohm’s law R=V/I. 0.2 ohm-m) of seawater due to the relatively high salt content. This makes the resistivity method an ideal technique for mapping the saline and
•The units of R, V, and I are ohms (Ω), volts (V), and amperes (A) respectively. fresh water interface in coastal areas.
The fundamental physical law upon which geophysical resistivity surveys are based is Ohm’s law which governs the current flow in the ground. •Metallic sulfides (such as pyrrhotite, galena and pyrite) have typically low resistivity values of less than 1 Ωm. Note that the resistivity value of a particu-
Ohm’s law can be written in vector form as: J = σE, lar ore body can differ greatly from the resistivity of the individual crystals. Other factors, such as the nature of the ore body (massive or disseminat-
where J is the current density, E is the electric field intensity, and σ is the electrical conductivity with it unit of siemens/m or mho/m, the reciprocal of ed) have a significant effect. Most oxides, such as hematite, do not have a significantly low resistivity value, except magnetite.
resistivity ρ (σ = 1/ ρ). •Industrial contaminants Metals, such as iron, have extremely low resistivity values. Chemicals that are strong electrolytes, such as potassium chloride and
In practice the electric potential V is measured. The relationship between V and E is given by: E = –grad V. sodium chloride, can greatly reduce the resistivity of ground water to less than 1Ωm even at fairly low concentrations. Hydrocarbons, such as xylene,
Combining above two equations we get: J = –σ grad V . typically have very high resistivity values. However, in practice the percentage of hydrocarbons in a rock or soil is usually quite small, and might not
The simplest approach to the theoretical study of the current flow in the ground is to consider first the case of a homogeneous isotropic subsurface have a significant effect on the bulk resistivity.
and a single point current source on the ground surface. Archie s law relationship between the resistivity of a porous rock and the fluid saturation factor.
In this case, the current flows radially away from the source. The equipotential surfaces develop into a hemispherical shape,
with the current flow perpendicular to the equipotential surface. At some distance r from the current source, the hemispher- ρ = resistivity of the rock., ρw = resistivity of the pore water., S w= (volume of water in pores)/(total volume of pores)., m =
ical shell has surface area 2πr2, so the current density J is : J = I/2πr2 . cementation factor, ~ 2 for well-cemented formations., ~ ≤ 1.5 for moderate to poorly cemented formations., n = saturation
Since ρ = 1/ σ and using J = I/2πr2 then equation J = –σ grad V can be written as exponent, normally = 2., a = coefficient of saturation, = between 0.6-2., φ = fractional porosity
It is applicable for certain types of rocks and sediments, particularly those that have a low clay content. The electrical conduction is assumed to be
through the fluids filling the pores of the rock.
Electrical resistivity field procedures
•1-D Vertical electrical sounding and horizontal profiling surveys
The potential V at distance r from the current source is given by integrating the above equation, the result of which is: •2-D Electrical resistivity surveys
•3-D Electrical resistivity surveys
This equation provides the fundamental relationship for electrical prospecting performed at the surface of a uniform isotropic earth. In reality, a single
electrode, by itself, cannot inject current into half–space; a return electrode is required such that the current flows into the
ground via one (source) and exits via the other (sink) electrode.
1-D Vertical Resistivity Sounding: Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Electrode Arrays
The potential measured at passive electrode P2 due to current entering and exiting via active electrodes C1 and C2 is: Choices of electrode arrays depend on •Sensitivity of arrays to vertical or horizontal changes y y g in subsurface resistivity. •Depth of investigation. •Signal strength (Signal/Noise
Ratio-S/N). •Horizontal coverage (duration time of investigation).
•If survey in a noisy area and need good vertical resolution and have limited survey time, use Wenner array.
•If good horizontal resolution and data coverage is important, and your resistivity meter is sufficiently sensitive and there is good ground contact, use the dipole-dipole
array.
The minus sign in the second term of this equation recognizes the change in sign of the current at the source and sink electrodes C1 and C2, and where r C1P2is the dis- •If not sure, or need both reasonably good horizontal and vertical resolution, use the Schlumberger array.
tance between P1 and C1 while r C2P2 is the distance between P2 and C2. •If have a system with a limited number of electrodes, the pole-dipole array with measurements in both the forward and reverse directions might be a viable choice.
Wenner Array: •High S/N (highest among others). •Good for noisy area. •Good vertical resolution == good for horizontal structure detection (layers of
In practice a potential difference between two points, rather than an absolute potential, is measured. The po- subsurface).
tential difference for a four electrode array is given by: Dipole-Dipole Array: •Low S/N (Lowest). •Good data coverage. •Good horizontal resolution == good for vertical structure detection (cavity, dike, ore
body).
Schlumberger Array: • S/N > dipole-dipole but < Wenner. •Good choice if both horizontal & vertical resolutions required.
Pole-Dipole Array: •S/N > dipole-dipole but < Schlumberger. •Good horizontal resolution. •Good horizontal coverage. •Good if both forward & re-
verse surveys acquired.
3–D Resistivity survey: The arrangement of the electrodes for a conventional 3–D survey.
The resistivity of a half–space is then given by solving above equation for ρ, that is::
k is called the geometric factor which depends on the specific configuration of current and potential electrodes.
Electrode Configurations/Arrays
Common arrays used in resistivity surveys and their geometric factors. Note that the dipole–dipole, pole–dipole and Schlumberger arrays have two
parameters, the dipole length “a” and the dipole separation factor p g p p “n”. While the “n” factor is commonly
an integer value, non–integer values can also be used. k is the geometric factor.

• gives the true resistivity that would be calculated from potential measurement over
a homogeneous half–space with the 4-electrodes configuration.
•The resistivity so obtained is constant and independent of both the electrode configuration
and the surface location of the electrodes.
•For an inhomogeneous earth the resistivity ρ, computed from the equation’ will vary accord-
ing to the geometric arrangement of the electrodes or on the horizontal location of the array.
•The resistivity obtained, for an inhomogeneous subsurface is, therefore, properly viewed as an Instrument
apparent resistivity, written as: 2–D Resistivity survey:
The arrangement of electrodes for a 2–D resistivity survey and the sequence of measure-
ments used to build up a pseudosection.
•The apparent resistivity should not be considered as some kind of a spatially averaged resis- Pseudosection Data Plotting Method:
tivity of the homogeneous subsurface formation. Pseudosections are normally used to display apparent resistivity data from a 2–D resistivity survey.
•It is the resistivity that the potential readings would assign to the ground if it were homogene- •A horizontal location is defined as the mid–point of the electrode array used to make a given apparent re-
ous. sistivity measurement.
•The relationship between the apparent resistivity and the true resistivity is a complex relationship. •A vertical location is defined to be some distance that is proportional to the separation between the elec-
•To determine the true subsurface resistivity from the measured apparent resistivity values is the “inversion” problem or trodes or estimate depth (pseudo depth) of electrode array used.
“inverse modeling”. •For the dipole–dipole array, for example, apparent resistivity data are plotted at the intersection of the two lines drawn at a 45o angle to the horizon
from the center of the current (C1–C2) and the potential (P1–P2) dipole pairs.

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