Lecture-3 Prof. Dr.

Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

BASICS OF DC RESISTIVITY METHOD

LECTURE HEADS
➢ Applications Of DC Resistivity Method
➢ Basics of DC Resistivity Method

Groundwater Exploration Methods (G 667) 1

Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Applications Of Resistivity

Resistivity measures changes in ground conductivity due

to variations in ground-water, salt content, and porosity
of the medium., This phenomenon makes resistivity
exploration very effective in mapping sub-surface,
oxidized mineral deposits and geological formations.
It is also very effective in fault tracing, cavern mapping,
ground-water investigation.
Resistivity applications are also highly effective in
mapping archaeological sites.
Recently, resistivity techniques have been used to map
ground permeation )‫نفاذ‬-‫ (تخلل‬of industrial chemicals.

Groundwater Exploration Methods (G 667) 2

Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Basics of Resistivity Method

Definition
Resistivity Method - Observation of electric
fields caused by current introduced into the
ground as a means of studying earth
resistivity in geophysical exploration.
Resistivity is the property of a material that
resists the flow of electrical current
Conductivity is the opposite of resistivity.
Highly conductive media transmit electrical
current with great ease and thus have a low
resistivity. Mathematically, conductivity is
the reciprocal of resistivity and is
measured in the units of 1 over Ohm
meters(Mho).
One over Ohm is referred to as a Siemen
(S). Thus, the units of conductivity are
siemens per meter.
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Current Flow and Ohm's Law

In 1827, Georg Ohm defined an empirical relationship between the
current flowing through a wire and the voltage potential required to
drive that current

Ohm found that the current, I, was proportional to the voltage, V, for
a broad class of materials. The constant of proportionality is called
the resistance (R) of the material and has the units of voltage (volts)
over current (amperes), or ohms.
For one-dimensional current flow in a wire, Ohm’s law is given
by the following Equation .

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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

It's Resistivity, NOT Resistance

The problem with using resistance as a measurement is
that it depends not only on the material from which the
wire is made, but also the geometry of the wire.
If we were to increase the length of wire, for example, the
measured resistance would increase. Also, if we were to
decrease the diameter of the wire, the measured In the case of a wire, resistivity
resistance would increase. We want to define a property is defined as the resistance in the
that describes a material's ability to transmit electrical wire, times the cross-sectional
current that is independent of the geometrical factors. area of the wire, divided by the
The geometrically-independent quantity that is used is length of the wire. R  L
called resistivity and is usually indicated by the Greek R 
1
symbol r. A

Resistivity is a fundamental parameter of the

material making up the wire that describes how L
R = r
easily the wire can transmit an electrical current. A

High values of resistivity imply that the material The units associated with
making up the wire is very resistant to the flow of resistivity are thus, ohm - m (ohm
- meters).
electricity. Low values of resistivity imply that the

2
material making up the wire transmits electrical
current very easily. r =
RA
= m
= m
L m
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Ohmic Conduction(Electronic)
Modes of Current Conduction

the electrons flow thorough the crystal structures of some materials

Occurs mostly in metals

Electrolytic Conductions
Electric currents is also conducted by ions dissolved in groundwater
These ions can move througth the interconnected pores of permeable mass of soil,
unconsolidated sediment, or rock
Dielectric conduction
An alternating electrical field causes ions in a crystalline structure to shift cyclically
There is no actual flow of charged particles, the cyclic change in the positions of ions is a
movement that can be viewed as an alternating current
Dielectric conduction can occur in electric insulators

Although some native metals and graphite conduct electricity, most rock-forming minerals are
electrical insulators.
Measured resistivities in Earth materials are primarily controlled by the movement of charged
ions in pore fluids, where ground water generally contains dissolved compounds that greatly
enhance its ability to conduct electricity. Hence, porosity and fluid saturation tend to dominate
electrical resistivity measurements. In addition to pores, fractures within crystalline rock can
lead to low resistivities if they are filled with fluids.
There is a large range of resistivities, not only between varying rocks and minerals but also
within rocks of the same type. This range of resistivities, as described above, is primarily a
function of fluid content. Thus, a common target for electrical surveys is the identification of
fluid saturated zones. For example, resistivity methods are commonly used in engineering and
environmental studies for the identification of the water table.
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Resistivity and Lithology The resistivities of various earth

Classifications of Sustances according to their resistivities

materials are shown below

Electric conductors Resistivity (-m)
Material
The resistivities are lower than One  -meter
Air 
Galena 2x 10-3

Resistive Conductors
Quartz 4 x 1010 - 2 x 1014
The resistivities are ≥ One  -meter and
below 107  -meters Rock Salt 30- 1x 1013
Granite 100- 1x 106
Basalt 10-1x 107

Limestones 50-1x 107

Electric Insulators Sandstones 1-1x 108
The resistivities are above 107  -meters
Clay 1 - 100

Ground Water 0.5 - 300

Sea Water 0.2
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

In normal practice in electrical resistivity

surveying it is usual to use source and sink
electrodes connected to a battery, or some
other source of electric power, to compel
current to flow in the ground. An ammeter is
included to measure current. Two other
electrodes connected to a voltmeter are placed
in other positions to measure differences in
potential.

v MN
= vM − v N
ir  1 1 1 1
=  − − + 
2  d1 d 2 d 3 d 4 

r = 2
v MN
1
 −
1
−
1 1
+ 
−1 r i
v
a
= MN
G
i  d1 d 2 d 3 d 4 

2
G=
1 − 1 − 1 + 1
Where G is called Geometrical Factor and is given by d1 d2 d3 d4
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

the apparent resistivity

If, however, the Earth does not have a constant resistivity (that
is, if the resistivity varies with depth or horizontally), the
resistivity computed by the above equation will not represent
the true resistivity of the Earth. Thus, we refer to it as an
apparent resistivity.

The difference between the apparent and the true resistivity

of the medium is not a function of any noise that might be
associated with the measurements we are attempting to
record. The difference, rather, comes from the fact that our
measurement, in some sense ‫ بمعنى ما‬, averages the true
resistivities of some region of the earth, yielding an apparent
resistivity that may or may not represent the true resistivity
at some point within the earth.
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Common Electrode Arrays (configurations) and their corresponding Geometrical Factor

a
A B
Square array

a 2
N M

r a
(
= a 2 + 2 ) iV
M
N
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Lecture-3 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Conclusions

You have known through this lecture idea

about the following titles:-

➢ Applications Of DC Resistivity Method

➢ Basics of DC Resistivity Method

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Lecture-03 Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Mahmoudi

Thank You

14

Groundwater Exploration Methods (G 667)