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Limitations of the Electrical Resistivity Method in Landfill Investigations
Author(s) -
Klefstad Gilbert,
Sendlein Lyle V. A.,
Palmquist Robert C.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1977.tb03185.x
Subject(s) - electrical resistivity and conductivity , contamination , alluvium , natural (archaeology) , geology , degree (music) , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , soil science , mineralogy , geotechnical engineering , geomorphology , ecology , engineering , electrical engineering , paleontology , biology , physics , acoustics
The electrical resistivity method has been used to delineate shallow zones of ground‐water contamination resulting from solid waste disposal sites. Application of this method to sites located in alluvial deposits in Iowa revealed that the degree of success of the method was directly related to the degree of contamination. A detailed investigation of the interrelationship between electrical resistivity, material variation, and water quality was conducted in the alluvial deposits of the Skunk River at Ames, Iowa. The lateral variation of materials at this site resulted in a large, natural scatter in the resistivity response. The decrease in resistivity due to contamination was not greater than this natural scatter and thus could not be detected. These results suggested a relationship between the scatter levels at any site and the minimum degree of contamination necessary to be detected. The minimum level of contamination which can be detected over the natural scatter is herein called the threshold value. The threshold value must be known before the resistivity method can be applied with confidence.