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Combined Use of Geoelectric Sounding and Profiling to Quantify Aquifer Protection Properties
Author(s) -
Kalinski Robert J.,
Kelly William E.,
Bogardi Istvan
Publication year - 1993
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.1745-6584.1993.tb00585.x
Subject(s) - depth sounding , hydraulic conductivity , aquifer , geology , profiling (computer programming) , porosity , soil science , vertical electrical sounding , electrical resistivity and conductivity , conductivity , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , groundwater , engineering , computer science , soil water , operating system , chemistry , oceanography , electrical engineering
Evolving environmental regulations have increased the need for defining the protective properties of geologic layers. Of particular significance is the need for defining vertical times‐of‐travel (TOT) through aquitards located above municipal water supply wellfields. Surface geoelectrics provide an inexpensive field measurement method that can be used to quantitatively define protective properties. Protective layer longitudinal unit conductance squared (S 2 ) can be theoretically related to TOT using material relationships between resistivity and hydraulic conductivity divided by porosity (K/n). In an example presented for a municipal wellfield, it was possible to utilize a limited number of geoelectric soundings to establish relationships between S of a conductive protective layer and apparent resistivities measured at individual electrode spacings, providing a method to estimate S with profiling. In this case, longitudinal unit conductance (S) was the geoelectrically equivalent parameter of the protective layer. The use of combined sounding and profiling data in the wellfield area resulted in an overall reduction in the kriging estimation error of S for the protective clay layer and a larger area of coverage over what was obtained with soundings alone.