Book contents
1 - Electrical methods
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 August 2009
Summary
Introduction
Commonly used electrical methods in applied geophysics comprise direct-current (DC) electrical measurements, self-potential measurements (SP) and induced-polarisation methods (IP), including spectral-induced polarisation (SIP).
The SP method is based on passive measurements of natural electrical potential differences in the ground, which are often negligible in periglacial areas as electrically conductive materials or water flow have to be present to generate distinct SP patterns. A cryospheric example measuring subglacial drainage conditions with SP is given by Kulessa et al. (2003).
The IP and SIP methods are based on actively induced polarisation effects in the subsurface, which require polarisable material to be present. Again, these effects are usually small in frozen environments, which is why all three methods have seldom been used in periglacial research to date. A review concerning SP and IP methods is included in the review paper concerning the application of geophysical methods in permafrost areas by Scott et al. (1990). Further details on these techniques are given in Weller and Börner (1996) and Slater and Lesmes (2002).
In contrast, DC resistivity methods utilise distinct changes in the electrical resistivity within the subsurface, and constitute one of the traditional geophysical methods that have been applied in permafrost research. Since a marked increase of the electrical resistivity occurs at the freezing point, these methods are expected to be most suitable to detect, localise and characterise structures containing frozen material.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Applied Geophysics in Periglacial Environments , pp. 3 - 27Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
References
(1989). Depth of investigation of collinear symmetrical four electrode arrays. Geophysics, 54(8), 1031–1037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1998). The application of time-lapse electrical tomography in groundwater studies. The Leading Edge, 17, 1454–1458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2003). The impact of recent glacier fluctuation and human activities on the permafrost distribution: a case study from Stelvio Pass (Italian Central-Eastern Alps). Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Permafrost, Zürich, Switzerland, 125–130.
, , and (2004). Electrical resistance tomography. The Leading Edge, 23, 438–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2008). Geophysical mapping of ground ice using a combination of capacitive coupled resistivity and ground-penetrating radar, NWT, Canada. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, F02590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (2005). Composition and internal structures of a rock glacier on the strandflat of western Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift, 59(2), 139–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2004). Snowmelt infiltration: monitoring temporal and spatial variability using time-lapse electrical resistivity. Journal of Hydrology, 297, 174–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (2002). Monitoring snowmelt induced unsaturated flow and transport using electrical resistivity tomography. Journal of Hydrology, 267(3–4), 273–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2006). Three-dimensional modelling and inversion of dc resistivity data incorporating topography – II. Inversion. Geophysical Journal International, 166, 506–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1996). On the characteristics and possible origins of ice in rock glacier permafrost. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplement, 104, 43–57.Google Scholar
(2002). Frozen ground monitoring using DC resistivity tomography. Geophysical Research Letters, 29(21), 2016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006). Application of capacitively-coupled and DC electrical resistivity imaging for mountain permafrost studies. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 17(2), 169–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003a). Evaluation of geophysical techniques for application in mountain permafrost studies. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplement, 132, 161–190.Google Scholar
and (2003b). Inversion and interpretation of 2-dimensional geoelectrical measurements for detecting permafrost in mountainous regions. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 14(4), 305–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2003). Using DC resistivity tomography to detect and characterise mountain permafrost. Geophysical Prospecting, 51, 273–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , , , and (2008). Monitoring mountain permafrost evolution using electrical resistivity tomography: A 7-year study of seasonal, annual, and long-term variations at Schilthorn, Swiss Alps. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, F01590, doi:10.1029/2007JF00799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1973). Electromagnetic probing of permafrost. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Permafrost, Yakutsk, Siberia, 517–526.
, and (2001). Genetic difference of rock glaciers and the discontinuous mountain permafrost zone in Kanchanjunga Himal, Eastern Nepal. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 12(3), 243–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1996). Seepage monitoring in an earth embankment dam by repeated resistivity measurements. European Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 1, 229–247.Google Scholar
and (1983). Site investigation and foundation design aspects of cable car construction in Alpine permafrost at the “Chli Matterhorn”, Wallis, Swiss Alps. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Permafrost, Fairbanks, Alaska, 601–605.
(1999). Permafrost in Gletschervorfeldern – Eine vergleichende Untersuchung in den Ostschweizer Alpen und Nordschweden. Trierer Geographische Studien, 22, 156pp.
(2003). Electrical resistivity tomography as a tool for geomorphological investigations – some case studies. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplement, 132, 37–49.Google Scholar
(2004). New insights into mountain permafrost occurrence and characteristics in glacier forefields at high altitude through the application of 2D resistivity imaging. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 15, 221–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2006). Assessment of subsurface lithology in mountain environments using 2D resistivity imaging. Geomorphology, 80, 32–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003). Multi-method geophysical investigation of an isolated permafrost occurrence. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplement, 132, 145–159.Google Scholar
and (2007). Mountain permafrost dynamics within a recently exposed glacier forefield inferred by a combined geomorphological, geophysical and photogrammetrical approach. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 32(12), 1797–1810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2000). Permafrost below the timberline confirmed and characterized by geoelectrical resistivity measurements, Bever Valley, eastern Swiss Alps. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 11, 295–304.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2007). Reconnaissance surveys of contemporary permafrost environments in central Iceland using geoelectrical methods: implications for permafrost degradation and sediment fluxes. Geografiska Annaler, 89, 41–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2007). Electrical resistivity tomography monitoring of permafrost in solid rock walls. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, F02520, doi:10.1029/2006JF000546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2003). Cross-coupled flow modeling of coincident streaming and electrochemical potentials and application to subglacial self-potential data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 108(B8), 2381, doi:10.1029/2001JB001167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2000). Topographic modelling in electrical imaging inversion. Proceedings of the 62nd EAGE Conference & Technical Exhibition, Glasgow, D02, 4pp.Google Scholar
(2004). Lecture notes on 2D and 3D electrical imaging surveys. Available in pdf-format on www.geoelectrical.com.
and (1995). Least-squares deconvolution of apparent resistivity. Geophysics, 60, 1682–1690.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1996). Rapid least-squares inversion of apparent resistivity pseudosections using a quasi-Newton method. Geophysical Prospecting, 44, 131–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2003). A comparison of smooth and blocky inversion methods in 2D electrical imaging surveys. Exploration Geophysics, 34, 182–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , and (2003). Assessing reliability of 2D resistivity imaging in permafrost and rock glacier studies using the depth of investigation index method. Near Surface Geophysics, 1(2), 57–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2007). Geophysical imaging of alpine rock glaciers. Journal of Glaciology, 53(180), 110–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (1998). 3D geoelectric tomography and archaeological applications. Geophysical Prospecting, 46(5), 543–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2003). Moisture assessment with small-scale geophysics – The Interurban Project. Near Surface Geophysics, 1(4), 173–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (1999). Imaging of industrial waste deposits and buried quarry geometry by 3-D resistivity tomography. European Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 3, 103–113.Google Scholar
and (1999). Choice of the best model in 2-D geoelectrical imaging: Case study from a waste dump site. European Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, 3, 221–244.Google Scholar
, and (2005). Sensitivity of electrical resistivity tomography data to electrode position errors. Geophysical Journal International, 163(1), 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006). Comparing geophysical methods for talus slope investigations in the Turtmann valley (Swiss Alps). Geomorphology, 76(3–4), 257–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2008). Soil water content monitoring on a dike model using electrical resistivity tomography. Near Surface Geophysics, 6, 123–132.CrossRef
, , , , , and (1999). Improvement to resistivity pseudosection modelling by removal of near-surface inhomogeneity effects: application to a soil system in south Cameroon. Geophysical Prospecting, 47, 85–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2003). Moisture distribution in rockwalls derived from 2D-resistivity measurements, Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplement, 132, 51–69.Google Scholar
, and (1990). Geophysics in the study of permafrost. In Geotechnical and Environmental Geophysics, ed. , Society of Exploration Geophysics, Tulsa, pp. 355–384.Google Scholar
and (2002). IP interpretation in environmental investigations. Geophysics, 67(1), 77–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1990). Incorporation of topography into two-dimensional resistivity inversion. Geophysics, 55, 354–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2000). Verification of geophysical models in Alpine permafrost using borehole information. Annals of Glaciology, 31, 300–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1996). Measurements of spectral induced polarization for environmental purposes. Environmental Geology, 27, 329–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , , , , and (2006). Comparison of geophysical investigations for detection of massive ground ice (pingo ice). Journal of Geophysical Research, 111(E6), CiteID E06S19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003). Properties and effects of measurement errors on 2D resistivity imaging surveying. Near Surface Geophysics, 1, 105–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 33
- Cited by