EXAMPLES OF RESOLUTION IMPROVEMENT IN GEOELECTRICAL SOUNDINGS APPLIED TO GROUNDWATER INVESTIGATIONS

One simulation and two field examples from New Jersey illustrate resolution improvement in geoelectrical soundings applied to groundwater exploration. Layered-earth parameter resolution is derived from data obtained with the commonly used methods of resistivity, induced polarization (IP) and transient electromagnetic (TEM) soundings. Resolution improvement is achieved by simultaneous inversion of two or more data sets and by constraining parameters of the inverse problem. A quantitative analysis showing the contribution of IP data to the resolution of geoelectric sections is presented. Simultaneous inversion of simple IP data with conventional resistivity and resistivity-TEM data sets resulted in improved parameter resolution. IP data improved resolution in three ways: (1) by decoupling correlated layered-earth parameters, (2) by adding information to a geological interpretation about a second physical property, namely, chargeability, and (3) by increasing the electrical information available.