Environmental and Engineering Geophysics

Abstract

Geophysical imaging methods provide solutions to a wide range of environmental and engineering problems: protection of soil and groundwater from contamination; disposal of chemical and nuclear waste; geotechnical site testing; landslide and ground subsidence hazard detection; location of archaeological artefacts. This book comprehensively describes the theory, data acquisition and interpretation of all of the principal techniques of geophysical surveying: gravity, magnetic, seismic, self-potential, resistivity, induced polarization, electromagnetic, ground-probing radar, radioactivity, geothermal, and geophysical borehole logging. A final chapter is devoted to inversion theory and tomography. Each chapter is supported by a large number of richly illustrated case histories. This book will prove to be a valuable course-book for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates in environmental and applied geophysics, a supplementary course-book for students of geology, engineering geophysics, civil and mining engineering, and a reference work for professional earth scientists, engineers and town planners.

Geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the geochemical characteristics and groundwater-flow system of the U.S. part of the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas, 2010–12

“…A more realistic representation of the subsurface resistivity is obtained through inverse modeling, which is the iterative optimization of a series of forward models to compute the resistivity of an equivalent non-uniform earth material. A description of the DC resistivity method and tables of the electrical properties of earth materials can be found in Zohdy and others (1974), Sumner (1976), andSharma (1997). Zohdy and others (1976) published results from 65 DC resistivity soundings collected within the study area to analyze hydrogeology within the lower Mesilla Valley.…”

Geophysical investigation of Red Devil mine using direct-current resistivity and electromagnetic induction, Red Devil, Alaska, August 2010

“…Because of the relation between grain size, water quality (TDS), and resistivity, the resistivity method may be a useful tool in differentiating surficial mine tailings and bedrock as well as delineating contaminant plumes emanating from the abandoned settling ponds. Reynolds (1997), Sharma (1997), and Butler (2005) provide more detailed descriptions of the resistivity method and resistivity values for common geologic materials.…”

Mapping of subsurface karst structure with gamma ray and electrical resistivity profiles: a case study from Pokhara valley, central Nepal

“…With favorable circulation of radon and mineralized groundwater, the fracture and fault zones are enriched with the decay products of Ra and Rn and may be the sites of redistribution of K 40 , U 238 and Th 236 . Despite these uncertainties, the areas lying above the karst structures are known to possess increased gamma activity due to the increased propagation of the emission along the fissures or fractures to the surface (Surbeck & Medici, 1990;Abdoh & Pilkington, 1989; and, a summary by Sharma, 1997). In addition, it was observed during the initial phases of this study that elevated gamma-ray readings occur over partially filled depressions, of various scales, caused by collapse/subsidence of the ground along several radiometric profiles passing over the Mahendra and Chamero caves.…”

“…We aimed at detection of the large-scale lateral and vertical changes in overburden lithology on the basis of electrical resistivity (Keller & Frischknecht, 1966), appraisal of the influence of the karstic features to the resistivity-depth models at relatively small scale (e.g. Ward, 1990) and also delineation of shallow karst features by measuring the gamma ray counts (Nielson et al, 1990;Sharma, 1997), respectively. Seismic refraction and magnetometry could not be used due to strong industrial electrical/electromagnetic noise of unknown origin.…”