Geoelectric Sounding for Estimating Aquifer Hydraulic Conductivity

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop surface electrical resistivity methods for estimating hydraulic conductivities in glacial outwash materials. Aquifer electrical resistivities were determined from the results of Schlumberger electrical soundings at six sites in southern Rhode Island where pumping tests had previously been made. Hydraulic conductivities and transmissivities determined from pumping tests were then correlated with resistivities obtained from electrical soundings. Results indicate that electrical resistivities determined from soundings can be used to predict aquifer hydraulic conductivities; an empirical relation between aquifer electrical resistivity and aquifer hydraulic conductivity was developed. A semiempirical relation between aquifer formation factor and hydraulic conductivity was also developed.

A Relationship between Hydraulic Conductivity and Electrical Properties of Silty Sand on the Riverside of the Nakdong River

“…(1) (Kelly, 1977;Heigold et al, 1979;Urish, 1981; K 343.84τ 0.00094 -= Kosinski and Kelly, 1981;Ponzini et al, 1983;Allessandrello and Lemoine, 1983;Frohlich et al, 1996). …”

Influence of Degree of Saturation in the Electric Resistivity–Hydraulic Conductivity Relationship

“…al., 1979), the explanation of this inverse relation was a problematic. Because Kelly (1977) found a direct linear relationship between hydraulic conductivity and resistivity of the water bearing deposits in two New England aquifers composed of the same glacial deposits of sand and gravel and one case study of direct relation in glacial deposits is discovered later by Frohlich and Kelly (1985). The inverse correlation was reasoned due to more poorly sorted sediments near the head of the Niantic-Illiopolis aquifer, which are responsible not only for reduced porosity and thus less hydraulic conductivity, but also for an increase in the volume of low conductivity solids which increase the resistivity of the aquifer (Heigold et.…”

“…He concluded that, geoelectric determination of groundwater salinity would be most exact at lower salinities and where porosity is relatively high. W. E. Kelly, (1977), carried out a correlation between resistivity values of six Schlumberger VES and pumping test data of the wells. He got a good direct relation between aquifer resistivity and measured hydraulic conductivity, good direct relation between aquifer resistivity and specific capacity, and good direct relation between formation factor and measured hydraulic conductivity.…”

Characterizing hydrogeologic heterogeneity using lithologic data

“…Methods employed in the petroleum industry for relating intrinsic permeability to borehole geophysical data are described in Lake and Carroll (1986) and Flint andBryant (1993): Lahm et al (1995) recently reviewed several efforts to relate permeability to borehole geophysical data including Timur (1968), Croft (1971, Keys and MacCary (1971), Kelly (1977), Biella et al (1983), 5 Doveton (1986), Wendt et al (1986), Urish (1981), and Jorgensen (1989 (Thayer et al, 1994). Note that the interpolation process has preserved horizontal stratification of the sediments.…”