Spectral induced polarization measurements for predicting the hydraulic conductivity in sandy aquifers

Abstract

Abstract. Field and laboratory spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements are integrated to characterize the hydrogeological conditions at the Schillerslage test site in Germany. The phase images are capable of monitoring thin peat layers within the sandy aquifers. However, the field results show limitations of decreasing resolution with depth. In comparison with the field inversion results, the SIP laboratory measurements show a certain shift in SIP response due to different compaction and sorting of the samples. The SIP data are analyzed to derive an empirical relationship for predicting the hydraulic conductivity (K). In particular, two significant but weak correlations between individual real resistivities (ρ ) and relaxation times (τ ), based on a Debye decomposition (DD) model, with measured K are found for the upper groundwater aquifer. The maximum relaxation time (τ max ) and logarithmically weighted average relaxation time (τ lw ) show a better relation with K values than the median value τ 50 . A combined power law relation between individual ρ and τ with K is developed with an expression of A · (ρ ) B · (τ lw ) C , where A, B and C are determined using a least-squares fit between the measured and predicted K. The suggested approach with the calculated coefficients of the first aquifer is applied for the second. Results show good correlation with the measured K indicating that the derived relationship is superior to single phase angle models as Börner or Slater models.

Petrophysical Joint Inversion Applied to Alpine Permafrost Field Sites to Image Subsurface Ice, Water, Air, and Rock Contents

“…Their values are considered constant and equal to values found in the literature (e.g., Hauck et al, 2011). Archie's law (Archie, 1942) is used in the original 4PM and also for the PJI study by Wagner et al (2019), although other relationships were tested within the conventional 4PM (e.g., unpublished Master thesis, Python, 2015). The electrical resistivity ρ (or conductivity σ ) combines the contribution of three conduction mechanisms: particle conduction, surface conduction, and electrolytic conduction (e.g., Klein and Santamarina, 2003).…”

Variations of petrophysical properties and spectral induced polarization in response to drainage and imbibition: a study on a correlated random tube network

“…In the past decade, the induced polarization (IP) method has shown its potential to estimate the permeability in saturated conditions (Slater and Lesmes 2002;Tong et al 2004;Hördt et al 2007;Weller et al 2010;Attwa & Günther 2013;Slater et al 2014;Revil et al 2015). Laboratory studies have also evidenced that some characteristics of the IP response are directly modified when the saturation is changed (e.g.…”

Upscaling of spectral induced polarization response using random tube networks

“…Flores Orozco et al 2011;Abdel Aal et al 2014) and even hydrological characterization of the subsurface (e.g. Attwa & Günther 2013).…”