Journal of Applied Geophysics 196 (2022) 104520

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Journal of Applied Geophysics

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Sediment characterization in deltas using electrical resistivity tomography:

The Ebro delta case
Fabian Bellmunt *, Anna Gabàs, Albert Macau, Beatriz Benjumea 1, Miquel Vilà, Sara Figueras
Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya (ICGC), Parc de Montjuïc s/n, E-08038 Barcelona, Spain

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Surface electrical resistivity tomography is a non-invasive and highly competitive technique that can be used to
Electrical resistivity tomography effectively characterize subsurface sediments for different purposes: geological, geotechnical, hydrogeological or
Extreme saline environment subsidence problems. However, due to the strong effect of salinity on resistivity, sediments characterization in
Holocene deltas characterization
deltas (coastal areas) becomes a challenge. In this work, the results of combining extensive surface electrical
Deltas subsidence assessment
resistivity tomography measurements and limited borehole logging and geological information in the Ebro delta
plain is presented. The methodology used has been critical to reduce uncertainties in the interpretation of the
ERT models, allowing to characterize the sedimentary architecture of the Holocene deposits in the Ebro delta
plain up to about 60 m depth. The obtained geoelectrical models have been used for the construction of the Ebro
delta 3D geological model prior to the delta plain subsidence assessment. Results also highlight the feasibility and
capability of the electrical resistivity tomography technique to sediments characterization in extreme environ­
ments such as coastal areas and deltas. Additionally, the water quality distribution across the delta plain is also
inferred.

1. Introduction
Globally, river delta plains have gradually been populated and
transformed in favour of the economic activity, mainly agriculture,
aquiculture, infrastructures, or tourism, among others. Consequently,
they have now become some of the most important economic and
environmental areas on Earth, since large amount of people and their
economic development depend primarily on delta plains and, therefore,
also on their preservation.
Currently, the growth and evolution of many deltas is mainly
controlled by the human activity (Syvitski and Saito, 2007). In this
context, the extensive use of delta plains, which sometimes requires
flood control and modifying their hydrological dynamics (e.g., river
levees, dams, artificial network of water distribution channels), has
reduced the amount of sediments that directly contributes to their
evolution, thus reducing the natural ability of delta plains to counteract
coastal erosion, subsidence processes and the threat of sea level rise in
the global warming context. Although most deltas undergoing natural
subsidence processes, industrial activities such as groundwater, oil, and
gas extractions may result in accelerated rates of sinking and
consequently, in higher rates of relative sea level rise (Syvitski et al.,
2009).
The Ebro delta is located on the NE coast of the Iberian Peninsula
(Spain) and represents one of the five largest Mediterranean deltaic
systems together with Danube, Nile, Rhône and Po. In the Ebro delta,
close to 50,000 people populate its delta plain (IDESCAT, 2020), with
the main economic activities based on the primary sector (farming,
fishing, aquaculture, etc.) and, more recently, on tourism. The Ebro
delta plain is suffering from a combination of sediment deficit, caused
mainly by river damming, and land subsidence (Day et al., 1995; Ibáñez
et al., 1997a; Vericat and Batalla, 2005; Vericat and Batalla, 2006).
Limited sediment input has reshaped the coast into a more wave-
dominated delta, mainly governed by reshaping processes (Ibáñez
et al., 1997b; Jiménez et al., 1997), thus increasing regression of the
shoreline at the current Ebro river mouth and surroundings. In terms of
elevation, 40% of the Ebro delta plain is already less than 0.5 m.a.s.l.
(meters above sea level) and some areas are already below it (Day et al.,
2006). It is estimated that about 50% of the delta plain could be flooded
during the present century (Ibáñez et al., 1997a).
If the lowlands of the deltas do not grow vertically at a rate equal to

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Fabian.Bellmunt@icgc.cat (F. Bellmunt).
1
Present address: Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME). La Calera, 1. E-28760-Tres Cantos, Madrid – Spain.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2021.104520
Received 12 April 2021; Received in revised form 17 October 2021; Accepted 7 December 2021
Available online 10 December 2021
0926-9851/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
F. Bellmunt et al. Journal of Applied Geophysics 196 (2022) 104520

sea level rise, the feasibility of agriculture could be dramatically reduced
and could eventually disappear (Ibáñez et al., 1997a).
Therefore, considering the low elevation of the Ebro delta plain
makes it extremely vulnerable to sea level rise (Day et al., 2006;
Alvarado-Aguilar et al., 2012), the assessment of the ongoing land
subsidence is considered one of the most immediate problem to be
addressed.
Assessing the subsidence of the Ebro delta plain, and delta plains in
general, requires knowing the structure and lithological characteristics
of the most recent sediments (Holocene), since a priori they are the most
susceptible to compaction and consolidation. Due to the vast extent of
the Ebro delta plain (320 km2), improving geological knowledge
through only punctual borehole information is an expensive and chal­
lenging task. In this regard, the surface electrical resistivity tomography
(ERT) is a non-invasive and highly competitive technique that allows
covering large land extensions in a cost-effective way. It has proven to be
effective to delineate surface areas at risk of sinking (Singh, 2006;
Gómez-Ortiz and Martín-Crespo, 2012) and to characterize subsurface
sediments to help assess subsidence (Dobecki and Upchurch, 2006; Xia
and Miller, 2007). In coastal areas, where there is a strong effect of water
salinity on resistivity, the surface ERT technique has been primarily used
to identify different water qualities and capture the general pattern of
seawater wedge intrusions (Bauer et al., 2006; Kazakis et al., 2016;
Pidlisecky et al., 2016; Sutter and Ingham, 2017; Abdulameer et al.,
2018; Costall et al., 2018). Few examples focused mainly on local
characterization of sediments in coastal areas (Maillet et al., 2005;
Martínez et al., 2009; Van Dam, 2012) demonstrate the capability of the
ERT technique in such extreme environments.
The main aim of the present study is to help define the main
geological (Holocene) surfaces needed for the evaluation of subsidence
in the Ebro delta plain. For this purpose, we present the results of
combining extensive surface ERT measurements and limited borehole
logging and geological information to geometrically characterize the
Holocene sediments in the entire Ebro delta plain. Additionally, the
water quality distribution across the delta plain will also be inferred.
2. Geological and hydrogeological settings
The Ebro delta is composed of transgressive and highstand deposits
accumulated on the onshore and offshore environments during the late

Fig. 1. Major environments in an Ebro delta hypsometric map (top) and main depositional units in a conceptual west to east cross-section (bottom). Legend: Bas:
Basement rock; Q (Quaternary); H (Holocene); P (Pleistocene); N (Neogene); l (lagoon/bay); m (marsh); pd (alluvial/overbank); fd (delta front); prd (prodelta); t
(transgressive sediments). Black triangle indicates the borehole Carlet location. Coordinate reference system ETRS89/UTM31N.

2
F. Bellmunt et al.
Upper Pleistocene and Holocene (Stanley and Warne, 1994; Miller et al.,
2005). The basal fluvial and shallow marine transgressive sediments
were deposited during the rapid sea level rise occurred from ~20,000 to
8000 yr BP (years before present), whereas the Holocene deposits are
assumed to accumulated through the last ~8000 yr. BP, during the
progradation of the delta plain related to the deceleration of the sea level
rise.
The Holocene sediments in the Ebro delta (onshore and offshore) can
be related to five major environments (Fig. 1): lagoon/bay (QHl), marsh
(QHm), alluvial/overbank (QHpd), delta front (QHfd) and prodelta
(QHprd). Because of their ever-changing and transitional boundaries,
Holocene sediments have been grouped into three main units consid­
ering major lithological differences, which can be easily identified and
correlated in different delta plain areas with the available geological
information. In the present study, the concept of unit is considered as a
volume of sediments that share enough characteristics to be considered
as a single entity. From top to bottom (Cross-section, Fig. 1): 1) Undif­
ferentiated Delta plain unit (QHlmpd), which includes the lagoon/bay,
marsh and alluvial/overbank sediments, with a great variety of lithol­
ogies (clays, silts, sands, peats) and transitional mixtures; 2) Delta front
unit (QHfd), which consists mainly of bioclastic sands; and 3) Prodelta
unit (QHprd), consisting basically of silts and marine clays. Following
Cearreta et al. (2016), who did not identify prodelta sediments in a
borehole named Carlet, the interpretation of the QHprd unit is restricted
to the east of this borehole (Fig. 1).
Conceptually, the Holocene sediments in the Ebro delta conform a
wedge-shaped body that thins towards the west (Fig. 1), with a
maximum thickness of about 60 m (Maldonado, 1972; Maestro et al.,
2002). This Holocene prism unconformably overlays late Upper Pleis­
tocene transgressive sediments and older Pleistocene/Neogene deposits.
The transgressive deposits (QPt unit) define a coarsening downward
sequence that consists (from top to bottom) of silts, fine sands, coarse
sands and, locally, gravels. The lower Pleistocene-Neogene unit (QPN)
consists mainly of gravels in the upper part and of interbedded layers of
clay and gravel below (FCIHS, 2011). Note that the QPt unit presents in
its upper and lower parts lithologies similar to the overlying and un­
derlying units, respectively. Therefore, it is not expected to distinguish
between them with the information available in this study. Henceforth
in this study, when referring to the QHprd and QPN units, it is assumed
that they can include the silty and gravelly parts of the QPt unit,
respectively. In this study it is assumed that the sandy part of the QPt
unit exists in most of the delta plain subsurface.
The Ebro delta aquifer system in the central and eastern part of the
delta plain (Fig. 1) consists of two aquifer formations separated by a
clayey aquitard (Dolz et al., 1997). The upper unconfined aquifer in­
volves the sands of the QHlmpd and QHfd units, the aquitard formation
comprises the silts and clays of the QHprd and QPt units, and the deeper
aquifer includes the porous QPt unit and the uppermost gravel part of
the QPN unit. The lower part of the QPN unit, which acts as a deep multi-
layer aquifer (FICHS, 2011) is beyond the scope of this study. In the
western margin area, where the QHfd and the sandy QPt units (part of
the upper and deeper aquifers, respectively) become connected (Fig. 1),
it is also unlikely to distinguish between them with the available in­
formation. Therefore, in this area, aquifer formations will be designated
as the sandy and gravelly aquifers, respectively.
As in many coastal areas worldwide, the groundwater system in the
Ebro delta plain becomes salinized because of the seawater intrusion
through the coastal area. However, two more saltwater inflows must be
considered in the Ebro delta (Dolz et al., 1997; CHE, 2009): one from the
Ebro river channel and another from the aquitard. The dynamics of the
seawater intrusion through the Ebro river channel depends mainly on
the volume of water discharge and on the river channel bathymetry
(Ibáñez et al., 1997a). The aquitard formation can also release a sig­
nificant amount of connate saltwater trapped during its sedimentation,
in the process of dissipating excess pore pressure, thereby increasing the
salinity of the adjacent aquifer formations (Leake, 1990; FCIHS, 2011).
3
Journal of Applied Geophysics 196 (2022) 104520
Generally, groundwaters of two different qualities coexist in the upper
aquifer, a lower layer with salinity values close, and even higher, to
those of the Mediterranean seawater and an upper layer with lower
salinity values (CHE, 2010). The deeper confined aquifer presents a
more homogeneous but also very high salinity levels (FCIHS, 2011),
mainly towards the coastal area. On the western margin, the natural
draining of the Mesozoic formations favours aquifers recharge and,
therefore, a certain degree of mixing, resulting in lower salinity
groundwater that is exploited (FCIHS, 2011).
3. Methodology
The main goal of this study was to use surface ERT measurements to
geometrically characterize the Holocene sediments in the Ebro delta
plain. Prior to the widespread acquisition of ERT data throughout the
delta plain, a test site procedure was established to define the main
geoelectric targets, an inversion protocol, and reduce uncertainties in
the interpretation of the derived ERT models. Test site procedure con­
sisted of choosing test sites in different areas of the Ebro delta plain and
providing them with new boreholes, geophysical logs and ERT data.
Study site measurements consist of acquiring ERT lines distributed along
the Ebro delta plain to cover three major areas: coastal, central and
western margin. Previous research on the available borehole informa­
tion in the study area was carried out and, whenever possible, supple­
mentary geophysical logs were acquired. As in many geophysical
projects, permitting, weather, and equipment issues determined the
final acquisition schedule followed in this study. In our case, the test site
ERT acquisition had to be postponed after the widespread (study site)
ERT acquisition in the delta plain. Furthermore, geophysical logs and
ERT data at close locations could not be acquired at the same time. More
detailed information about the test site procedure, generalized ERT
acquisition and additional borehole information is presented in next
sections. Fig. 2 shows the location of the ERT lines and boreholes used in
this study, and Table 1 the acquisition schedule and the main charac­
teristics of the ERT lines (orientation, number of individual profiles
conforming each line, overlapping or distance between consecutive
profiles and total length).
3.1. Test site procedure
Two test sites were initially chosen and provided with new boreholes
(Bh.). Test site 1 (Bh. S1) was placed on the northeast coast and Test site
2 (Bh. S2) in the central part of the delta plain (Fig. 2). Unfortunately,
only Test site 2 (TS2) allowed us to apply the complete procedure pre­
sented in this study, whose results are explained below and shown in
Fig. 3. Bh. S1 (TS1) was closed shortly after reaching the basal gravels
due to a gas upwelling detection, which impeded us from acquiring
borehole geophysical data. Therefore, it is presented as additional
borehole information.
Bh. S2 was drilled at TS2 in Dec. 2015 to get continuous core samples
of the Ebro delta plain sediments and was later equipped with a fully
slotted PVC pipe. The water table was detected at 1.7 m depth (0.2 m.b.s.
l., meters below sea level). The analysis of the core samples allowed
defining the main lithological characteristics of the QHlmpd, QHfd,
QHprd and QPN units up to about 40 m depth (Fig. 3a). The unit
boundaries were found to be fairly net, except between the QHfd and
QHprd units, which appears to be transitional from 10 to 12 m depth.
Borehole geophysical logging at TS2 was carried out using a Dual
Focussed Induction probe and a Temperature - Conductivity one (Rob­
ertson geologging LTD) to obtain bulk or formation electrical conduc­
tivity (bulk EC) and water EC values, respectively. Both probes had built-
in natural gamma (NG) sensors, which allowed logs comparison and
obtaining a more accurate depth estimation for the other geophysical
parameters and layers. Geophysical logging results (Fig. 3a) validate the
Bh. S2 lithological description up to 35 m depth since borehole wall
conditions did not allow geophysical probes to reach its maximum
F. Bellmunt et al. Journal of Applied Geophysics 196 (2022) 104520

Fig. 2. Location of the ERT lines in an Ebro delta hypsometric map (elevation, m): margin (red), central (light blue) and coastal (dark blue). Triangles indicate
borehole locations. RR’: west to east section. TS2: Test site 2. Coordinate reference system ETRS89/UTM31N. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this
figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Table 1
Characteristics and acquisition schedule of the ERT lines in the Ebro delta plain. See legend in Fig. 2.
ERT lines Orientation N◦ profiles Overlapping or distance between consecutive profiles Total length (m) Acquisition date

D - Ullals NW - SE 5 (3 + 2) Profiles D1–2–3: one shared electrode 1365 23/03/15

Profiles D3–4: 175 m overlap 23/02/16
Profiles D4–5: 235 m overlap
J - Poble Nou W-E 3 One shared electrode 1065 24/03/15
I - Lo Matar NW - SE 3 One shared electrode 1065 25/03/15
G - Tub del Veleto NW - SE 2 12.5 m overlap 697.5 29/05/15
B - Cremada NE - SW 3 One shared electrode 1065 25/06/15
A - La Granadella NE - SW 3 115 m overlap 835 15/07/15
C - Les Basses NE - SW 2 One shared electrode 710 10/11/15
E - Mas Ravanals W-E 2 Distance: 145 m 855 03/12/15
H - S1 W-E 1 – 355 24/11/16
F - S2 (TS2) W-E 1 – 270 01/12/16

depth. As expected, the sandy sediments show NG values (35–55 API)
lower than the clayey (≥75 API) ones (Serra and Serra, 2004. However,
the sand layers present the highest bulk EC values, which can occur in
saline environments (Lorenzo et al., 2016). The QHfd unit presents
maximum bulk EC values of about 1600 mS/m, whereas the QHprd unit
shows bulk EC values close to 1000 mS/m (700 to 1200 mS/m), with a
gradually decrease with increasing depth (bulk EC1, Fig. 3a). Water EC
values (water EC1, Fig. 3b) between 28,000–40,000 uS/cm measured at
18 ◦ C evidence the high salinity level of the aquifers in this area.
Considering that salinity corresponds mainly to chlorides and sodium in
the Ebro delta aquifers (FCIHS, 2011), these water EC values would
correspond to NaCl concentration of about 20,000–30,000 ppm
(Schlumberger, 1997). Two long term time-lapse EC logs (EC2 logs,
Fig. 3a-b) showed an increase in the water EC values up to 50,000 uS/cm
and bulk EC values in the sandy layers of the QHfd and QHprd units,
which is associated with a groundwater salinity increase. Note that the
water temperature into Borehole S2 was highly stable throughout the
entire borehole depth and in time (Fig. 3b). Therefore, water EC values
in Fig. 3b up to 15 m depth are related to the presence of the upper
unconfined aquifer water (QHfd), whereas below this depth, they are
related to the presence of a mixture of waters flowing horizontally from
the sandy sediments in the QHprd unit and upwards from the deeper
confined aquifer. Note that bulk EC values in the prodelta clays remain
close to 1000 mS/m.
ERT data at TS2 were acquired using a Syscal Pro unit (Iris In­
struments), 55 electrodes (5 m spaced) and the dipole-dipole configu­
ration, which allowed covering a linear extension of 270 m and
extending TS2 characterization up to 50–55 m depth. The dipole-dipole
configuration was chosen due to its reduced acquisition time, good
horizontal data coverage and high sensitivity to lateral variations in the
subsoil resistivity. Cherubini et al. (2000) and Cianflone et al. (2015)
found a clear correlation between the lateral variability of the sediments
lithology and differential land subsidence in a coastal environment. In
order to prevent from noisy data and increase the signal strength at