Course outline

Introduction to exploration geophysics

• Basic principles and application of geophysical exploration
• Overview of the different geophysical methods
Electrical resistivity method
• An overview on the types of electrical methods of prospecting
• Principles and application of electrical resistivity methods
• Acquisition, presentation and interpretation of electrical resistivity data.
Magnetic method
• Computation of magnetic anomalies
• Presentation of magnetic anomalies by of magnetic profiles and magnetic anomaly maps
• Qualitative and quantitative interpretation of magnetic anomalies caused by magnetized models
Gravity method
Seismic exploration
 Course aims
 Understanding of the basic principles, applications and limitations of the
geophysical methods

 After the course covered students should be able to:

• Operate the different geophysical instruments employed.
• Plan and conduct simple geophysical surveys including reduction and
processing of survey data
• Make a preliminary (critical) assessment of the acquired data quality and
significance of the data both for geophysical and geological applications
• Interpret geophysical data by generating simple geological models and
 Introduction to exploration geophysics
• Geophysics (Geo- Earth and physics – physical properties ).

• Generally Geophysics is branches of earth science that studies the earth based on the principle of
physics
Exploration geophysics : deals with the methods used to search for hidden
treasures from within the Earth that are economically important to mankind

The treasures may be

Hydrocarbon deposit
mineral deposits- metallic and non metallic minerals (ore deposits, Fe, Cu,
U, etc)
groundwater
geothermal resources
Environmental problem
Based on energy used geophysical method can divide into active and passive

Passive geophysical method uses natural fields such as gravity, magnetic and
self potential method

Active geophysical method uses artificial generated fields such as

 Seismic reflection,
Seismic refraction,
DC- resistivity and
Induced potential
 • Gravity Methods
• Magnetic Methods
• Electrical Methods
Major methods
• Seismic Methods
• Electromagnetic Methods
• Magneto telluric Methods
• Well Logging Methods

• Radioactive Methods
Minor Methods • Geochemical Methods
• Geothermal (Heat Flow) Methods
 Geophysical surveys measure the variation of physical quantity

 Geophysical survey can be conducted either forms

1. Ground survey
2. Air borne survey and
3. Ship borne survey
 Application of geophysical survey

• Exploration for fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal)

• Exploration for metalliferous mineral deposits

• Exploration for bulk mineral deposits (sand and gravel)

• Exploration for underground water supplies

• Engineering/construction site investigation

• Archaeological investigations
 advantage of geophysical survey

• Important to identify resource without the need of sample

• Usually undertaken with minimal surface disturbance

• Consuming of time and economic resource

 Electrical method
• Electrical method is one of the commonly used geophysical methods.

• classified as both active and passive methods.

• In general electrical methods classified as

Electrical Resistivity - This is an active method that employs
measurements of electrical potential associated with subsurface
electrical current flow generated by a DC, or slowly varying AC, source

Induced polarization – is an active method that measure resistivity and

capacity properties of subsurface earth material. most widely used
techniques in mineral exploration and mining industry.

Self Potential (SP) – it measures the naturally occurring electrical

potentials commonly associated with the weathering of sulphide ore
bodies
Electromagnetic (EM) – it is an active method and measure
a time-varying magnetic field generated by induction
through current flow within the earth.

Magnetotelluric (MT) - This is a passive method that

employs measurements of naturally occurring electrical
currents, or telluric currents, generated by magnetic
induction of electrical currents in the ionosphere.
 Electrical resistivity method

 Electrical resistivity is one of the oldest geophysical method.

 In resistivity method measurement is done by passing artificially

generated electric current into the ground using pair of electrode
and the resulted potential difference are measured.

 The purpose of this method is to determine subsurface resistivity

distribution.
 Principle of electrical resistivity methods
 Consider a conducting cylinder taken as wire of resistance R, length L and
cross-sectional area A where a current I is driven through it by a voltage
potential V . Empirical relationship between I, R and V is based on Ohm’s Law
which is given by:

Furthermore, R is directly proportional to L and inversely proportional to A expressed by:

𝑹 𝜶 𝑳/𝑨 ⟹ 𝑹=𝝆 𝑳/𝑨

 Where the proportionality constant ρ is called resistivity of the
material out of which the wire is made.

 Resistivity (ρ) or conductivity (σ=1/ ρ) is a physical property that

characterizes the ability of material bodies (rocks) to conduct
(transmit) electric current when a voltage is applied. The resistivity
of a rock material is thus expressed as:

The SI unit of resistivity is ohm-metre (-m)

 This equation may be used to determine the resistivity (ρ) of homogeneous and
isotropic materials in the form of regular geometrical shapes such as cylinders,
cubes

 In a semi-infinite material, the resistivity at every point must be defined using

Ohm's law which states that the electrical field strength (E) at a point in a material
is proportional to the current density (J) passing that point:

EαJ
E=ρJ
ρ = E/J ……. (Ohm's law)
 Resistivity of earth material
•The resistivity (ρ) of rocks and minerals displays a wide range. For example,
graphite has a resistivity of the order of 10 -5 ohm-m; whereas some dry quartzite
rocks have resistivity of more than 1012 ohm-m.

 Most rock-forming minerals are insulators, and electrical current is carried

through a rock mainly by the passage of ions in pore waters.

 Most rocks conduct electricity by electrolytic rather than electronic

processes
 There are three ways in which electric current can be conducted through a
rock:

1) Electrolytic: current passed throw ions at slow rate and depends upon the
type of ion, ionic concentration and mobility

2) Electronic: due to the flow of electron and most of the time for metal

3) Dielectric conduction: occurs in very weakly conducting materials (or insulators)

when an external alternating current is applied
2) Factor which control the resistivity of earth material are: the resistivity
decrease with increasing of
A) fractional volume of the rock occupied by water
B) salinity or free ion of the connate water
C) interconnection of the pore space (permeability)
D) Clay content of rock
E) temperature
Table 1: Resistivity's of common geologic materials
 General rules of thumb for the variation of resistivity with respect to rock
type are:
 Igneous rocks tend to have the highest resistivity due to a minor component
of pore fluids they contain.
 Sedimentary rocks tend to be most conductive, largely due to their presence
of pore spaces and fluids.
 Metamorphic rocks have intermediate resistivity but overlapping resistivity
due their hydrous minerals and fabrics.
 Resistivity of rocks depends on age of rock and the general rule of thumb for
resistivity variations with age are:
 Older rocks (Precambrian in age) tend to have the highest resistivity due to
far exposed to fill in their fractures and pore spaces (by mineralization and
compaction) and there by decreasing their porosity and permeability, etc.
 Younger rocks (Quaternary in age) tend to have the lowest resistivity (in the
range of 10-200 m) due to the abundant fractures and pore spaces
 Current flow through ground
 Consider the element of homogeneous material shown in Fig below. A current I is

passed through the cylinder causing a potential drop V between the ends of the element.

 Ohm’s law relates the current, potential difference and resistance such that and from

equation Substituting

= = -

/L represents the potential gradient in volt/m and J =I/A the current density in A/m2.

 Consider a single current electrode on the surface of a medium of uniform resistivity and

the circuit is completed by a current sink at a large distance from the electrode.
• Current flows radially away from the electrode so that the current distribution is
uniform over hemispherical shells centered on the source (I).

Figure : A) current flow from single electrode B) current and equipotential

produced by current source and sink
• At a distance r from the electrode the shell has a surface area of , so that J
is given by:

From the equation the potential gradient associated with this current
density is:

= -ρJ=-
This equation can be simplified to give:

The potential Vr at distance r from the source now can be obtained by

integration as:
⟹ this is the potential at any point
The constant of integration is zero since Vr=0 when r=∞
 Measuring Resistivity

 The conventional practice in electrical resistivity surveying is

to use source (A) and sink (B) current electrodes connected to

a battery, to compel current (I) to flow in the ground.

 An ammeter is included in this circuit to measure the current I.

 Two potential electrodes (M & N) connected to a voltmeter are

placed in other positions to measure voltage (potential)

differences.
Fig: The generalized form of the electrode configuration used in resistivity
measurements
• The potential at an internal electrode M is the sum of the potential and
from the current source at A and the current sink at B given by=+ .

= ] where = and =-

Similarly the potential at an internal potential electrode N is

= ] where = and =-

The measured potential difference ∆V between the potential electrodes M

and N is:
 let ρ=ρa

= G ⟹ apparent resistivity

G=  Geometric factor

 The geometric factor G depends on the arrangement of the four electrodes.

 All field resistivity data obtained by measurement are apparent resistivity

while those obtained by interpretation techniques are ‘true’ resistivity.
 Electrode • Resistivity field data are collected by different
electrode configuration depending on the
configuration purpose

The most common array are
• Wenner
• Schlumberger
• dipole-dipole
• pole-pole and
• pole-dipole arrays

• Heterogeneities of the subsurface

The choice of a particular array
depends on
• The geological structure to be delineated
• Sensitivity of the resistivity meter
• The sensitivity of the array to vertical and lateral
variations in the resistivity of the subsurface
• Depth of investigation and the horizontal data
coverage and signal strength of the array
1) Wenner configuration (Array)
• The Wenner configuration is the simpler in that current and potential
electrodes are maintained at an equal interval a . The distance a is increased
by steps, keeping the midpoint of the configuration fixed.
• The geometric factor for wenner
1 1
 1 1   1 1  1 
GW  2   
     2    2 a
 a 2 a   2 a a  a 
• The measured apparent resistivity using the Wenner array then becomes

V
a   2 a
I
 2) Schlumeberger array
= =L- and = =L+

Schlumberger array will be:

=2=

The measured apparent resistivity using the Schlumberger array then become
 Depth of current penetration versus current electrode spacing

• Arrays are chosen based on depth of penetration.

• The depth to which a given fraction of current penetrates depends on the

layering as well as on the separation between the current electrodes

• For homogeneous ground the depth of current penetration increases as the

separation of the current electrodes is increased.

• When two current electrodes are close to one another, current flows along
arc-shaped paths connecting the two electrodes
Figure: the Effect of depth of current penetration versus current electrode spacing.
 Resistivity Survey Types
 The aim of resistivity surveys is to delineate vertical and horizontal lithologic
boundaries based on electrical resistivity contrasts.

 There are two types of resistivity surveying

1) Vertical electrical sounding or electrical drilling

2) Electrical profiling or Constant separation traversing

Vertical electrical sounding (VES)

 Vertical electrical sounding (VES), apparent resistivity measurements are

made at different electrode spacing, centered about a common point.
 The field procedure is potential electrodes are fixed and current electrodes
gradually moves away

 The purpose of electrical sounding is to determine overburden thickness

 The most common array for sounding survey are wenner and schlumberger
array

 At each electrode separation a value of apparent resistivity (Pa) is calculated

using the measured resistance in conjugation with the appropriate geometric
factor for the electrode configuration and separation being used
 1d distribution of resistivity is obtained (resistivity vs. depth) – similar to a
borehole – electrical drilling

Fig: (B) Expanded arrays for Wenner array (C) horizontal stratified layer
Figure : A typical data recording sheet for a Schlumberger sounding procedure
 Electrode spacing and apparent resistivity plot

 The first step for interpretation of VES observation is to prepare log-log

paper in which the calculated apparent resistivities are plotted to produce
VES curves for a further interpretation.

 The electrode distances shown on these plots are evenly spaced in log
distance rather than being evenly spaced in linear distance.

 The x- and y-axes of this graph paper represent the logarithmic values of the
current electrode separation (AB) and the apparent resistivity ρa
respectively.
fig: Log-log paper for plotting apparent resistivity versus half current electrode spacing (AB/2)
 Constant separation traversing (CST) or electrical profiling

 Electrical profiling is used for vertical boundaries or to trace lateral

variations in the apparent resistivity structure of the subsurface.

 is obtained by progressively moving an electrode spread with fixed

electrode separation along a traverse line

 moving the whole array along the profile with unchanged geometry

 The most common array for profiling are wenner array for ease of
operation, in which the electrode separation is kept fixed.
 The electrode geometry for wenner array is the same as sounding the
difference is that in profiling the entire array is moved laterally along
profile while maintaining the potential and current electrode separation
distance.

Fig: nearly vertical stratified layer

 Interpretation of Vertical electrical sounding (VES) data
• The measurement of VES data are plotted and processed then interpreted
using two methods. These are
1) Qualitative interpretation; presented in the form of
VES curve type
Apparent resistivity profile
Apparent resistivity map
Apparent resistivity pseudo cross- section
2) Quantitative interpretation: determination of resistivity and thickness of the
layer
Curve matching and
Computerized program
 Interpretation of VES Curves for Two Electrical Layers
 Two-layer cases were interpreted with the aid of theoretical curves known as
master curves.

 The interpretation is based on the curve matching i.e. the field curve and
master curve.

 The master curves are prepared in dimensionless form by dividing the

calculated apparent resistivity values ρa by the upper layer resistivity ρ1 (as
ρa/ρ1) for the y-axis plot and by dividing the electrode spacings a by the
upper layer thickness z1 (as a/z1) for the x-axis plot of the master curves
 The master curves (solid lines) are prepared (plotted on log-log paper) for a
number of values of the reflection coefficient k =1.0, k=0.9, k=0.8, …, k=0.1

 The field curve (a plot of the VES data, ρa vs a) to be interpreted is plotted on

a transparent log-log paper with the same modulus (a/z1 -axis ↔ a-axis and
ρa/ρ1 -axis ↔ ρa-axis) as that of the master curves.

Fig: The interpretation of a two-layer apparent resistivity graph by comparison with a set of master curves
 The field curve (broken line) is then shifted horizontally and/or vertically
over the master curves, keeping the coordinate axes of both the master curves
and the field curve parallel to each other.

 When a match of the field curve with one of the master curves is obtained, the
point at which ρa/ρ1 = a/z1 = 1 on the master sheet

 ρa/ρ1 =1 tells the upper resistivity value ρ1

 a/Z1=1 tells the upper thickness of the layer Z1

 The second layer calculated from; k =(ρ2- ρ1)/(ρ2+ ρ1), k is value read from
masters curve
• If there exist three layer, the apparent resistivity curve which generally have
one of the four typical curve shapes (type K, H, A and Q)
 Computer modelling
 Important for interpretation of multiple horizontal layer.

 The first step in the analysis classifying the shape of the curve.

 Once the observed resistivity profile has been identified as K, H, A or Q type, the next
step is equivalent to one-dimensional inversion of the field data.

 The forward calculation method of quantitative interpretation includes enter the value
of apparent resistivity and AB/2, then the program gives resistivity and thickness of the
best fitting between the field curve and theoretical masters curve.

 While invers modeling includes enter the resistivity and thickness of field curve which
are obtained from the manual interpretation into the software, the program altered the
manual interpretation and give lessen percent between field curve and theoretical curve.
 Procedure on how to compile geoelectric sections

• The final output of electrical resistivity sounding survey is geoelectric section,

which shows true resistivity vs actual depth

• In order to plot the geoelectric section there must be more than 3 VES data points

• A plot of apparent resistivity ρa versus electrode spacing (AB/2) is made on the log-
log paper

• From the shape of the plotted curve, the number of turning points in the curve is
identified.

• Based on the number of the identified turning points, the number of horizontal
layers and the relative magnitudes of the respective layer resistivities are inferred.
• Either a curve matching technique or a computer modelling procedure is
applied to determine the layer parameters (thicknesses t and resistivities ρ of
the inferred horizontal layers) for each of the VES.

• The thicknesses h1, h2, hn and the corresponding apparent resistivities ρ1,
ρ2, ρn of each VES point are plotted as a function of horizontal distance
(profile) along which all the VES points are distributed at a specific interval

• Depths of the VES points that have equal resistivity values are connected by
straight lines to compile the geoelecrtical section.
 Procedure on how to compile geoelectric sections

Fig: Geoelectrical sections compiled after curve matching computer modelling

 Apparent resistivity contour map
1. The apparent resistivity values computed at each VES point for different
values of AB/2 (AB/2 = 3m, AB/2 = 5m, AB/2 = 10, AB/2 = 100m, etc) are
plotted at the locations of the VES points considered in the survey area.
2. Points having equal apparent resistivity values for a particular AB/2 (say
AB/2 = 3m) are connected by smooth lines so that they generate
isoresistivity contour map
 Apparent resistivity sliced section map
• Apparent resistivity sliced section map is an alternate way of representing resistivity survey data.
1. The apparent resistivity values computed at each VES point for different values of AB/2 (AB/2 = 3m, AB/2
= 5m, … , AB/2 = 1000m) are plotted at the locations of the VES points considered in the survey.
2. Points having equal apparent resistivity values for a particular AB/2 (say AB/2 = 3m) are connected by
smooth lines so that they generate isoresistivity contour map
3. Steps (1) and (2) are repeated until the maximum AB/2 (say AB/2 = 1000m) is reached
4. The compiled isoresistivity maps corresponding to the different AB/2 values considered are stacked
vertically to show the approximate lateral and vertical apparent resistivity variations of the different
horizons beneath the survey area considered
 Apparent resistivity pseudo depth sections
• Pseudo depth section is another alternate technique through which VES data can be represented to obtain a
firsthand interpretation of the subsurface resistivity structures.
• A pseudo depth section map is constructed by plotting apparent resistivity values computed at each VES
point vertically with the Schlumberger electrode spacing (AB/2) taken as depth and the interspacing
between the VES points taken as horizontal distance.
• The conventional method of plotting such results is the pseudosection, so called because it is not a true
geological cross-section but gives approximate subsurface resistivity variations laterally and vertically.

• Fig: Apparent resistivity pseudo depth section map from VES data
 Application of resistivity survey
• There are many applications for electric resistivity methods including
Groundwater exploration
Mineral deposit exploration
Geothermal exploration
Engineering application
Waste disposal site selection
Limitation of resistivity survey
The depth of penetration of the method is limited by the maximum electrical power
Data are influenced by near surface conductive layers.
Interpretations are ambiguous, meaning that many different “models” can produce the
same data.
Thank for your attention