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Geophysical Exploration

Geophysical methods like gravity, magnetics, and electrical resistivity can help predict the distribution and flow of groundwater in a cost-effective and non-invasive manner. These methods measure properties like density, magnetism, and resistivity to detect indirect indicators of potential groundwater zones. Depending on the scale, geophysical surveys using these methods can help delineate regional hydrogeological features or locate specific sites for drilling water wells.

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Abdo Gamal
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11 views

Geophysical Exploration

Geophysical methods like gravity, magnetics, and electrical resistivity can help predict the distribution and flow of groundwater in a cost-effective and non-invasive manner. These methods measure properties like density, magnetism, and resistivity to detect indirect indicators of potential groundwater zones. Depending on the scale, geophysical surveys using these methods can help delineate regional hydrogeological features or locate specific sites for drilling water wells.

Uploaded by

Abdo Gamal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3 Geophysical Exploration
 Geophysical methods have the potential to predict
distribution and flow of groundwater including sites
of hazardous substances in a cost-effective manner.

 Further, as these methods are non-invasive, as compared


to the direct conventional methods (for example, water
sampling etc.), they do not disturb the water flow regime and
are able to predict parameter distribution more realistically.

 Depending upon the scale of operations, geophysical surveys


can help delineate regional hydrogeological features or even
pin-point locations for drilling of water-wells.
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• Density, magnetism, elasticity, and electrical
resistivity are properties that are most
commonly measured.
• The purpose of exploration is to detect the
indirect indicators and locate the potential
zones for exploitation.
• The main geophysical methods which are
useful in solving some of the problems of
hydrogeology, are the Electrical, Seismic,
Gravity, and Magnetic methods.
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Major Applications of Gravity Survey
In regional scales [ > 1: 50,000], used for mapping:
 Large tectonic provinces.
 Structural features such as faults, contacts, etc... .
 Major lithologic units.
 Sedimentary basins
 Intrusions.

Station spacing: 1 – 10 km

In Groundwater and Engineering projects, applied to


detect:

 Buried channels.
 Construction materials.

Station spacing: 1- few 10 of meters


• It is also used to image water column density, when
locating submerged objects, or determining water
depth.
• The surveys highlight gravity anomalies that can be
related to geological features such
as Fault systems, Kimberlite pipes.
• The gravity method is a widely used geophysical method for
finding out mineral resources and groundwater in
sedimentary terrain.

• Gravimeters are used in this method to measure the


differences in density on the earth's surface that may
indicate the underlying geologic structures.

• Because the method is expensive and because differences in


water content in subsurface strata seldom involve
measurable differences in specific gravity at the surface,
the gravity method has little application to groundwater
prospecting.

• Under special geologic conditions, such as a large buried


valley, the gross configuration of an aquifer can be detected
from gravity variations.
Regional Gravity map of Ethiopia

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Magnetometers are the equipment's used to measure the
magnetic fields and variations.

Because magnetic contrasts are seldom associated with


groundwater occurrence, the method has little relevance
for exploring groundwater.

Indirect information pertinent to the groundwater studies,


such as the presence of dikes that form aquifer boundaries
or limits of a basaltic flow, could be obtained with this
method.
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Gravity and magnetic methods indirectly yield information
about favorable structures for groundwater occurrence.
These methods make use of natural fields of gravity and
geomagnetism (Ernstson 2006). Changes in gravitational and
magnetic fields may be observed on the Earth’s surface,
which could be related to lateral changes in density and
magnetic susceptibility of the material at depth.
The variation/contrast in density and susceptibility produce
small but measurable change of corresponding fields.
Principal Factors determining the magnetic
properties of rocks/minerals:
 Amounts of magnetic minerals (or mineral
compositions of rocks).

 Grain sizes of magnetic minerals

 Volumes of pores and properties of substances


filling the pores (liquid or gas)

 Types and intensities of metamorphic and


hydro-thermal alterations

 Degrees (intensities) of chemical and physical


weathering
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A type of
curve(Ascending type
of curve)….important
for GW occurrences
when resistivity low

H-type of curve
(Descending curve)
 Stacked apparent resistivity

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Quantitatively
 Geo-electric section

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The acoustic velocity of a medium saturated with water
is greatly increased in comparison with velocities in the
vadose zone. Thus, the refraction method is applicable in
determining the depth to the water table in
unconsolidated sediments.
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