Electrical Resistivity, Seismic Refraction Tomography and Drilling Logs to Identify the Heterogeneity and the Preferential Flow in a Shallow Aquifer

Abstract:

The study site is located at the Center for Environmental Education and Research (CEER) at Susquehanna University. Electrical Resistivity and Seismic Refraction Tomography (ERT and SRT), as well as several pumping tests were performed to identify zones of heterogeneities and hydrogeophysical characteristics of a shallow unconfined aquifer. The combination of these methods was selected to study the local geology and the subsurface preferential pathways of groundwater flow. 22 Dipole-Dipole ERT transects with 56 electrodes each and 11 SRT transects with 24 geophones each were performed. Drilling logs of 5 observation wells located within the site were also used. All drilling logs showed clearly the heterogeneity of the aquifer when compared to each other. The combination of ERT and SRT indicated that a potential zone of preferential flow is present within the aquifer and can be accurately identified based on the approach adopted in this study. The drilling logs served to specifically identify the soil and the geological formations making the heterogeneity of the aquifer. 3D ERT and SRT block diagrams were generated to connect all formations shown in the 2D tomography profiles to visualize the pathways of preferential flow and non-conductive formations. While ERT has proven to show saturated areas of the subsurface, SRT was more effective in identifying the bedrock-soil discontinuity and other near surface formations contributing to the local heterogeneity.