Investigation of dryland salinity using the electrical image method

R. I. Acworth

Abstract

Electrical imaging is a 2-dimensional investigation method that can be used to rapidly determine subsurface conductivity variation. In dryland salinity studies, electrical imaging is used to define the vertical extent of high electrical conductivity zones first identified using electromagnetic (EM) profiling equipment. Field techniques are described using 25 or 50 electrodes, connected to a resistance meter by a multi-core cable, to obtain images at a variety of electrode separations. The model of electrical conductivity variation obtained by an inversion of the field data is shown to agree very well with the results of detailed field investigations, including data from soil sampling, 1 : 5 extract analysis, and borehole electrical conductivity logging.

Results are described from the Liverpool Plains at Yarramanbah Creek and Round Island, where a thick sequence of smectite clay overlies sands and gravels. The image clearly identifies zones of high salt content in the clay which have been sampled and logged using borehole measurements of electrical conductivity. Results are also described from a dryland salinity area in the upper part of Dicks Creek catchment on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. These data show the extent of clay overlying bedrock and correlate very well with the results of 1 : 5 extract analysis from shallow piezometers along the profile line.

Electrical imaging is an appropriate follow-up method for the investigation of electrical conductivity anomalies first identified by EM profiling and is advisable before drilling at a site to optimise the location of piezometers.

Keywords: electrical conductivity image, geophysical methods.

Australian Journal of Soil Research 37(4) 623 - 636  doi:10.1071/SR98084