Electrical Resistivity Monitoring Borehole Array

IB-1425

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

• Groundwater monitoring
• Toxic waste site characterization

ADVANTAGES:

• Combines point-type and volume-type electrical resistivity measurements
• Works in homogeneous or heterogeneous media
• Permanently installed probes eliminate polarization of electrodes

ABSTRACT: Boris Faybishenko, Ki-Ha Lee, Alex Becker and coworkers at Berkeley Lab have fabricated a probe designed to monitor real-time changes in electrical resistivity in boreholes during infiltration tests. Berkeley Lab's miniature, four-electrode, Wenner array measures the apparent resistivity (rho sub-alpha) of a homogeneous or heterogeneous medium. Berkeley Lab's new electrode array, with sensitivity proportional to the electrode spacing, can easily detect changes in electrical resistivity that result from infiltration. Use of this electrode array will combine point-type and volume-type ER measurements—measurements until now impossible to obtain simultaneously. Using permanently installed probes, the array will eliminate polarization of electrodes and provide long-term monitoring of tracer concentrations.

STATUS: U.S. Patent #6,636,046. Available for licensing

REFERENCE NUMBER: IB-1425