Electrical resistivity tomography

<p>Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) or electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) is a <a href="/facts/Geophysics/ywVQ1sAQ">geophysical technique</a> for <a href="/facts/Geophysical_imaging/UyjX9W0X">imaging</a> sub-surface structures from electrical resistivity measurements made at the surface, or by <a href="/facts/Electrode/251PaKX8">electrodes</a> in one or more <a href="/facts/Borehole/3d6xu8E5">boreholes</a>. If the electrodes are suspended in the boreholes, deeper sections can be investigated. It is closely related to the medical imaging technique <a href="/facts/Electrical_impedance_tomography/7NgJNveM">electrical impedance tomography</a> (EIT), and mathematically is the same <a href="/facts/Inverse_problem/Fe01pQ9E">inverse problem</a>. In contrast to medical EIT, however, ERT is essentially a direct current method. A related geophysical method, <a href="/facts/Induced_polarisation/MA9PmyAd">induced polarization</a> (or <a href="/facts/Spectral_induced_polarisation/B8pWfJ5T">spectral induced polarization</a>), measures the transient response and aims to determine the subsurface chargeability properties.
</p><p>Electrical resistivity measurements can be used for identification and quantification of depth of groundwater, detection of clays, and measurement of groundwater conductivity.
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Electrical resistivity tomography open-in-new

Electrical resistivity tomography