scholarly journals The self‐potential method in geothermal exploration

Geophysics ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Corwin ◽  
Donald B. Hoover
Keyword(s):  
Potential Method ◽  
Source Model ◽  
Irreversible Thermodynamics ◽  
Electrode Polarization ◽  
Coupling Coefficients ◽  
Spherical Source ◽  
Analytical Technique ◽  
Thermal Fluids ◽  
Geothermal Activity ◽  
Self Potential

Laboratory measurements and field data indicate that self‐potential anomalies comparable to those observed in many areas of geothermal activity may be generated by thermoelectric or electrokinetic coupling processes. A study using an analytical technique based on concepts of irreversible thermodynamics indicates that, for a simple spherical source model, potentials generated by electrokinetic coupling may be of greater amplitude than those developed by thermoelectric coupling. Before more quantitative interpretations of potentials generated by geothermal activity can be made, analytical solutions for more realistic geometries must be developed, and values of in‐situ coupling coefficients must be obtained. If the measuring electrodes are not watered, and if telluric currents and changes in electrode polarization are monitored and corrections made for their effects, most self‐potential measurements are reproducible within about ±5 mV. Reproducible short‐wavelength geologic noise of as much as ±10 mV, primarily caused by variation in soil properties, is common in arid areas, with lower values in areas of uniform, moist soil. Because self‐potential variations may be produced by conductive mineral deposits, stray currents from cultural activity, and changes in geologic or geochemical conditions, self‐potential data must be analyzed carefully before a geothermal origin is assigned to observed anomalies. Self‐potential surveys conducted in a variety of geothermal areas show anomalies ranging from about 50 mV to over 2 V in amplitude over distances of about 100 m to 10 km. The polarity and waveform of the observed anomalies vary, with positive, negative, bipolar, and multipolar anomalies having been reported from different areas. Steep potential gradients often are seen over faults which are thought to act as conduits for thermal fluids. In some areas, anomalies several kilometers wide correlate with regions of known elevated thermal gradient or heat flow.

The self‐potential method in the geothermal exploration of Greece

Geophysics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1715-1723 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Apostolopoulos ◽  
Ioannis Louis ◽  
Evangelos Lagios
Keyword(s):  
Surrounding Medium ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Geothermal System ◽  
Electrode Polarization ◽  
Geothermal Exploration ◽  
Contour Maps ◽  
Tectonic Features ◽  
Self Potential

Self‐potential (SP) anomalies are generated by flows of fluid, heat, and ions in the earth. SP investigations have been used to locate and delineate sources associated with such flows in three areas of geothermal interest in Greece—Lesvos Island, Loutra Hypatis (central Greece), and Nisyros Island. A combination of geophysical methods, with SP being the primary method, has been applied in these areas. The SP method is adversely influenced by various sources of noise. Field procedures have been suggested to minimize their effects by monitoring electrode polarization and telluric activity. The interpretation of SP contour maps is preferred to using profile data. A procedure was adopted for SP interpretation, and the results were satisfactory. However, this model is based on thermoelectric sources only and is not related directly to hot fluid movement. In all three survey areas, the geothermal zones delimited by the SP interpretation in combination with data acquired by other geophysical methods result in an integrated interpretation of the geothermal system. Since SP and very‐low‐frequency (VLF) anomalies can be generated by the same geological source (i.e., geothermal, highly conductive zone), the corresponding results are compared to provide a strong indication of the presence of geothermal zones. The activity of geothermal zones affects the conductivity of the surrounding medium, which also can be detected by dc resistivity and audio‐magnetotelluric (AMT) methods. In addition, geothermal zones can be related to various interfaces or tectonic features that can be detected by gravity or seismic methods.

scholarly journals Examples of ac resistivity prospecting in archaeological research

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Mauriello ◽  
D. Monna ◽  
I. Bruner
Keyword(s):  
Skin Effect ◽  
Dipole Source ◽  
Electrode Polarization ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Buried Structures ◽  
Resistivity Survey ◽  
Resistivity Tensor ◽  
Straight Lines ◽  
Self Potential

In this paper we present the results of an alternating current resistivity survey, with a view to future tomographic processing. Two examples are given to evaluate the validity and the resolution of the method. The first in the Sabine Necropolis of Colle del Forno (Montelibretti, Rome), the second in the Etruscan settlement of Poggio Colla (Vicchio, Florence). All the measurements were carried out utilising current up to 512 Hz and a mobile dipole MN along straight lines, having two fixed current probes A and B. It was found that skin effect is uninfluential in the frequency range adopted. Given the absence of natural or artificial disturbances in the signal (e.g. electrode polarization and self potential), it was possible to perform very fast measurements with two operators only. Moreover, the use of a multiple dipole source configuration allows the calculation of the determinant of the apparent resistivity tensor. In the examples shown, this parameter detects the actual position of buried structures independently of the direction of the electric sources.

scholarly journals The electrical self-potential method is a non-intrusive snow-hydrological sensor

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 4437-4457 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Thompson ◽  
B. Kulessa ◽  
R. L. H. Essery ◽  
M. P. Lüthi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Measurement Procedure ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Avalanche Forecasting ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
Self Potential ◽  
Water Contents

Abstract. Our ability to measure, quantify and assimilate hydrological properties and processes of snow in operational models is disproportionally poor compared to the significance of seasonal snowmelt as a global water resource and major risk factor in flood and avalanche forecasting. Encouraged by recent theoretical, modelling and laboratory work, we show here that the diurnal evolution of aerially-distributed self-potential magnitudes closely track those of bulk meltwater fluxes in melting in-situ snowpacks at Rhone and Jungfraujoch glaciers, Switzerland. Numerical modelling infers temporally-evolving liquid water contents in the snowpacks on successive days in close agreement with snow-pit measurements. Muting previous concerns, the governing physical and chemical properties of snow and meltwater became temporally invariant for modelling purposes. Because measurement procedure is straightforward and readily automated for continuous monitoring over significant spatial scales, we conclude that the self-potential geophysical method is a highly-promising non-intrusive snow-hydrological sensor for measurement practice, modelling and operational snow forecasting.

Mapping Fracture Flow Anisotropy Using the Self Potential Method: Field and Laboratory Experiments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Kumar ◽  
J. Comte ◽  
J. Vinogradov ◽  
D. Healy ◽  
J. Mezquita Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
The Self ◽  
Fracture Flow ◽  
Self Potential ◽  
Flow Anisotropy

scholarly journals Self-Potential Studies in Volcanic Environments: A Cheap and Efficient Method for Multiscale Fluid-Flow Investigations

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Grobbe ◽  
S. Barde-Cabusson
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Hydrothermal Systems ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Cooling Behavior ◽  
Self Potential

We demonstrate the value of using the self-potential method to study volcanic environments, and particularly fluid flow in those environments. We showcase the fact that self-potential measurements are a highly efficient way to map large areas of volcanic systems under challenging terrain conditions, where other geophysical techniques may be challenging or expensive to deploy. Using case studies of a variety of volcano types, including tuff cones, shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes, and monogenetic fields, we emphasize the fact that self-potential signals enable us to study fluid flow in volcanic settings on multiple spatial and temporal scales. We categorize the examples into the following three multiscale fluid-flow processes: (1) deep hydrothermal systems, (2) shallow hydrothermal systems, and (3) groundwater. These examples highlight the different hydrological, hydrothermal, and structural inferences that can be made from self-potential signals, such as insight into shallow and deep hydrothermal systems, cooling behavior of lava flows, different hydrogeological domains, upwelling, infiltration, and lateral groundwater and hydrothermal fluid flow paths and velocities, elevation of the groundwater level, crater limits, regional faults, rift zones, incipient collapse limits, structural domains, and buried calderas. The case studies presented in this paper clearly demonstrate that the measured SP signals are a result of the coplay between microscale processes (e.g., electrokinetic, thermoelectric) and macroscale structural and environmental features. We discuss potential challenges and their causes when trying to uniquely interpret self-potential signals. Through integration with different geophysical and geochemical data types such as subsurface electrical resistivity distributions obtained from, e.g., electrical resistivity tomography or magnetotellurics, soil CO2 flux, and soil temperature, it is demonstrated that the hydrogeological interpretations obtained from SP measurements can be better constrained and/or validated.

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