Comparison Of Different Electrode Materials For Induced Polarization Measurements

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of the induced polarization (IP) and spectral induced polarization (SIP) techniques in environmental surveys. As a result, the required measurement sensitivity of this method has increased significantly from their original application in mineral exploration. In order to obtain the best results from IP and SIP data, considerable work has been done on the data inversion procedures whilst the field procedure has remained essentially the same. Standard IP survey practice is to record data using non-polarizing electrodes. However, recent work has concentrated on the use of different materials as potential electrodes. Of particular interest has been the use of standard metal electrodes in the place of non-polarizing electrodes since this would greatly improve the speed and ease of field surveys. Here we focus on the initial results of trials assessing the use of different electrode materials in both laboratory and field-analogue environments. The experiments compare and contrast the use of a range of electrode materials, including non-polarizing, for IP measurements. Electrode performance assessment focussed on the strength, stability, noise levels, and frequency response of the signal recorded with each material. The results have implications on the design of future electrode arrays and field surveys.