Investigating fluvial features with electrical resistivity imaging and ground-penetrating radar: The Guadalquivir River terrace (Jaen, Southern Spain)

Abstract

A geophysical survey has been conducted on the lowest terrace levels and the present day floodplain of the current course of the Guadalquivir River, passing through the province of Jaen (Spain), using two techniques: electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Three areas have been selected. In one of these sectors (Los Barrios) there is an old quarry where there are excellent outcrops that allow for the calibration of the survey techniques. Facies associations on these outcrops are typical of meandering rivers with sequences of channel fills, lateral accretion of point-bars and floodplain facies.The usefulness of the two methods is analysed and compared as a support for stratigraphic and sedimentological studies. The geometry and lithofacies of subsurface deposits were characterised using ERI and compared with field observations. A total of 5 electrical resistivity imaging profiles were obtained. The changes in electric resistivity highlight granulometric differences in terrace sediments. This technique can thus be used to identify the morphology of these bodies, the lithofacies (silt, sand or gravel) and buried channel pattern.In addition, 16 GPR profiles using 100 and 250MHz antennas were acquired, indicating terrace morphology and the filling of the sedimentary bodies in a more detailed manner than in ERI. The study thus allows for inferring the existence of channel migration, the lateral accretion of point bars and the presence of vertical accretion deposits attributable to the floodplains.