Spectral Induced Polarization Research Articles

Complex resistivity of mineral rocks in the context of the generalised effective‐medium theory of the induced polarisation effect

ABSTRACTThis paper develops the generalised effective‐medium theory of induced polarisation for rock models with elliptical grains and applies this theory to studying the complex resistivity of typical mineral rocks. We first demonstrate that the developed generalised effective‐medium theory of induced polarisation model can correctly represent the induced polarisation phenomenon in multiphase artificial rock samples manufactured using pyrite and magnetite particles. We have also collected representative rock samples from the Cu–Au deposit in Mongolia and subjected them to mineralogical analysis using Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy technology. The electrical properties of the same samples were determined using laboratory complex resistivity measurements. As a result, we have established relationships between the mineral composition of the rocks, determined using Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis, and the parameters of the generalised effective‐medium theory of induced polarisation model defined from the laboratory measurements of the electrical properties of the rocks. These relationships open the possibility for remote estimation of types of mineralisation and for mineral discrimination using spectral induced polarization data.

Low-Frequency Electrical Conductivity of Aqueous Kaolinite Suspensions II: Counterion Effects and Estimating Stern Layer Mobilities of Counterions

AbstractThe electrical state of the interface between a kaolinite-dominated clay sample and aqueous electrolyte solutions was characterized using low-frequency conductance measurements. From these measurements, the ζ-potential and surface conductivity contributions from the diffuse and non-diffuse parts of the electrical double layer were obtained. The suspensions were studied as a function of volume fraction, electrolyte concentration, and electrolyte type (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CsCl, CaCl2, SrCl2, and BaCl2). Interpretation in terms of the surface conductance revealed that a substantial part of the surface conductivity originates in the inner part of the double layer. Electrokinetic potentials and related diffuse double layer properties are highly dependent on the nature of monovalent counterions, whereas divalent counterions do not show such clear dependencies. Further presented was a simple way to estimate the order of magnitude of counterion mobilities in the inner part of the electrical double layer. All counterions were shown to have a substantial mobility in the inner part of the double layer. Finally, we suggest that the apparent ion-specific effects observed in the diffuse part of the double layer are at least in part related to the finite size of the counterions. Our findings are relevant to scenarios where fluid flow in porous media is accompanied by charged species transport, e.g., in electro-osmotic remediation, spectral-induced polarization, or permeability measurements.

Linking Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) and Subsurface Microbial Processes: Results from Sand Column Incubation Experiments.

Geophysical techniques, such as spectral induced polarization (SIP), offer potentially powerful approaches for in situ monitoring of subsurface biogeochemistry. The successful implementation of these techniques as monitoring tools for reactive transport phenomena, however, requires the deconvolution of multiple contributions to measured signals. Here, we present SIP spectra and complementary biogeochemical data obtained in saturated columns packed with alternating layers of ferrihydrite-coated and pure quartz sand, and inoculated with Shewanella oneidensis supplemented with lactate and nitrate. A biomass-explicit diffusion-reaction model is fitted to the experimental biogeochemical data. Overall, the results highlight that (1) the temporal response of the measured imaginary conductivity peaks parallels the microbial growth and decay dynamics in the columns, and (2) SIP is sensitive to changes in microbial abundance and cell surface charging properties, even at relatively low cell densities (<108 cells mL-1). Relaxation times (τ) derived using the Cole-Cole model vary with the dominant electron accepting process, nitrate or ferric iron reduction. The observed range of τ values, 0.012-0.107 s, yields effective polarization diameters in the range 1-3 μm, that is, 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the smallest quartz grains in the columns, suggesting that polarization of the bacterial cells controls the observed chargeability and relaxation dynamics in the experiments.

Multifunction waveform generator for EM receiver testing

Abstract. In many electromagnetic (EM) methods – such as magnetotelluric, spectral-induced polarization (SIP), time-domain-induced polarization (TDIP), and controlled-source audio magnetotelluric (CSAMT) methods – it is important to evaluate and test the EM receivers during their development stage. To assess the performance of the developed EM receivers, controlled synthetic data that simulate the observed signals in different modes are required. In CSAMT and SIP mode testing, the waveform generator should use the GPS time as the reference for repeating schedule. Based on our testing, the frequency range, frequency precision, and time synchronization of the currently available function waveform generators on the market are deficient. This paper presents a multifunction waveform generator with three waveforms: (1) a wideband, low-noise electromagnetic field signal to be used for magnetotelluric, audio-magnetotelluric, and long-period magnetotelluric studies; (2) a repeating frequency sweep square waveform for CSAMT and SIP studies; and (3) a positive-zero–negative-zero signal that contains primary and secondary fields for TDIP studies. In this paper, we provide the principles of the above three waveforms along with a hardware design for the generator. Furthermore, testing of the EM receiver was conducted with the waveform generator, and the results of the experiment were compared with those calculated from the simulation and theory in the frequency band of interest.

Resolution of well-known resistivity equivalences by inclusion of time-domain induced polarization data

The principle of equivalence is known to cause nonuniqueness in interpretations of direct current (DC) resistivity data. Low- or high-resistivity equivalences arise when a thin geologic layer with a low/high resistivity is embedded in a relative high-/low-resistivity background formation causing strong resistivity-thickness correlations. The equivalences often make it impossible to resolve embedded layers. We found that the equivalence problem could be significantly reduced by combining the DC data with full-decay time-domain induced polarization (IP) measurements. We applied a 1D Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to invert synthetic DC data of models with low- and high-resistivity equivalences. By applying this inversion method, it is possible to study the space of equivalent models that have an acceptable fit to the observed data, and to make a full sensitivity analysis of the model parameters. Then, we include a contrast in chargeability into the model, modeled in terms of spectral Cole-Cole IP parameters, and invert the DC and IP data in combination. The results show that the addition of IP data largely resolves the DC equivalences. Furthermore, we present a field example in which DC and IP data were measured on a sand formation with an embedded clay layer known from a borehole drilling. Inversion results show that the DC data alone do not resolve the clay layer due to equivalence problems, but by adding the IP data to the inversion, the layer is resolved.

The effect of disseminated ironsands on the spectral induced polarization response of New Zealand sands

The effect of naturally occurring ironsand on the spectral induced polarization response of shallow aquifer sands has been investigated. Laboratory measurements on mixtures of a low polarization silica sand with different proportions of ironsand characterize the main effect of an increasing proportion of ironsand as a lowering of the frequency at which the high frequency SIP phase starts to rise significantly. This ultimately obscures any low frequency polarization which might be related to the hydraulic properties of the sample. The measurements can be successfully modelled using the Maxwell-Clausius-Mossotti relationship and this has also been used to predict the expected SIP response of naturally occurring sands with different concentrations of ironsand. Modelling of these calculated responses using a Cole-Cole model suggests that the low frequency polarization time constant can be well resolved up to mass concentrations of ironsand of between 5 and 10%. The implications of this for the ability of SIP measurements to accurately map permeability variations in shallow aquifers are discussed.

Variations of petrophysical properties and spectral induced polarization in response to drainage and imbibition: a study on a correlated random tube network

We implement a procedure to simulate the drainage and imbibition in random, two-dimensional, square networks. We compute the resistivity index, the relative permeability, and the characteristic lengths of a correlated network at various saturation states, under the assumption that the surface conductivity can be neglected. These parameters exhibit a hysteretic behaviour. Then, we calculate the Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) response of the medium, under the assumption that the electrical impedance of each tube follows a local Warburg conductivity model, with identical DC conductivity and chargeability for all the tubes. We evidence that the shape of the SIP spectra depends on the saturation state. The analysis of the evolution of the macroscopic Cole-Cole parameters of the spectra in function of the saturation also behaves hysteretically, except for the Cole-Cole exponent. We also observe a power-law relationship between the macroscopic DC conductivity and time constant and the relative permeability. We also show that the frequency peak of the phase spectra is directly related to the characteristic length and to the relative permeability, underlining the potential interest of SIP measurements for the estimation of the permeability of unsaturated media.

Simulation of membrane polarization of porous media with impedance networks

ABSTRACTThe spectral induced polarization method is supposed to have some potential to provide useful information on hydraulic properties of the subsurface. One difficulty for the practical implementation is the simulation of underlying physical processes at the pore scale and their upscaling to hydraulically relevant scales. We extend an existing semi‐analytical membrane polarization model to two‐ and three‐dimensional impedance networks, which are numerically solved to obtain a spectral induced polarization response that can be compared to measured data.The original model consists of two cylinders with different sizes. The model has been shown to be able to reproduce some basic features of spectral induced polarization spectra measured in the laboratory, but it is unable to meet the complexity of macroscopic porous media structures, which can be found within unconsolidated sediments or rocks. To approach realistic pore space geometry, we connect different combinations of cylinders to networks. We treat the smaller of the two cylinders as a pore throat. The pore throat distribution in the network is chosen by matching measured pore throat radii distributions obtained from the mercury injection method. The large cylinder is treated as the (large) pore body, and its radii are associated to the pore throats using existing relationships.We compare the behaviour of the networks with real porous media by using sandstone samples for which both the electrical and petrophysical properties have been measured. We adjust the geometrical parameters of the network, i.e., pore lengths, pore radii, and their relative occurrences, such that they match the measured parameters (specific internal surface area, pore throat distribution, and porosity) of the sandstone samples. The measured spectral induced polarization parameters, like the maximum phase shift and the characteristic relaxation time, are qualitatively consistent with our simulation results.

Specific polarizability of sand-clay mixtures with varying ethanol concentration.

We utilise a concept of specific polarizability (c s ), represented as the ratio of mineral-fluid interface polarization per pore-normalised surface area S p , to demonstrate the influence of clay-organic interaction on complex conductivity measurements. Complex conductivity measurements were performed on kaolinite- and illite-sand mixtures as a function of varying ethanol (EtOH) concentration (10% and 20% v/v). The specific surface area of each clay type and Ottawa sand was determined by nitrogen-gas-adsorption Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. We also calculated the porosity and saturation of each mixture based on weight loss of dried samples. Debye decomposition, a phenomenological model, was applied to the complex conductivity data to determine normalised chargeability (m n ). Specific polarizability estimates from previous complex conductivity measurements for bentonite-sand mixtures were compared with our dataset. The c s for all sand-clay mixtures decreased as the EtOH concentration increased from 0% to 10% to 20% v/v. We observe similar c s responses to EtOH concentration for all sand-clay mixtures. Analysis of variance with a level of significance α = 0.05 suggests that the suppression in c s responses with increasing EtOH concentration was statistically significant for all sand-clay mixtures. On the other hand, real conductivity showed only 10% to 20% v/v changes with increasing EtOH concentration. The c s estimates reflect the sensitivity of complex conductivity measurements to alteration in surface chemistry at available surface adsorption sites for different clay types, likely resulting from ion exchange at the clay surface and associated with kinetic reactions in the electrical double layer of the clay-water-EtOH media. Our results indicate a much larger influence of specific surface area and ethanol concentration on clay-driven polarization relative to changes in clay mineralogy.

Spectral induced polarization in a sandy medium containing semiconductor materials: experimental results and numerical modelling of the polarization mechanism

ABSTRACTInduced polarization is widely used for mineral exploration. In the presence of sulfides (more generally speaking, semiconductors), the charge carriers inside the particles are electrons and electron gaps. The mechanism of induced polarization is not fully understood in those cases. In order to improve our knowledge about the mechanisms controlling induced polarization in such media, we carried out spectral induced polarization measurements on unconsolidated mineralised medium and performed a numerical modelling based on the solution of the Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations set. Different types of semiconductors (graphite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena) have been included in the experiments. The polarization effects of grain radius, semiconductor content, and electrolyte salinity and type have been investigated at the lab scale. The experimental results showed that the chargeability or frequency effect of the medium is a function of the mineral volume and is independent of electrolyte salinity and type. Furthermore, the time constant is highly dependent on grain radius and electrolyte salinity, whereas it is slightly dependent on mineral type. The observed dependence of the chargeability and time constant on salinity could be explained by considering the semiconductor grain as an electric dipole impacting the potential and consequently the charge distribution in its vicinity. This dipole is generated inside the particle to compensate the primary electrical field. Since the Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations are coupled, the potential depends in return on the resulting ions distribution. Therefore, it could be used to explain the induced polarization phenomena. Using the finite element method, we computed the solution of the Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations for a grain of pyrite surrounded by an ionic solution, where the charge diffusions in both grain and electrolyte were considered. Regarding the electrolyte salinity, the dependence of the relaxation time observed from the experimental study is qualitatively consistent with that extracted from the numerical simulation.

Spectral induced polarization for the characterisation of biochar in sand

ABSTRACTThe use of biochar as a soil amendment attracts increasing research interest. However, the lack of methods to detect and monitor biochar in situ limits the validation of the field‐scale application of biochar. Spectral induced polarization is a potential tool to characterise biochar in soil. The aim of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of spectral induced polarization to biochar in sand and to understand how the physicochemical properties of both the biochar and the surrounding matrix influence the spectral induced polarization response. To this end, spectral induced polarization measurements were conducted on four types of biochar with different mass fractions disseminated in saturated sand as a host media with changing electrical conductivity. In addition, it was investigated how the spectral induced polarization response depends on the particle size of biochar. The measured SIP data were interpreted by Debye decomposition to obtain values for the peak relaxation time, ; total chargeability, ; and normalised total chargeability, . Spectral induced polarization showed a clear and specifically differentiated response to the presence of all four types of biochars. was found to be proportional to the mass fraction of biochars, although relationships varied for each type of biochars. of biochars increased with increasing particle size. Increased electrolyte concentration enhanced for all biochars, although again, the specific response was different for each biochar. In addition, higher electrolyte concentrations decreased for biochars derived from wood through pyrolysis but did not affect of biochar derived from miscanthus through hydrothermal carbonisation. It was concluded that the spectral induced polarization response of pyrolytic biochars resembled that of conductors or semiconductors, whereas the spectral induced polarization response of hydrothermal carbonisation biochar more closely resembled that of clay. Overall, the findings in this study suggest that spectral induced polarization is a promising method for the detection and characterisation of biochar in soil.

Generalizations of SIP methods to systems with $p$-structure

Generalizations of SIP methods to systems with $p$-structure

Dielectric spectroscopy analysis of BaTiO3 with mechanochemical process in different liquids

Distilled water, methanol, and acetone, have been used to investigate the effects of the homogenization medium on the impedance properties of BaTiO3 ceramics produced by the solid state reaction method. The complex permittivity, complex impedance, resistivity, and complex electric modulus of the ceramics were studied by the dielectric spectrometer in a wide frequency range of 100μHz to 20MHz at room temperature. The complex impedance and complex electric modulus showed that the materials have a relaxation time with a different mean time constant called the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars (MWS) type relaxation. The minimum dielectric loss found the ceramic reagents homogenized in distilled water, which is crucial for many electronic applications. The complex permittivity and resistivity measurements showed that using water instead of acetone and methanol has a positive effect on the small loss of electrical properties of barium titanate ceramics.

Pore radius distribution and fractal dimension derived from spectral induced polarization

The pore size distribution provides a suitable description of the pore space geometry that can be used to investigate the fractal nature of a pore space or to determine the fractal dimension. The fractal dimension describes the size of the geometric objects as a function of resolution. It can be integrated into the models that are used for permeability prediction. We investigated the fractal dimension of the pore volume of 11 Eocene sandstone samples from China. This study describes an approach to use spectral induced polarisation spectra to estimate the pore size distribution and to determine the fractal dimension of the pore volume. Additionally, the fractal dimension was derived from data of the capillary pressure curves from mercury intrusion and the transversal relaxation time distribution of nuclear magnetic resonance. For samples with an effective pore radius larger than 1 μm, a good agreement exists between the values of the fractal dimension derived from the three different methods, which implies an identification of similar pore structures. Spectral induced polarisation can be a non-invasive laboratory technique for the estimation of the pore size distribution, but the application of the methodology to field measurements remains a challenging problem considering the limited frequency range.

Ultra-broad-band electrical spectroscopy of soils and sediments—a combined permittivity and conductivity model

We combined two completely different methods measuring the frequency-dependent electrical properties of moist porous materials in order to receive an extraordinary large frequency spectrum. In the low-frequency (LF) range, complex electrical resistivity between 1 mHz and 45 kHz was measured for three different soils and sandstone, using the spectral induced polarization (SIP) method with a four electrode cell. In the high-frequency (HF) radio to microwave range, complex dielectric permittivity was measured between 1MHz and 10 GHz for the same samples using dielectric spectroscopy by means of the coaxial transmission line technique. The combined data sets cover 13 orders of magnitude and were transferred into their equivalent expressions: the complex effective dielectric permittivity and the complex effective electrical conductivity.We applied the Kramers-Kronig relation in order to justify the validity of the data combination. A new phenomenological model that consists of both dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity terms in a Debye- and Cole–Cole-type manner was fitted to the spectra. The combined permittivity and conductivity model accounts for the most common representations of the physical quantities with respect to the individual measuring method. A maximum number of four relaxation processes was identified in the analysed frequency range. Among these are the free water and different interfacial relaxation processes, the Maxwell-Wagner effect, the counterion relaxation in the electrical double layer and the direct-current electrical conductivity. There is evidence that free water relaxation does not affect the electrical response in the SIP range. Moreover, direct current conductivity contribution (bulk and interface) dominates the losses in the HF range. Interfacial relaxation processes with relaxations in the HF range are broadly distributed down to the LF range. The slowest observed process in the LF range has a minor contribution to the HF response.

Bayesian inference of spectral induced polarization parameters for laboratory complex resistivity measurements of rocks and soils

Spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements are now widely used to infer mineralogical or hydrogeological properties from the low-frequency electrical properties of the subsurface in both mineral exploration and environmental sciences. We present an open-source program that performs fast multi-model inversion of laboratory complex resistivity measurements using Markov-chain Monte Carlo simulation. Using this stochastic method, SIP parameters and their uncertainties may be obtained from the Cole-Cole and Dias models, or from the Debye and Warburg decomposition approaches. The program is tested on synthetic and laboratory data to show that the posterior distribution of a multiple Cole-Cole model is multimodal in particular cases. The Warburg and Debye decomposition approaches yield unique solutions in all cases. It is shown that an adaptive Metropolis algorithm performs faster and is less dependent on the initial parameter values than the Metropolis-Hastings step method when inverting SIP data through the decomposition schemes. There are no advantages in using an adaptive step method for well-defined Cole-Cole inversion. Finally, the influence of measurement noise on the recovered relaxation time distribution is explored. We provide the geophysics community with a open-source platform that can serve as a base for further developments in stochastic SIP data inversion and that may be used to perform parameter analysis with various SIP models.

Improvement of coarse root detection using time and frequency induced polarization: from laboratory to field experiments

Over the last decade the induced polarization (IP) method has emerged as a promising tool for subsurface investigation with growing interest for biogeophysics. In this work, in addition to electrical resistivity methods, IP was tested experimentally as a proxy for identifying and discriminating tree coarse roots from the surrounding soil. This study permitted to show the effect of polarization at low frequencies (<25 Hz) using spectral (SIP) and temporal (TDIP) approaches both in laboratory and in the field. (i) the resistivity of woody roots samples was higher than that of a silty soil; (ii) roots polarized at frequencies lower than that of the soil; (iii) the effects of polarization increased with the volume of the buried roots (iv) the direction of roots relatively to current lines influenced the amplitude of IP response. Applying the SIP method in-situ in semi-controlled conditions gave promising results since phase variations around 1 Hz frequency were correlated with buried root position. SIP and TDIP approaches in the lab demonstrated their potential efficiency for detecting coarse roots. This was further demonstrated in the field with SIP. Using maps at several frequencies was useful as variable environmental conditions may change the polarization relaxation frequency and amplitude. Additional works in semi-controlled conditions are necessary to study the dependence of IP response on different parameters of more complex and larger root systems.

Inductive induced polarization effect in heliborne time-domain electromagnetic data for uranium exploration, northern part of Cuddapah Basin, India

The Peddagattu, Lambapur, Chitrial and Koppunuru uranium deposits along the northern margins of the Cuddapah Basin are confined to the middle Proterozoic unconformity interface between Archean basement granites and the overlying resistive quartzites. Negative transients observed in the coincident loop heliborne time-domain electromagnetic (HTEM) data over these deposits (occurring in outliers) are believed to be due to thick polarizable conductive zones occurring along the unconformity. Similar negative HTEM responses are recorded over the Gorukunta Tanda outlier. A ground spectral induced polarization (SIP) survey conducted over the outlier and ground geologic observations indicated an altered basement/regolith with thickness up to 5 m below 20–30 m thick quartzite. Interpretation of Cole-Cole parameters computed from the SIP data indicated a change in the dispersion. These Cole-Cole parameters were used in modeling negative HTEM data assuming a polarizable plate placed in a layered earth at a depth of approximately 50 m using the CSIRO LeroiAir program. A negative [Formula: see text] response in the late channels indicated that the negatives can be explained in terms of inductive induced polarization effects. Modeling of HTEM [Formula: see text] data for the profile through the Lambapur uranium deposit and the Gorukunta Tanda reveals the presence of a polarizable lithologic unit at a depth of approximately 40 m. This unit is interpreted as an argillic alteration of basement, with the presence of clay and/or disseminated sulfides as evidenced from the core extracted from the boreholes at depths below the highly resistive quartzite. Uranium mineralization is closely associated with altered basement and sulfides along the unconformity where the distinct negative electromagnetic (EM) signature is recorded. Furthermore, there exists a good correlation between the uranium mineralization grade and the thickness versus the averaged late-channel negative HTEM response over the known deposits. The negative EM response helped in locating the new target areas for uranium exploration.

Influence of mineral composition on spectral induced polarization in sediments

Summary We discuss a membrane polarization effect that can occur when the walls of two sequential pores are built of different minerals, with different interface properties (the zeta potential and the partition coefficient). The differences in the interface properties lead to a difference in the ion transport numbers (even if the two aforementioned pores are of the same radius) and, therefore, to a membrane polarization when an electrical field is applied. Based on published data, we discuss differences in the interface properties of common minerals: silicates, carbonates, clay minerals, organic material, etc. Based on the theory presented by Marshall and Madden and recently extended by Bücker and Hördt we semi-analytically model the membrane polarization effect for a system that consists of two pores of equal radius. We calculate maximum values of the phase shift as a function of the pore radius. We also calculate values of the peak frequency (the frequency corresponding to the phase-shift peak) as a function of the pores’ lengths. The modelling results show that the phase shift can assume values of up to 80 mrad for pores with radii of about 0.1 μm. The peak frequency values are within the typical frequency range of spectral induced polarization measurements and, therefore, the effect can be detected. Based on the modelling data, we hypothesize that the effect of differences in interface properties of the minerals constituting the walls of sequential pores can be superimposed on the polarization effect of the Stern layer coating the mineral grains and the classical membrane polarization effect.

Modeling the evolution of complex conductivity during calcite precipitation on glass beads

Author(s): Leroy, P; Li, S; Jougnot, D; Revil, A; Wu, Y | Abstract: © The Authors 2017. When pH and alkalinity increase, calcite frequently precipitates and hence modifies the petrophysical properties of porous media. The complex conductivity method can be used to directly monitor calcite precipitation in porous media because it is sensitive to the evolution of the mineralogy, pore structure and its connectivity. We have developed a mechanistic grain polarization model considering the electrochemical polarization of the Stern and diffuse layers surrounding calcite particles. Our complex conductivity model depends on the surface charge density of the Stern layer and on the electrical potential at the onset of the diffuse layer, which are computed using a basic Stern model of the calcite/water interface. The complex conductivity measurements of Wu et al. on a column packed with glass beads where calcite precipitation occurs are reproduced by our surface complexation and complex conductivity models. The evolution of the size and shape of calcite particles during the calcite precipitation experiment is estimated by our complex conductivity model. At the early stage of the calcite precipitation experiment, modelled particles sizes increase and calcite particles flatten with time because calcite crystals nucleate at the surface of glass beads and grow into larger calcite grains. At the later stage of the calcite precipitation experiment, modelled sizes and cementation exponents of calcite particles decrease with time because large calcite grains aggregate over multiple glass beads and only small calcite crystals polarize.