Geophysical Prospecting, 2002, 50, 603613

Resistivity of partially saturated Triassic Sandstone

Steve Taylor* and Ron Barker
School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK Received July 2001, revision accepted May 2002

ABSTRACT The variation in resistivity with saturation of poorly cemented Triassic Sandstone samples from a site in the English Midlands has been measured. The measurements were obtained using an adapted four-electrode technique, which utilizes conductive gelling agents between electrodes, avoiding the need to sputter electrodes directly on to samples a difficult process with such friable samples. The measurements provide important information regarding the way in which resistivity varies with saturation in the Triassic Sandstone. The resulting variation in the observed resistivity versus saturation curves indicates the presence of significant pore-scale variation between samples. Measurements have also been conducted on fully saturated samples. These indicate significant variation in the matrix conductivity between samples. The results have important implications for field-scale monitoring of the unsaturated zone.

INTRODUCTION Monitoring and understanding the changes in saturation of the unsaturated zone allow for a better prediction of the distribution and flow of both water and contaminants in the near-subsurface. As changes in saturation, and saturating fluid, lead to changes in the electrical properties, one technique that may be used to determine such variation is DC electrical resistivity. Although the Triassic Sandstone is one of the most important aquifers in the UK, little work has been conducted on the variation of electrical resistivity with saturation for samples from this aquifer. Many authors have worked on sandstone samples from North America (Vinegar and Waxman 1984; Knight 1991) and from oilfields around the world (Keller 1953; Waxman and Smits 1968), and similar work has been conducted on other formations (Roberts and Lin 1997). Relationships between the level of water saturation and resistivity are determined by laboratory experiment on representative samples of the material under investigation. A two-electrode technique is usually adopted which
*E-mail: s.b.taylor@bham.ac.uk

employs frequencies normally well above those used in DC prospecting, to avoid electrode polarization effects (Knight 1991). A further requirement is that the ends of the often disk-shaped samples are sputtered with gold or platinum to act as electrodes (Knight 1985; Roberts and Lin 1997). Studies on the variation of resistivity with partial saturation have been conducted by a number of authors. Early studies concentrated on samples from oilfields; for example, Keller (1953) presented a drying curve for initially brinesaturated oilfield sandstone samples using a two-electrode measurement method with silver-coated core plugs. More recent studies have investigated conditions more applicable to the vadose zone. For example, Knight (1991) performed measurements on three sandstones from the Alberta Basin using platinum electrodes sputtered on to the flat surfaces of disk-shaped samples. The experiment was mainly conducted at 60 kHz or above, although frequencies as low as 5 Hz were used in one experiment. Roberts and Lin (1997) examined the variation in electrical resistivity with saturation of tuff samples, employing a two-electrode system with disk-shaped samples on to which gold electrodes were deposited. Frequencies between 102 and 105 Hz were adopted, although at lower frequencies it was observed that electrode polarization phenomena were present.

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Vinegar and Waxman (1984) used a four-electrode system for determining the IP of shaly sandstones. In their experiment, the cores were initially brine saturated. Oil was then introduced into the cores under a given pressure, displacing the water phase through capillary diaphragms at the end of the cores. Frequencies as low as 3 Hz were used with no electrode polarization effects. With the poorly cemented samples often obtained from the unsaturated zone, the use of sputtered electrodes can become expensive and is not easily achieved with samples that are prone to disintegrating. A different laboratory measurement technique is therefore required to enable the variation of resistivity with saturation to be determined for poorly cemented sandstone cores at DC prospecting frequencies. The work in this study forms part of an investigation into the electrical properties of the Triassic Sandstone in the English Midlands. We present a novel measurement technique that has been developed to enable measurements to be made on poorly cemented, partially saturated, sandstone samples using a four-electrode arrangement. This arrangement allows measurements to be made at DC prospecting frequencies whilst eliminating electrode effects. Our results indicate the method to be accurate and repeatable and show similar trends to those observed by previous workers (Knight 1991; Knight and Dvorkin 1992; Roberts and Lin 1997). Measurements on fully saturated samples are also presented. Our results show that there is significant variation in the matrix conductivity of the sandstone samples and that the variation of resistivity with saturation can differ greatly between samples taken from the same site. This has important implications in terms of monitoring and modelling the variation in saturation of the unsaturated zone of Triassic Sandstone aquifers. E X P E R I M E N TA L D E TA I L S Site description The samples used in this study were obtained from a sandstone quarry located at Wildmoor near Bromsgrove in the English Midlands. The quarry is dug into the Wildmoor Formation of the Triassic Sandstone and forms part of a major aquifer for the region. The quarry provides good exposure, with a thick unsaturated zone, and enables representative samples of the formation to be obtained. Part of the quarry is used as a landfill site operated by Cleanaway Ltd. and has a permanent electrode array installed beneath the landfill liner (White and Barker 1997). This array can be used to monitor the electrical resistivity of the sandstone

beneath the liner, and results of experiments from samples obtained from the site may be used to quantify these changes in future studies. Sample description The samples are Triassic Sandstone of the Wildmoor Formation. Locally referred to as part of the Bromsgrove Moulding Sands, this sandstone is a poorly cemented, bright redbrown, loamy sand-rock. A total of 26 core plug samples were drilled from blocks of rock chiselled from the freshly quarried rock face at three locations around the quarry (samples prefixed SL1, SL2 and SL3) and also from a borehole drilled just below the water table some 10 m below the quarry floor (samples prefixed SL4). The very nature of the sampling means that there is an inherent bias towards more cemented samples from the formation, as the less cemented rock samples are not preserved long enough for measurements to be made on them. Visual analysis of the sandstone blocks indicates that they differ in grain size, friability and colour. Samples from blocks SL1 and SL2 are more bleached and coarser-grained than the redder, finer-grained, more friable samples from block SL3. Samples drilled from the borehole, SL4, have a less coarsegrained texture than those obtained from blocks SL1 or SL2. These samples are similar to those obtained from SL3 in appearance though seem to be less friable. The finer-grained samples are likely to contain significant quantities of clay, and it has been noted by Old et al. (1991) that some sandstone samples from this quarry contained 12% clay. Measurements of effective porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and cation exchange capacity (CEC), expressed as Qv, the CEC per unit pore volume, were determined for each sample and are presented in Table 1. Effective porosity was determined gravimetrically from measurements of the sample volume saturated and unsaturated weights. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was determined from falling-head permeameter tests. Upon completion of the electrical experiments, the CEC of the samples was determined (Mitchener, 2002, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Birmingham).
Table 1 Summary of hydrogeological properties for samples obtained from the four blocks of rock Block SL1 SL2 SL3 SL4 Porosity (f) 0.28 + 0.01 0.27 + 0.01 0.26 + 0.01 0.29 + 0.01 K (m/d) 1.18 + 0.29 0.88 + 0.42 0.021 + 0.015 0.38 + 0.06 Qv (meq/ml) 0.11 + 0.05 0.15 + 0.05 0.39 + 0.07 0.19 + 0.04

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A standard core plug shape was chosen for the samples with a nominal diameter of 33 mm and lengths between 29 and 73 mm. The cylindrical surface of each plug was then covered in PTFE tape and plastic heat shrink. This method was adopted to enable permeability measurements to be made and to ensure that the integrity of the samples was maintained during handling, reducing the chances of accidental damage and disintegration during saturation. To demonstrate repeatability, a number of longer plugs were halved in length and the variation in resistivity versus saturation determined for each adjacent half; the results should be the same provided there are no errors in the measurement system and ignoring any small-scale heterogeneity. Equipment In most partial saturation experiments, a two-electrode configuration is adopted for the measurement of the electrical resistance or impedance across a disk-shaped rock sample. To ensure that the effects of electrode polarization are minimized it is necessary to employ signal frequencies much greater than those used in DC prospecting (typically greater than 1 kHz), which means that the results might not be applicable at lower frequencies. An experimental procedure has been developed that enables measurements on poorly cemented sandstone core samples at low frequencies and which does not appear to be affected by problems associated with electrode contact resistance and electrode polarization. The method uses a standard four-electrode measurement cell with reversible silversilver chloride electrodes. In place of the usual aqueous solution of, for example, KCl, typically used in the measurement of the electrical properties of fully saturated samples, a gelling agent is employed. Agar, a complex mixture of polysaccharides derived from various species of red seaweed known as agarophytes, is a gelling agent more commonly used as a culture medium in biological studies. Agar has also been used in electrochemistry for the construction of salt bridges between electrolytic solutions (Sawyer and Roberts 1974). In this study, a non-nutrient enriched agar is dissolved in a synthetic groundwater solution (made up to duplicate the local groundwater chemistry), poured into the electrode holders of the measurement cell and allowed to set around the electrodes. The agar gel acts as the electrolytic conductor between the electrodes and the ends of the sandstone samples. Filters saturated with the synthetic groundwater solution are then employed to provide a good contact between the ends of the sample and the agar. Because the

agar sets as a gel, there is little or no liquid available to soak into the core samples, thereby alleviating the problem of standard electrolyte-filled cells. Measurement cell A diagram of the measurement cell used is shown in Fig. 1. The basic cell design is similar to that presented by Vinegar and Waxman (1984) and comprises two perspex electrode holders between which the sample is placed. Both current and potential electrodes are constructed as reversible silver silver chloride (AgAgCl) electrodes. These are then arranged in the perspex holders as shown in the figure. The measuring system and circuit design for the determination of the resistivity of the core samples comprises a Wavetek voltage-controlled waveform generator connected to a simple voltage-divider circuit. This circuit consists of a variable resistor in series with the sample. The voltages across the resistor and sample are fed into a comparitor circuit consisting of a pair of FET input amplifiers. When the resistor value is equal to that of the sample, the difference between the voltages across the sample and resistor is a minimum. The voltage drops across both the sample and the resistor are fed directly into a Le Croy 9310 digital oscilloscope and the responses compared. The use of a digital oscilloscope enables the quality of the signals across the resistor and sample to be monitored, and allows direct subtraction of the signals to obtain a null. The oscilloscope is phase locked to the waveform generator via its trigger input. The samples are held in place by plastic O-rings fitted around their ends and are slotted tightly into the recesses in the perspex electrode holders. A 1 Hz sinusoidal signal with a peak-to-peak voltage of approximately 0.25 V was applied to the current electrodes. This amounts to a current density in the cell of approximately 0.025 A/m2 and 0.5 A/m2 at resistance balance for sample resistances of 5000 O and 250 O, respectively. Throughout the experiment, the cell and core samples were maintained at a near-constant temperature by storing them inside a Gallenkamp laboratory incubator. This also behaved as a Faraday Cage. Agar preparation A synthetic groundwater solution was heated and agar dissolved into it to form a 40 g/l agar solution. This was then poured into the end members of the measurement cell and allowed to cool to form a rigid gel. Samples were then

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(a) To comparitor circuitry Threaded bolt PTFE tape To signal generator

To comparitor circuitry

To signal generator

Current electrode

Potential electrode Perspex holder Core sample PTFE tape and heat shrink cover surrounding core Reservoir for electrolyte solution or agar

(b) To comparitor circuitry Wing nut and bolt Perspex housing To signal generator

Outline of reservoir dia = 3.5 cm Potential electrode

Current electrode

Figure 1 Measurement cell design. (a) Side view; (b) end view.
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 1 2

Resistance ()

inserted between the agar-filled end cells to enable electrical measurements on the sample to be made. The whole assembly was held in place with threaded rods and tightened using wing nuts. Cell calibration Prior to measurement, the system is calibrated to account for the contribution to the measured resistance from the filters and agar between the ends of the sample and the electrodes. Measurements on blank samples of agar should be purely resistive, provided the agar does not possess polarization properties, and there should be no change in the measured resistance with frequency. Any frequency dependence or nonresistive response may indicate the presence of electrode effects or polarization behaviour within the agar. A number of measurements were conducted using different lengths of agar in the measurement cell and over the

Resistance = 41.513 Separation R 2 = 0.9983 3 4 5 6 7 8 Potential electrode separation (cm) 9 10

Figure 2 Cell calibration for 40 g/l agar in synthetic groundwater solution.

frequency range 11000 Hz. The distance between potential electrodes ranged between 43 and 92 mm. Measurements of the agar resistance were made and corrected to 208C, and then plotted on a graph against the potential electrode separation for each frequency. The results are displayed in Fig. 2 and show the expected linear fit with zero intercept.

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Measurement procedure Resistivity versus partial saturation Measurements were made only on draining samples for two reasons: to avoid hysteretic effects and to enable the experimental work to be conducted in the available time. Hysteresis has been well documented (Knight 1991; Roberts and Lin 1997) and is due to different fluid geometries being set up during drainage and imbibition. During drainage, these authors observed that resistivity generally increased with decreasing saturation and that the curves were repeatable. During imbibition, the resistivity versus saturation curve departed significantly from that observed during drainage and the measured resistivity was consistently less at low and mid-saturation. Knight (1991) reported that there was some variation in the repeat experiments in this hysteretic region. At higher saturation levels, the measured resistivity rapidly returns to values similar to those seen during drainage. Samples were initially saturated under vacuum using a de-aerated synthetic groundwater solution with a resistivity of 6.25 Om (a conductivity of 1600 mS/cm). The core plugs were returned to atmospheric pressure after approximately 1 hour and then left to soak in the solution for 1 week before commencing the experiment. Measurements were also made on samples initially saturated with groundwater solutions with resistivities of 25 Om (400 mS/cm) and 12.5 Om (800 mS/cm). These were made to investigate the variation in the desaturation curve with saturant concentration. The samples were dried through evaporation by placing them upright on filter papers in the open air and allowing the pore water to drain freely under gravity and to evaporate from the surface of the core sample. Saturation levels of approximately Sw 0.35 were obtained in this way. Lower saturation levels were obtained using a desiccator where levels as low as Sw 0.02 were obtained for some samples. Typically, electrical measurements were made at saturation intervals of approximately 0.050.10. The time required for drainage meant that measurements were made approximately daily, with a complete drainage curve taking approximately 3 weeks to achieve. Saturation, defined as the volume fraction of the pore space filled with saturant, was determined gravimetrically by weighing the samples both before and after each electrical measurement. This was necessary to determine the level, if any, of imbibition into the sample from the agar or filters, or loss of mass where the samples were in contact with the

filter papers. As a consequence of these processes, a correction to the saturation level had to be made at the end of the experiment when the saturated and dry masses of the samples were once again determined. This equated to an additional error on each saturation value of less than Sw 0.02. On reaching the required level of saturation, each sample core was placed in the electrical measurement cell. A 1 Hz sinusoidal signal was applied and the cell resistance, Rc, measured from the standard variable resistor recorded at resistance balance. The resistance of the sample, R, is calculated from the corrected cell resistance and the resulting bulk resistivity at saturation Sw calculated as rt RAcore ; Lcore 1

where Acore is the cross-sectional area of the sample core and Lcore is its length. The resistivity index, RI, is then calculated from the ratio of the rt to the bulk resistivity at full saturation, ro, RI rt : ro 2

Resistivity versus electrolyte conductivity fully saturated experiment To produce a clear relationship between measured resistivity and electrolyte salinity, measurements were made on samples saturated with salinities ranging from 0.125 g/l to 32 g/l (approximately 0.002 m to 0.5 m), with electrolyte concentration increasing by a factor of two at each stage. The solutions were made up according to Worthington, Hedges and Pallatt (1990), by the volume method, with de-aerated water and dried Analar-grade sodium chloride (NaCl). In this experiment the samples were originally saturated with an aqueous NaCl solution of 0.125 g/l, then left to soak under vacuum for an hour before being returned to room pressure and then left to soak in fresh solution for a week. To saturate the samples at subsequently higher salinities, the method of Keller was adopted (Worthington and Barker 1972). The same measurement cell was used in this experiment, with the relevant salinity solution replacing the agar gel in the electrode holders of the cell. The measurement of the resistance of the cell was determined in the same way as for the partially saturated samples.

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E X P E R I M E N TA L R E S U LT S A N D O B S E RVAT I O N S Resistivity versus partial saturation General data description The results of measurements on samples from the different blocks of rock are displayed in Fig. 3 as plots of resistivity index (RI) versus saturation (Sw) on a bilogarithmic plot. All data show the drainage cycle only and were collected at a frequency of 1 Hz. Figure 3(a, b) shows data for representative samples obtained from blocks SL1 and SL2, respectively. Data are presented for sample cores initially saturated with synthetic groundwater solutions of 800 mS/cm (open symbols) and 1600 mS/cm (closed symbols). Similarly, Fig. 3 (c,d) shows data for representative samples drilled from blocks SL3 and SL4, respectively. Here data are presented for sample cores initially saturated with synthetic groundwater solutions of 400 mS/cm (open symbols) and 1600 mS/cm (closed symbols). Data from all samples show the same basic response of increasing resistivity, and hence resistivity index, with decreasing level of saturation. The basic curve shape can be split into two well-defined regions as illustrated in Fig. 3(a). In Region 1, at higher levels of saturation, the rate of increase in resistivity with decreasing saturation is relatively small and constant. This changes at the transition to Region 2, where the resistivity increases at an increasing rate with decreasing saturation. This occurs somewhere between 0.08 < Sw < 0.25 for all samples. The same basic shape is maintained at different saturating-fluid resistivities. To assess repeatability and error in the measurements, data collection was repeated on some samples, whilst other core samples were halved and data collected on each adjacent half of the sample. Figure 3(b) includes data for one such sample that has been halved, labelled SL2-09A and SL2-09B. These data show that there is almost no difference between the responses from the separate halves of the same core sample, indicating a high degree of repeatability and small errors in the data collection. Comparison of samples drilled from the same block and saturated with the same conductivity pore fluid indicates that little variation is observed between these samples, especially in Region 1. In this region only moderate changes in resistivity occur with a given change in saturation. In Region 2, the change in resistivity over a given change in saturation is much more acute, with a much larger variation in resistivity between samples from the same rock observed.

Variation between samples from different sandstone blocks The main difference between samples drilled from different blocks of rock collected from the quarry is the location of the transition between Region 1 and Region 2. This transition occurs at a critical water saturation S0 w (Knight and Nur 1987; Endres and Knight 1991), where there is a change in the pore-water geometry from a bulk water phase to a purely adsorbed surface water phase. In the data for samples drilled from blocks SL1 and SL2 (Fig. 3a, b), this transition occurs between 0.08 < Sw < 0.13. The results from these samples show little variation, indicating that sandstone blocks SL1 and SL2 are electrically very similar. In the case of samples obtained from block SL3 (Fig. 3c), the transition between the two regions occurs at a much higher saturation level between 0.18 < Sw < 0.28. In these data there is a more pronounced scatter between individual sample data than for samples from SL1 and SL2, though the general trend of the curves is the same. The data for samples drilled from block SL4 (Fig. 3d) also show a transition at higher saturation levels than observed for samples from block SL1 and SL2 (0.17 < Sw < 0.21). At a given saturation in Region 1, the values of RI are generally highest for samples from sandstone blocks SL1 and SL2, lower for those from SL4 and lowest in the samples drilled from block SL3. Furthermore, the rate of increase in resistivity for a given decrease in saturation in Region 2 is most pronounced in samples obtained from SL1 and SL2, less so in SL4 and least pronounced in the samples from SL3, though the curve here is less well defined. Variation with saturating electrolyte resistivity Samples saturated with a higher salinity pore fluid produce consistently higher values of RI for a given saturation than those saturated with lower salinity saturant. These samples also show a clearer, more pronounced increase in resistivity with decreasing saturation in Region 1. This can be seen most clearly in the data in Fig. 3(a, b), which display curves for the same core samples saturated with 6.25 Om (1600 mS/ cm) and 12.5 Om (800 mS/cm) electrolyte solutions. Similar variation is also seen in Fig. 3(c, d) for samples from SL3 and SL4 saturated with solutions of resistivity 25 Om (400 mS/cm) and 6.25 Om (1600 mS/cm). Resistivity versus electrolyte conductivity fully saturated experiment As well as measurements on partially saturated samples, data were collected for sample cores fully saturated at different

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Figure 3 Desaturation curves for samples from sandstone blocks: (a) SL1, (b) SL2, (c) SL3 and (d) SL4. Closed symbols indicate samples initially saturated with a solution of conductivity 1600 mS/cm. Open symbols indicate samples initially saturated with a solution of conductivity: (a) 800 mS/cm, (b) 800 mS/cm, (c) 400 mS/cm and (d) 400 mS/cm.

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saturant salinities. In this experiment, solutions of NaCl were used ranging from 0.125 g/l to 32 g/l with the electrolyte concentration increased by a factor of two at each stage. The results are presented in Fig. 4, plotted as bulk resistivity, ro, versus electrolyte resistivity, rw, on a linear scale. The curves show the expected increase in bulk sandstone resistivity with increasing saturating electrolyte resistivity. As with the data from the partial saturation experiment, the data for each sample in this experiment follow the same basic trend. The curves vary greatly from an otherwise linear trend for values of electrolyte resistivity above about 5 Om (conductivity below 2000 mS/cm), with a unit increase in electrolyte resistivity producing smaller and smaller increases in bulk resistivity. When analysed collectively, samples drilled from the same block of sandstone show a high degree of similarity at all but the highest electrolyte resistivities (rw > 10 Om), where a moderate amount of scatter is observed. Differences between sandstone blocks The level of scatter between samples drilled from the same sandstone block is small compared with the overall differences between samples. This indicates that there are measurable electrical differences between the sandstone blocks, but only relatively small differences between samples from the same block, as might be expected. This can be seen when the average values for samples from each of the four sandstone blocks are plotted on the same graph, as in Fig. 5. The standard error on the mean resistivity is also plotted, though in the majority of cases this error is smaller than the symbol representing the data point. Once again, the data for samples drilled from blocks SL1 and SL2 are very similar, indicating that these samples are electrically alike. The biggest differences between blocks are observed at the highest electrolyte resistivity, with the curves converging at low electrolyte resistivities. DISCUSSION It is clear from both hydraulic permeability and CEC measurements that clearly observable differences exist between sandstone blocks taken from the same site. It would be expected that such variation might therefore imply variation in the electrical properties of these blocks. The observations from both experiments of resistivity versus partially and fully saturated samples indicate that there is significant variation in the electrical response of the sandstone samples. Two

causes of these variations that may be inferred directly from the measurements are: . The variation in the location of the transition between Regions 1 and 2 (S0 w ) in the partial desaturation curve suggests that this variation is a result of pore-scale effects leading to different pore-water geometries at different saturations (Knight 1991). The transition to a purely adsorbed phase in Region 2 occurs at a higher saturation for samples from blocks SL3 and SL4 than for those samples from blocks SL1 and SL2. From this we infer that there are differences in the pore-scale distribution within the blocks. . In addition to the inferred pore-scale variations, it is possible to infer differences between the matrix properties of samples drilled from the different rock samples. If the matrix were perfectly insulating, the curves of bulk resistivity versus electrolyte resistivity in the fully saturated experiment would be linear. The deviation of the response from an otherwise linear trend indicates that, in addition to electrolytic flow, there are varying contributions to current flow from other conduction mechanisms in the rock, i.e. matrix conduction. The greater the deviation of the response from such a linear trend, the larger is the contribution of matrix conduction to the bulk conductivity. The largest deviation from a linear trend is observed for samples from SL3, less so for those from SL4, with the least deviation observed for samples from SL1 and SL2. Comparison of the properties of each rock sample presented in this study indicates that: . samples drilled from sandstone blocks SL1 and SL2 have the smallest values of CEC, highest hydraulic conductivity, the least conductive matrix and are characterized by having the smallest values of critical saturation and the largest change in resistivity with saturation in Region 1; . samples drilled from sandstone block SL3 have the largest values of CEC, lowest hydraulic conductivity, the most conductive matrix and are characterized by having the highest values of critical saturation and the smallest change in resistivity with saturation in Region 1; . samples drilled from sandstone block SL4 have properties that fall between those of SL1/SL2 and SL3. Implications for monitoring the variation in saturation in the unsaturated zone In terms of the implications of these observations for fieldscale monitoring of the unsaturated zone, a number of comments are worth making.

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Figure 4 Bulk resistivity versus saturating electrolyte resistivity for samples from sandstone blocks: (a) SL1, (b) SL2, (c) SL3 and (d) SL4.

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Figure 5 Average bulk resistivity for samples from each sandstone block plotted against saturating electrolyte resistivity, indicating the variation between the different sandstone blocks.

It is clear that at the site scale, there is significant heterogeneity in the Triassic Sandstone. There is observed variation in characteristics such as porosity, permeability, CEC and, consequently, electrical resistivity and its variation with saturation. The largest observed changes in resistivity occur at the lowest saturation levels in Region 2 of the desaturation curve. However, it should be noted that under normal soilmoisture conditions, the adsorbed-phase water (referred to as the irreducible water content) is not free to drain and therefore it would not be expected that readings in Region 2 would be obtained at field scale. Concentrating on the variation in Region 1, therefore, the largest variation in resistivity is observed in samples characterized by low CEC, high hydraulic conductivity and where the saturant has a high conductivity. The smallest variation is observed in samples characterized by high CEC, low hydraulic conductivity and where the saturant has a low conductivity. The implication for monitoring the variation in saturation of the unsaturated zone, at this site at least, is that the largest variation in resistivity with saturation is likely to occur in relatively clean or heavily weathered sandstone areas. Here, variation as large as 250% may be observed over Region 1 (i.e. between fully saturated and S0 w ), with even small changes in saturation of between 5 and 8% assumed to be measurable. A change in resistivity of 10% has been assumed here, as such a variation may be consistently measured in the field under reasonable site conditions. At the other extreme, in a shaly or clay-rich sandstone, variation over Region 1 may amount to only a 20% change in resistivity, suggesting that

the minimum measurable change in saturation may be nearer 1530%. CONCLUSIONS The results of the partial saturation experiment have shown that the chosen experimental method produces clear and repeatable results for the collection of resistivity versus saturation for sandstone core samples at DC prospecting frequencies. The experimental method chosen is appropriate for poorly cemented, friable samples where the method of sputtering electrodes on to the open faces may be difficult or impractical. The results of both experiments show that there are measurable differences between blocks of sandstone taken from the same formation at the same site, indicating significant site-scale heterogeneity. Observations from the partial saturation experiment suggest that resistivity measurements are most sensitive to changes in saturation in Region 2 where Sw < S0 w. However, at the field scale such low levels of saturation are unlikely to be encountered. It is more likely that variation of the magnitude observed in Region 1 will be encountered and over this region, maximum changes in resistivity as large as 250% or as small as 20% may be observed. The magnitude of this variation in resistivity with saturation is dependent on many factors, notably the conductivity of the matrix and saturant, and the pore-size distribution. This has important implications in terms of monitoring the variation in saturation of the unsaturated zone of Triassic Sandstone aquifers.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Cleanaway Ltd. for their co-operation in this project and Richard Mitchener for undertaking the hydraulic conductivity and CEC measurements on the samples used in this study.

REFERENCES
Endres A.L. and Knight R.J. 1991. The effects of pore scale fluid distribution on the physical properties of tight sandstones. Journal of Applied Physics 69, 10911098. Keller G.V. 1953. Effect of wettability on the electrical resistivity of sand. Oil and Gas Journal 51, 6265. Knight R.J. 1985. The dielectric constant of sandstones, 5 Hz to 13 MHz. PhD thesis, Stanford University. Knight R.J. 1991. Hysteresis in the electrical resistivity of partially saturated sandstones. Geophysics 56, 21392147. Knight R.J. and Dvorkin J. 1992. Seismic and electrical properties of sandstone at low saturations. Journal of Geophysical Research 97 (B12), 1742517432. Knight R.J. and Nur A. 1987. The dielectric constant of sandstones, 60 kHz to 4 MHz. Geophysics 52, 644654.

Old R.A., Hamblin R.J.O., Ambrose K. and Warrington G. 1991. Geology of the Country around Redditch. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 183 (England and Wales). HMSO, London. Roberts J.J. and Lin W. 1997. Electrical properties of partially saturated Topopah Spring tuff: Water distribution as a function of saturation. Water Resources Research 33, 557587. Sawyer D.T. and Roberts J.L. 1974. Experimental Electrochemistry for Chemists. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Vinegar H.J. and Waxman M.H. 1984. Induced polarization of shaly sands. Geophysics 49, 12671287. Waxman M.H. and Smits L.J.M. 1968. Electrical conductivities in oil-bearing shaly-sand. Journal of the Society of Petroleum Engineering 8, 107122. White C.C. and Barker R.D. 1997. Electrical leak detection system for landfill liners: a case history. Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 27, 153159. Worthington P.F. and Barker R.D. 1972. Methods for the calculation of true formation factors in the bunter sandstone of Northwest England. Engineering Geology 6, 213228. Worthington P.F., Hedges J.H. and Pallatt N. 1990. SCA guidelines for sample preparation and porosity measurement of electrical resistivity samples. Part I Guidelines for preparation of brine and determination of brine resistivity for use in electrical resistivity measurements. Log Analyst 30, 2028.

2002 European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers, Geophysical Prospecting, 50, 603613