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3D Electrical Resistivity Imaging as a Tool for

Quantification of Landfills' Leachate
ARTICLE NOVEMBER 2013
DOI: 10.3997/2214-4609.20131877

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EG11
3D Electrical Resistivity Imaging as a Tool for
Quantification of Landfills' Leachate
A. Abdulrahman* (Universiti Sains Malaysia), M.N.M. Nawawi (Universiti
Sains Malaysia) & R. Saad (Universiti Sains Malaysia)

SUMMARY
An alternative to Water Balance Method (WBM) for estimating the quantity of leachate at landfill sites is
presented in this paper. The WBM emphasis is on generating rate, while this geophysical approach
estimates the in-situ quantity of leachate. The 3D inverted sections were generated using RES2DINV and
RES3DINV programs. The resistivity variation in the inverted pseudo-sections clearly delineated the
contaminant leachate plume ( < 5 m), which facilitated its volume computation. The effective porosity
values of clay (0.15) and sand/gravel (0.28) deduced from lithology logs were used in calculating the
imaged sections of the leachate. Electrical conductivity values of 1782 S/cm and 4521 S/cm were
determined for uncontaminated and contaminated zones respectively. A total leachate volume of 2.21 x
102 m3 was estimated beneath the 1600 m2 surveyed area.

Second International Conference on Engineering Geophysics

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 24-27 November 2013

Introduction
The common methodologies used to estimate quantity of leachate for proper landfill practice are
based on Water Balance Method (WBM) developed by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency USEPA (De Velsquez et al., 2003). The WBM operates on the basis of change in water
content within the waste which depends on the precipitation, evaporation patterns and field capacity
(Safari and Baronian, 2002). However, it is impossible to apply the water balance methods on
unregulated landfills and dumpsites where the ages and masses of solid waste are unknown. In
addition, these prediction models, which are indirect methods, have limitations due to the
uncertainties associated with rainfall data and other required properties of landfill compositions
(Parsons, 1994; Kortegast, 2007).
Municipal waste contains nutrients, heavy metal and organic materials that are source of pollution to
surface water and underground aquifers. The resultant leachate which percolates into the aquifers after
much precipitation is associated with high ionic concentrations. These ionic concentrations coupled
with their low resistivity values make electrical delineation of generated contaminant leachate plume
plausible (Bernstone and Dahlin, 1999; Rosqvist et al., 2003; Ustra et al., 2012]. Several workers used
electrical resistivity approach to map contaminant plumes generated from landfills (Ustra et al., 2012;
Ahmed and Sulaiman, 2001; Gurin et. al., 2004). Though these electrical resistivity mappings
delineated the extent of transportation of landfill leachate, they draw no conclusions on the quantity of
leachate.
The composition of soil matrix has negligible contribution to electrical conduction. Archies empirical
law (Archie, 1942) shows that bulk electrical resistivity decreases with decreasing electrical resistivity
of liquid filling the pores and its increasing mineralization. The electrical resistivity measured is
prominently a function of leachate resistivity rather than resistivity of soil containing the leachate.
Woldt et al.(1998) integrated electromagnetic survey and geo-statistical tool to screen an unregulated
landfill for the presence of leachate and obtained an approximation of the spatial extent of waste. The
workers estimated volume of solid waste and liquid within three specified zones namely; waste, waste
and/or leachate and potential leachate, contained by the landfill and the underlying soil.
The study in this paper proffers an approach to quantify generated leachate plume using 3D electrical
resistivity imaging supported by soil and leachate analysis. Although the procedure was executed on a
small dumpsite, it will provide a model for application at the larger dumpsites and other medium size
unregulated landfills. This technique can also be incorporated in the design of leachate treatment plant
for sanitary landfills.
Methodology
The 2D electrical resistivity data were collected on five 100 m parallel profiles across the dumpsite
using a portable resistivity meter, Ohmega , manufactured by Allied Associates Geophysical
Limited. Wenner Alpha electrode configuration was used for data acquisition. The distance between
the profiles was 4m and a total of 124 data points were obtained for the 2D pseudo-section. After
acquisition, the data were processed with RES2DINV program, software developed by (Loke and
Barker, 1996a). The smoothness-constrained least-squares inversion was adopted for the fact that it
gives optimal results when the subsurface exhibits smooth variation.
The five 2D pseudo-sections data files were later combined into a 3D data file in the RES2DIVN
program and inverted using the RES3DINV program (Loke and Barker, 1996b). Eight horizontal
sections that give 2D image slices with corresponding vertical layer depths were generated from the
3D inversion (Fig.1). The smoothness-constrained least-squares inversion was also applied for the 3D
inversion for the same reasons. The 4m interval between the profiles was chosen to comply with the
sensitivity of the 3D inversion for Wenner array. This is for the fact that the inversion was carried out
without the cross-line measurements (Loke, 2012). Two wells were dug at the upstream and

Second International Conference on Engineering Geophysics

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 24-27 November 2013

downstream ends of the dumpsite. Lithology logs were obtained and porosity tests were carried out on
soil samples from the wells (see Table 1).
Table 1 Soil lithology logs with effective porosity and conductivity values.
Upstream (Conductivity = 17.8 S/m)
Downstream (Conductivity = 45.2 S/m)
Depth (m) Material Effective Porosity
0-7
clay
0.15
7-15 and and gravel 0.28

Depth(m) Material
Effective Porosity
0-5
clay
0.15
5-17
sand and gravel
0.28

A visual observation was used to estimate the area of leachate zones measured through x-y axes from
the 3D horizontal slices. Afterwards, a simple mathematical modeling approach was used for the
calculation of leachate volume. The estimate of identified leachate area (A) from a 3D horizontal
slice was multiplied by the corresponding depth (Z). The product is expressed as volume (V) for
soil and associated leachate in a layer.

V AxZ .

(1)

The effective porosity P of the soil layer is checked (Table 1) and applied appropriately to provide an
estimate for quantity of leachate contained in the layer. The effective porosity Pi checked for a layer
Z i is multiplied by corresponding volume Vi to give quantity of leachate contained in the layer
(Clment, 2011). Therefore, the quantity of leachate in a layer is given as Vi Pi . Finally, the total
volume of the leachate V is expressed as the sum of all the Vi Pi calculated for all the eight layers.

V Vi Pi .

Second International Conference on Engineering Geophysics

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 24-27 November 2013

(2)

Figure 1 Horizontal slices with corresponding depths generated from the 3D inversion showing
leachate zones.
Results and Discussion
Information from 3D horizontal sections and the resultant thicknesses, lithology logs and porosity
tests were combined to give an estimate of the in-situ quantity of leachate. Electrical conductivity
tests were conducted on leachate and water samples from the wells to correlate with the contrast in
resistivity values measured across the dumpsite. The lithology log from the downstream well was
used for the calculations as it coincides with the target plume which was verified by the conductivity
values. The target plume depicts the resistivity of leachate (0.9-5.0 m) specified by the range given
by Gurin et al. (2004).
The presence of deep water ponds at the dumpsite, hydraulic heads of the wells and the inverted
sections guided that the flow of the underground leachate is in south to north direction. A continuous
lateral downstream flow of leachate is deterred by the visible granitic outcrops around the dumpsite.
This compelled the plume to remain within the dumpsite subsurface, although the bottom of the
plume was not mapped to the bedrock because of the limited profile spread. In view of this, the
available information could not rule out some migration of the leachate plume underneath the imaged
section.
The 3D inversion generated eight horizonatal slices (layers) with maximum depth of 13.7 m (Fig. 1).
The lateral spread of plume could not be fully delienated in view of the limitation of covered area.
Electrical conductivity tests on liquid samples from the two wells validates the contrast between
uncontaminated (1782 S/cm) and contaminated (4521 S/cm) zones observed in the 3D inverted
sections. The calculation for quantity of leachate in the eight sections gave a total estimate of 2.21 x
102 m3.

Second International Conference on Engineering Geophysics

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 24-27 November 2013

Conclusion
The 3D electrical resistivity imaging combined with groundwater conductivity and soil porosity tests
provided an approach for estimating the quantity of leachate. Although the implementation of the
procedure at large landfills would face challenges in terms of limited number of boreholes, the
technique has given an insight to a new approach in the quantification of leachate in landfills. This
process can be applied in the design of treatment plants for the transformation of unregulated landfills
to sanitary status and for new sanitary landfills. The quantity of leachate computed could also be used
as an index for hazard assessment in remediation activities at landfills and waste dumpsites.
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Second International Conference on Engineering Geophysics

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 24-27 November 2013