2009

George Lightwood
Scott Craig
Danny Lazzareschi

Overview
Location
Purpose
Methods
Results
Interpretations
Conclusions

Location
Dry canal bank west of Fallon, NV
Local mapped units are Badlands soil

and Hawsley Sand.

Typical resistivities for soils
consisting of predominantly of clay
minerals containing brackish water:
1 to 100 -m.
Soils consisting of sand and silt
typically have a resistivity on the
order of several hundred Ohmmeters

Purpose
Use electrical methods to look for locations of

seepage and internal erosion of canal walls

Previous studies found these methods

effective

Asch, T. H., M. Deszcx-Pan, B.L. Burton, and L.B. Ball, 2008, Geophysical Characterization of the American River Le
Sacramento, California, using Electromagnetics, Capacitively Coupled Resistivity, and DC Resistivity, O
Report 2008-1109, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.
Panthulu, T.V., C. Krishnaiah, J.M. Shirke, 2001, Detection of seepage paths in earth dams using self-potential and
resistivity methods in Engineering Geology 59, pp 281-295.

Methods:
MiniRes

Wenner Array
A-spacings of 1, 1.47, 2.15,
3.16, 4.64, 6.81 and 10 meters
a=2aV/I
Thanks to L and R Instruments

Survey
Soundings 1-9 in

canal bank profile

Sounding 10 on
playa
Sounding 11 at toe
of canal bank
Soundings 12, 13 on
ReMi Line
8 4.64 A-Spacing

Methods: VLF
Very Low Frequency(15-

25Hz)
Geonics EM16R
Distant high power sources
Finds EM coupling with
conductors in the earth
Anomalies perpendicular
to direction toward source
Source in Jim Creek, WA
Measurements made at
locations of first 9 MiniRes

Results: Resistivity
Soundings

Results- Resistivity profile

Interpretation: Resistivity
Sounding
Resix to calculate

resistivitites of
layers
Resist to graph
Typical sounding

at Station 8

Interpretation: Resistivity
Sounding

Sounding 10 on Playa

Thinner resistive layer

Sounding 11 at toe of canal

bank
Opposite layering

Interpretation: Resistivity
Cross Section

Results:VLF
Apparent resistivity from 8 to 11 Ohm-m
Phase angles from 34 to 38 degrees
Tried to construct a 2-layer model from the data
Resistivity of the top layer was assumed to be on

the order of 10 to 30 Ohm-m

not successful at identifying contact
method is poorly suited to defining the boundary
between a highly conductive layer overlying a
layer of higher resistivity (Podder and Rathor, 1983)
Soil was at upper limit of conductivity senitivity

Podder, M. and B.S. Rathor, 1983, VLF Survey of the Weathered Layer in Southern India, Geophysical Prospecting, vo

Conclusions
Canal Bank consists of 3 layers- high resistivity

in between two low resistivity lavers

Top layer likely compacted clay
Middle layer likely sands excavated from the
canal
Bottom layer likely clays
Middle sand layer a likely conduit for fluid flow
MiniRes much more effective than VLF for

detailed site study

Thanks
Questions?