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Negative apparent chargeability in time-domain induced polarisation data

Dahlin, Torleif LU and Loke, Meng Heng (2015) In Journal of Applied Geophysics 123. p.322-332
Abstract
It appears to be relatively common to assume that negative apparent chargeability data in time-domain induced polarisation (IP) surveying is a sign of bad data quality. Negative IP data can however occur as a consequence of the distribution of chargeable zones in the ground, which is well documented in literature. A general mechanism behind negative IP data is proposed as follows; if the chargeable zones are mainly located in zones of negative sensitivity, and there is low or no chargeability in the positive sensitivity volumes in the investigated volume, it will result in negative apparent chargeability.

Numerical modelling confirms that the phenomenon will typically occur for longer electrode separation if the chargeability is... (More)
It appears to be relatively common to assume that negative apparent chargeability data in time-domain induced polarisation (IP) surveying is a sign of bad data quality. Negative IP data can however occur as a consequence of the distribution of chargeable zones in the ground, which is well documented in literature. A general mechanism behind negative IP data is proposed as follows; if the chargeable zones are mainly located in zones of negative sensitivity, and there is low or no chargeability in the positive sensitivity volumes in the investigated volume, it will result in negative apparent chargeability.

Numerical modelling confirms that the phenomenon will typically occur for longer electrode separation if the chargeability is concentrated in a thin layer at the surface only, but that other distributions of the chargeable bodies can also cause negative IP data. Different electrode arrays differ in tendency to produce negative IP data, where dipole-dipole and pole-dipole arrays are more prone to generate negative data than nested arrays in the modelled examples. In addition to the relative location of the chargeable zone the resistivity is important for its impact on the apparent chargeability.

Field data recorded in connection with the 3rd International IP Workshop on Ile d’Oleron in April 2014 confirm that negative apparent chargeability can be caused by a thin chargeable layer at the surface. The abundant negative IP data can be explained by an inverted model with low residuals, in which the chargeability is concentrated in a thin layer with modest chargeability close to the surface. Removing the data with negative apparent chargeability before inversion results in apparently poor resolution of the bottom layer and artefacts that are not present in the inversion results from the original data set. The results clearly demonstrate that negative apparent chargeability data can be a result of the distribution of chargeable zones in relation to the sensitivity distribution, and that such data should not be edited away on a routine basis since they contain important information. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
chargeability, negative, TDIP, time-domain, induced polarisation
in
Journal of Applied Geophysics
volume
123
pages
322 - 332
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000366073400032
  • scopus:84947865076
ISSN
0926-9851
DOI
10.1016/j.jappgeo.2015.08.012
project
Geoelectrical Imaging for Site Investigation for Urban Underground Infrastructure
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4c286613-7308-4b43-bbab-533f5437f971 (old id 7866369)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:22:50
date last changed
2022-02-19 18:39:49
@article{4c286613-7308-4b43-bbab-533f5437f971,
  abstract     = {{It appears to be relatively common to assume that negative apparent chargeability data in time-domain induced polarisation (IP) surveying is a sign of bad data quality. Negative IP data can however occur as a consequence of the distribution of chargeable zones in the ground, which is well documented in literature. A general mechanism behind negative IP data is proposed as follows; if the chargeable zones are mainly located in zones of negative sensitivity, and there is low or no chargeability in the positive sensitivity volumes in the investigated volume, it will result in negative apparent chargeability. <br/><br>
Numerical modelling confirms that the phenomenon will typically occur for longer electrode separation if the chargeability is concentrated in a thin layer at the surface only, but that other distributions of the chargeable bodies can also cause negative IP data. Different electrode arrays differ in tendency to produce negative IP data, where dipole-dipole and pole-dipole arrays are more prone to generate negative data than nested arrays in the modelled examples. In addition to the relative location of the chargeable zone the resistivity is important for its impact on the apparent chargeability.<br/><br>
Field data recorded in connection with the 3rd International IP Workshop on Ile d’Oleron in April 2014 confirm that negative apparent chargeability can be caused by a thin chargeable layer at the surface. The abundant negative IP data can be explained by an inverted model with low residuals, in which the chargeability is concentrated in a thin layer with modest chargeability close to the surface. Removing the data with negative apparent chargeability before inversion results in apparently poor resolution of the bottom layer and artefacts that are not present in the inversion results from the original data set. The results clearly demonstrate that negative apparent chargeability data can be a result of the distribution of chargeable zones in relation to the sensitivity distribution, and that such data should not be edited away on a routine basis since they contain important information.}},
  author       = {{Dahlin, Torleif and Loke, Meng Heng}},
  issn         = {{0926-9851}},
  keywords     = {{chargeability; negative; TDIP; time-domain; induced polarisation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{322--332}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Applied Geophysics}},
  title        = {{Negative apparent chargeability in time-domain induced polarisation data}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/13583843/Dahlin_Loke_2015_Negative_apparent_chargeability_in_time_domain_induced_polarisation_data_JoAG.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jappgeo.2015.08.012}},
  volume       = {{123}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}