Seismoelectric imaging of the vadose zone of a sand aquifer

Abstract

We have acquired a [Formula: see text] seismoelectric section over an unconfined aquifer to demonstrate the effectiveness of interfacial signals at imaging interfaces in shallow sedimentary environments. The seismoelectric data were acquired by using a [Formula: see text] accelerated weight-drop source and a 24-channel seismoelectric recording system composed of grounded dipoles, preamplifiers, and seismographs. In the shot records, interfacial signals were remarkably clear; they arrived simultaneously at offsets as far as [Formula: see text] from the seismic source. The most prominent signal was generated at the water table at a depth of approximately [Formula: see text] and had peak amplitudes on the order of [Formula: see text]. A weaker response was generated at a shallower interface that is interpreted to be a water-retentive layer. The validity of these two laterally continuous events, and of other discontinuous events indicative of vadose-zone heterogeneity, is corroborated by the presence of reflections exhibiting similar characteristics in a ground-penetrating radar profile acquired along the same line.