INDUCED POLARIZATION WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC COUPLING: 3D SPECTRAL IMAGING THEORY: EMSP PROJECT NO. 73836

摘要

The principal objective of the project was to develop a non-invasive imaging technique, based on spectral induced polarization (SIP), to characterize in-situ distribution of organic and inorganic contaminants. This was to be an advance over a similar technique offered by the DC resistivity method. The motivation for the choice of IP over resistivity is rooted in the fact that resistivity response is governed by volume distributions of electrical parameters and therefore is relatively insensitive to small changes contributed by the presence of contaminants. IP response on the other hand is governed by the electrochemical properties of the rock-grain pore-fluid interface, which can be significantly altered by the incoming contaminant (ions) over long residence times. Small concentrations of contaminants are the rule rather than the exception thus, the detection threshold for IP, which is more sensitive to small concentrations, is much lower than for resistivity (IP field threshold for PCE/TCE is about 1mg/g). Additionally, the observation that IP depends on the chemistry of the contaminants provided the motivation that a spectral IP response could lead to a database of identifying signatures by which contaminants can be discriminated.