In precision agriculture geoelectrical methods have shown their capability to detect spatial variation of important physico-chemical soil parameters in an efficient way. Nevertheless, relationships between the electrical parameters (electrical conductivity or resistivity) and other soil properties are not always consistent over different fields. This can, to some extent, be due to the characteristics of instruments used for soil mapping. However, a limited amount of research has addressed this issue. In this study, seven instruments for mobile mapping (continuous geoelectrical measurements) available on the market were tested (ARP 03, CM-138, EM38, EM38-DD, EM38-MK2, OhmMapper and Veris 3100). Instruments were employed on a sandy site in north-east Germany. Measurements were compared to a profile, which has been investigated with a high accuracy reference. Additional investigations were conducted concerning the influences of temperature drift, seasonal variations and soil properties on soil EC. Marked differences between the instruments were found with respect to depth of investigation, accuracy and handling that have to be taken into account when geoelectrical surveys are planned or interpreted. Regarding depth of investigation and robustness of the measurements, ARP 03 and Veris 3100 seem to be the most suitable instruments for precision agriculture.
Application of mobile electrical and electrostatic quadripoles during the past ten years has allowed a considerable increase in the size of the surveyed areas, together with keeping a high spatial resolution and a reduction of the total cost of a survey. Two new developments of towed arrays are illustrated here: (1) a pole‐pole array pulled by the operator provides a lightweight solution for mapping large surfaces at a unique given depth of investigation, as shown by the prospection of the Roman‐British city of Wroxeter; and (2) a multipole, multidepth system allows a 3-D investigation of the ground resistivity, as illustrated by the experiments undertaken on the test site of Garchy and on the archaeological site of Montbaron (Indre, France).
The aim of this paper is to point out the advantages of multipoles for the exploration of the very near subsurface (0–3 m) by continuous profiling. We propose a new geometry with eight poles for a MUltipole Continuous Electrical Profiling (MUCEP) measuring system, where the array has a V‐shape and is thus called ‘Vol‐de‐canards’. A series of criteria including 3D numerical simulations are performed (direct and inverse modelling) to determine the optimal geometry and to compare its performance (in terms of depth of investigation and resolution of the geometry of the targets) with the other arrays (quadrupoles or rectangular‐type multipoles). This multipole was built together with a real‐time acquisition system. The multidepth maps obtained confirm the characteristics predicted by numerical simulations.
We try in this paper to characterize the magnetic behaviour of soils both in the frequency and time domain. Our aim is to understand the anomalous responses we have observed in many EM surveys.A wide range of soil samples have been analysed with two instruments specially designed for harmonic (80 Hz-10 kHz) and transient (8-100 p s after cut-off) EM low inducing fields (50 pT).The most common spectrum observed could be explained with the well-dispersed single-domain grain theory (SD): a logarithmic decrease of the in-phase susceptibility with frequency and a constant quadrature susceptibility. Moreover, measurements in the frequency domain of the quadrature susceptibility and measurements of the coefficient of viscosity in the time domain have been compared and found to be in good accordance with theory. But other types of magnetic spectrum were encountered and could not be accounted for SD theories. This results in a non-logarithmic dependence of the in-phase susceptibility, a non-constant quadrature susceptibility and in the time domain a coefficient of viscosity S which is time dependent.It is demonstrated that the response due to quadrature magnetic susceptibility in the frequency domain and the magnetic viscosity in the time domain is sufficiently strong to be responsible for the anomalous responses.It is now possible to correct in an EM survey for the soil magnetic effect for a better determination of resistivity or conductivity.
There is a growing demand for nondestructive geophysical investigation in archaeology, especially in an urban context. This is a result of taking our heritage more seriously than in the past. Since excavations are possible only over a very limited area, any a priori information brought by geophysical methods can help to focus these excavations. The classical geophysical methods used in archaeology (resistivity, magnetism) are not applicable in an urban context with problems of accessibility and inherent electromagnetic noise. The potential of the combined use of ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and electrostatic (ES) quadrupole data is demonstrated in the investigation of the floor of the cathedral of Girona in northern Spain. A 1.3 × 1.3 m electrostatic quadrupole was towed continuously over a set of parallel profiles to produce a resistivity map for a 20 × 60 m area. A set of resistive anomalies corresponds with known structures (probably graves). The largest observed anomalies appear to be related to foundations of former buildings. A set of 450-MHz GPR profiles were collected and common midpoint (CMP) soundings were performed to convert from time to depth. The time slice centered at 14 ns (at 0.9-m depth) shows anomalies similar to those in the resistivity map. Two different physical properties are measured (electrical resistivity and a reflectivity coefficient that is mainly a function of the contrast in dielectric permittivity); both methods may be sensitive mainly to the water content in the volume under investigation. The improved confidence in an interpretation obtained by combining these two sets of data enables us to infer the location and geometry of the Romanesque building which stood previously on the site of the present cathedral of Girona. Excavations support the interpretation.
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