Date of Award
6-1988
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Geological and Environmental Sciences
First Advisor
Dr. W. Thomas Straw
Second Advisor
Dr. Gerry Clarkson
Third Advisor
Dr. Richard Passero
Fourth Advisor
Dr. William Sauck
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Surface electrical resistivity successfully defined brine contamination within a glacial drift aquifer in western Michigan. The study site is in a residential area of eastern Ottawa County, in the Walker Oil Field. A Schlumberger array with a maximum current electrode separation (AB/2) of 316 meters (1037 feet) was used. It was possible to detect geoelectric layers to about 30 meters (100 feet) below ground level, with the maximum current penetration of about 1/10 (AB/2). On occasion, thick surficial clay precluded detecting deeper geoelectric layers. Through use of the INVERS computer program, fifty vertical electrical soundings were interpreted and correlated with geological, geophysical and water quality data. Low resistivity zones were identified on several geoelectric sections within the glacial sand aquifers adjacent to water wells in which relatively high levels of chloride and specific conductance had been detected. The conclusion is that these low resistivity layers represent groundwater contamination zones.
Recommended Citation
Koehler, Janet A., "Electrical Resistivity as an Approach to Evaluating Brine Contamination of Groundwater in the Walker Oil Field, Ottawa County, Michigan" (1988). Masters Theses. 1185.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1185