Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods

Geophysical and geoelectrical methods use physical measurements taken at or near Earth's surface—electrical currents, electromagnetic fields, seismic waves—to infer what lies beneath without drilling. By mapping how properties like electrical resistivity and seismic velocity vary through the subsurface, researchers can locate groundwater, characterize fault zones, track contaminant plumes, and probe the deep crust in ways that would otherwise require invasive and costly borehole campaigns. A central challenge is the mathematical problem of inversion: translating indirect, noisy surface measurements into reliable three-dimensional images of subsurface structure, where many different models can fit the same data equally well. Active directions include improving the resolution and uncertainty quantification of these inversions, extending electromagnetic techniques into deep marine settings, and combining methods such as spectral induced polarization with hydrogeological models to better understand fluid flow and solute transport at the scale where they actually occur.

Works

188,403

Total citations

886,811

Keywords

Electrical Resistivity TomographyMagnetotelluric ImagingGeophysical InversionHydrogeophysical CharacterizationMarine Electromagnetic MethodsSpectral Induced Polarization