Salt‐water intrusion mapping by geoelectrical imaging surveys

Abstract

The geoelectrical imaging method is a tool for mapping the intrusion boundary between fresh water and saline water due to its inherent capability to delineate the lateral changes in pore‐water salinity. A new field survey technique that can be used for environmental and geotechnical investigations has been developed. This study evaluates the multiscale survey technique as a tool employed in electrical imaging to detect the salt‐water intrusion boundary in Yan, State of Kedah, northwest Malaysia. The technique was incorporated into these surveys, and it has proved to be a robust method for accurately mapping the fresh‐water/saline‐water boundary. The resulting resistivity sections from these surveys were consistent with both the available geological and borehole information from the area and the previous resistivity surveys conducted by the Geological Survey of Malaysia at those sites.