ERT applied to the study of saltwater intrusion

Abstract

Sea water intrusion, or saltwater intrusion (SWI) is a common phenomenon in coastal aquifers. With electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method, a region’s subsoil can be characterized, leading to pseudo-section maps that allow to differentiate between freshwater and saltwater cavities. In this study, ERT method was applied in the Riera de Sant Pol de Mar, in two different surveys a month apart; which permitted to measure a strong variation between both and track the aquifer’s underground evolution. This allowed the observation and analysis of the seawater intrusion phenomenon. If combined with additional methods or information, a better understanding of the diverse processes that occur beneath the aquifer’s surface could be achieved