Comparison of Soil Thickness in a Zero-Order Basin in the Oregon Coast Range Using a Soil Probe and Electrical Resistivity Tomography
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 12
Abstract
Accurate estimation of the soil thickness distribution in steepland drainage basins is essential for understanding ecosystem and subsurface response to infiltration. One important aspect of this characterization is assessing the heavy and antecedent rainfall conditions that lead to shallow landsliding. In this paper, we investigate the direct current (DC) resistivity method as a tool for quickly estimating soil thickness over a steep (33–40°) zero-order basin in the Oregon Coast Range, a landslide prone region. Point measurements throughout the basin showed bedrock depths between 0.55 and 3.2 m. Resistivity of soil and bedrock samples collected from the site was measured for degrees of saturation between 40 and 92%. Resistivity of the soil was typically higher than that of the bedrock for degrees of saturation lower than 70%. Results from the laboratory measurements and point-depth measurements were used in a numerical model to evaluate the resistivity contrast at the soil-bedrock interface. A decreasing-with-depth resistivity contrast was apparent at the interface in the modeling results. At the field site, three transects were surveyed where coincident ground truth measurements of bedrock depth were available, to test the accuracy of the method. The same decreasing-with-depth resistivity trend that was apparent in the model was also present in the survey data. The resistivity contour of between 1,000 and 2,000 m that marked the top of the contrast was our interpreted bedrock depth in the survey data. Kriged depth-to-bedrock maps were created from both the field-measured ground truth obtained with a soil probe and interpreted depths from the resistivity tomography, and these were compared for accuracy graphically. Depths were interpolated as far as 16.5 m laterally from the resistivity survey lines with root mean squared error (RMSE) = 27 cm between the measured and interpreted depth at those locations. Using several transects and analysis of the subsurface material properties, the direct current (DC) resistivity method is shown to be able to delineate bedrock depth trends within the drainage basin.
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Acknowledgments
This work was partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education (P200A060133-08) and a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF-CMMI-0855783) to N. Lu and a fellowship from the Hydrologic Science and Engineering program at Colorado School of Mines to M. S. Morse. Greg Kreimeyer, Jim Young, and John Seward of the Oregon Department of Forestry granted access to the field site in the Elliott State Forest. Brian Passerella, Damien Jougnot, Murat Kaya, and Basak Sener-Kaya of the Colorado School of Mines Department of Engineering, and Rex Baum and Andrew Ashlock of the U.S. Geological Survey provided support in the laboratory and in the field. Kevin Schmidt and William Stephenson, USGS, provided constructive reviews that strengthened the paper.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 12 • December 2012
Pages: 1470 - 1482
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 16, 2010
Accepted: Feb 27, 2012
Published online: Mar 1, 2012
Published in print: Dec 1, 2012
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