Seismoelectric Imaging of Aquifer Interface: Theoretical Investigation and Laboratory Experiments

The seismoelectric (SE) wave at the vadose zone-aquifer interface, which results from the electrokinetic effect, is a valuable tool for groundwater exploration. We propose a method for imaging aquifer interfaces using SE waves. The common-receiver SE gather, generated by multiple sources, is analogous to the exploding-reflector seismic gather, forming the theoretical foundation of this method. To test this method, two 2D aquifer models are designed to simulate the synthetic common-receiver SE gather, followed by the application of exploding-reflector migration. The result shows that the aquifer interface is well imaged by the SE waves. Additionally, laboratory experiments successfully recovering the interfaces of the rocks confirm the validity of the SE imaging method, suggesting its feasible use in real groundwater exploration in the future.