Application of Magnetotelluric (MT) Resistivity to Imaging of Regional Three-Dimensional Geologic Structures and Groundwater Systems

Widespread definition of a groundwater system in three dimensions is necessary for the management and maintenance of groundwater resources. A magnetotelluric (MT) survey can be an effective geophysical prospecting method for imaging regional geological structures by measuring both shallow and deep resistivity. To demonstrate the capability of an MT survey to characterize a groundwater system, the Kumamoto area of central Kyushu in southwestern Japan was selected as a case study site because of its rich groundwater resources. Three-dimensional (3D) MT resistivity structure to a depth of 5?km was modeled by 1D inversion analysis of raw MT data and 3D interpolation of the resultant resistivity column data by the optimization principle method. Consequently, both deep and shallow aquifers were detected. A high-resistivity zone appears at depths between 500 and 2,000?m between the Futagawa?CHinagu faults and the Usuki?CYatsushiro tectonic line, which supports the existence of an aquiclude under the aquifer. The most important characteristic inferred from the 3D resistivity model is that the deep groundwater system below a depth of 1,000?m has two main flow paths. One path is likely to be through porous rocks because the low resistivity zone is regarded as tuff with sand and gravel, and the other flow path is interpreted to be through fractured zones along the Hinagu faults. Hence, the path and direction of the groundwater flows are probably controlled by geologic structures and the configuration of the active faults. These findings support the effectiveness of the MT method for investigating groundwater systems.     

Groundwater vulnerability assessment in shallow aquifer of Kathmandu Valley using GIS-based DRASTIC model

In this paper, groundwater aquifer vulnerability map has been developed by incorporating the major geological and hydro-geological factors that affect and control the groundwater contamination using GIS based DRASTIC model. This work demonstrates the potential of GIS to derive a map by overlying various spatially referenced digital data layers that portrays cumulative aquifer sensitivity ratings across the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, providing a relative indication of groundwater vulnerability to contamination. In fact, the groundwater is the major natural resources in Kathmandu for drinking purpose. The decline in groundwater levels due to the over exploitation and thus extracted water from shallow aquifer has been contaminated by the infiltration of pollutants from polluted river and land surface is continuous and serious. As the demand for water for human and industrial use has escalated and at the same time, the engineering and environmental costs are much higher for new water supplies than maintaining the existing sources already in use. Management of groundwater source and protecting its quality is therefore essential to increase efficient use of existing water supplies. Aquifer vulnerability maps developed in this study are valuable tools for environmental planning and predictive groundwater management. Further, a sensitivity analysis has been performed to evaluate the influence of single parameters on aquifer vulnerability assessment such that some subjectivity can be reduced to some extent and then new weights have been computed for each DRASTIC parameters.     

Tectonic setting of volcanic rocks in the Akara Au mine, north-central Thailand using petrochemical and stratigraphic investigations

Akara gold mine in north-central Thailand is situated within the Loei-Phetchabun-Nakhon Nayok volcanic belt. The roughly north-south trending, Permo-Triassic volcanic rocks earlier mapped by Thailand Department of Mineral Resources were re-mapped and samples were collected from the main active open pit. Forty-four samples were petrographi-cally classified and geochemically analyzed to docu-ment their stratigraphy. Two types of volcanic rocks are recognized, namely coherent and non-coherent units, in which the former is older on the basis of stratigraphic succession. Several lines of evidence suggest that the studied rocks occurred nearby the volcanic edifices and were dominated by debris flows of submarine environment.     

The countermeasures against coastal hazards in Japan

The total length of Japanese coastline is about 34,500 km. Most of the coastal lowlands are now so intensively used that a large proportion of the Japanese coast has been artificially modified. Therefore, coastal countermeasures against several kinds of natural and man-induced hazards are the serious problems for Japanese. When we go down to the beaches, there are many kinds of armor blocks, breakwaters and dykes for the shore protection. Among the Japanese coastline, 15,900 km needs some protection of which 9,400 km was protected with some kinds of artificial structures in 1992. It is probable that no nation has used armor blocks so extensively as Japan.     

Detection and hydrologic modeling of aquifers in unconsolidated alluvial plains through combination of borehole data sets: a case study of the Arao area, Southwest Japan

In addition to spatial distribution of groundwater-flow parameters, aquifer properties of location and shape are also significant for assessing groundwater resources because they strongly affect water flow. We present a selection of geologic data suitable for aquifer analysis, a mathematical method of processing them, and a combination of several maps produced by it. The data used in the analysis are typically obtained by borehole investigation. Our targets are the areas underlain by geologic bodies with different ages and lithologies; the spatial correlation structures of geologic data over the areas tend to change locally. The processing method should be a versatile one that is applicable to areas where geostatistical stationarity is not satisfied. The aquifer analysis consistent with that requirement consists of two steps: the first is the transformation of screen locations, locations of sand and gravel layers, and resistivity by electric logging into indicator values, and the second is three-dimensional interpolation of these using the optimization principle method to produce three kinds of distribution models. A stochastic simulation is also used for modeling the resistivity distribution. The three distribution models are integrated to generate a value for evaluating the possibility of aquifer existence. A case study of an alluvial coastal plain, situated in southwest Japan, describes an aquifer model that contains three permeable layers. Each layer has about 10-m thickness and is lens shaped. To confirm the validity of the model, we have drilled two wells that reached one of the middle and bottom permeable layers, observing the water level change. Low correlation of the temporal changes of levels between the wells indicates that the two layers are hydrologically independent of each other. Additionally, groundwater-flow patterns have been estimated by transforming the simulation model parameter into hydraulic conductivity through a simple function and using a finite difference method for flow analysis. The procedure proposed by this study can be applied to other areas by changing the weights assigned to each geologic and geotechnical factor in the generation of the coefficient for aquifer existence, considering the reliability of each factor and hydrologic properties of study area.     

Determination of Nickel in GSJ Standard Rock Samples Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Trace level determination of nickel in silicate rock samples has been achieved using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with kinetic energy filtering. Standard rock references, issued by the Geological Survey of Japan, were fused into glass and used as standards for the SIMS analysis. Due to interferences from the glass matrix, the secondary ion of mass 60 was only useful for Ni, although the secondary ion was interfered mainly by CaO+. The contributions of these molecular ions were deconvolved by a least squares regression. Good linear correlation between results after the deconvolution and the Ni concentration in the glass standards was obtained. The uncertainties of the SIMS analysis depend strongly on the degree of contribution of CaO+ molecular ion. Such a method of SIMS analysis is especially useful to study the detailed behavior of Ni on a micro-scale in Ca-poor materials.     

Thermal expansion of fayalite,Fe2SiO4

Thermal expansion of single-crystal fayalite has been measured by a dilatometric method at temperatures between 25 °C and 850 °C. The results show the presence of anomalous expansion in the b axis, which is correlated to the anomalous variation of elastic moduli with temperature. Grüneisen's parameter is 1.10 and the thermal Debye temperature is 565 K, which is close to the acoustic Debye temperature of 511 K.     

Study of the relationship between non-dimensional roughness length and wave age, effected by wave directionality

Relationship between the non-dimensional roughness length and inverse of wave age has been discussed without consideration of wave directions, though wind wave field consists of various directional component waves. In this study we observe wave heights by an array of four wave gauges at the Hiratsuka Tower of (Independent Administrative Institution) National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), Japan, and discuss the effect of wave directionality. As a result, the data sets were classified into two different groups according to the directional wave spectrum distribution. In case 1 only swell and wind waves exist and in case 2 there exist wave components from several directions. It is shown that the case of multiple-directional component waves (case 2) may affect the non-dimensional roughness length and friction velocity.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on the “Mathematical Geology for Resource Exploration” Session at IGC32

Natural Resources Research -     

A 100 m laser strainmeter system installed in a 1 km deep tunnel at Kamioka, Gifu, Japan

We have installed a laser strainmeter system in a deep tunnel about 1,000 m below the ground surface at Kamioka, Gifu, Japan. The system consists of three types of independent interferometers: (1) an EW linear strainmeter of the Michelson type with unequal arms, (2) an NS-EW differential strainmeter of the Michelson type with equal arms and (3) a NS absolute strainmeter of the Fabry–Perot type. These are configured in L-shaped vacuum pipes, each of which has a length of 100 m. (1) and (2) are highly sensitive (order of 10⁻¹³ strain) and have wide dynamical range (10⁻¹³–10⁻⁶). Observations with strainmeters (1) and (2) started on June 11, 2003. (3) is a new device for absolute-length measurements of the order of 10⁻⁹ of a long-baseline (100 m) Fabry–Perot cavity by the use of phase-modulated light. This third strainmeter will be ready for operation before the end of 2004. The laser source of strainmeters (1) and (2) is a frequency-doubled YAG laser with a wavelength of 532 nm. The laser frequency is locked onto an iodine absorption line and a stability of 2 × 10⁻¹³ is attained. The light paths of the laser strainmeter system are enclosed in SUS304 stainless steel pipes. The inside pressure is kept to be 10⁻⁴ Pa. Consequently, quantitative measurement of crustal strains of the order of 10⁻¹³ can be attained by employing the laser strainmeter system of (1) and (2) at Kamioka. This resolving power corresponds to that of a superconducting gravimeter. Using the laser strainmeter system, we expect to determine parameters related to fluid core resonance, core modes and core undertone as well as other geodynamic signals such as slow strain changes caused by silent earthquakes or slow earthquakes.