AN ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY PROFILE IN HAWAII WITH NOVEL ELEVATION CORRECTION*

In order to locate relatively optimum sites for drilling exploratory holes for fresh water, an electrical resistivity survey was conducted along the new Mahukona-Kawaihae Road on the west flank of the Kohala Mountain. Two resistivity soundings made at the same stations, using the Schlumberger electrode configuration, determined an a spacing of 275 feet for horizontal profiling with the Wenner array. The correlation coefficient of the elevation to profile data was 0.41. A procedure for removing elevation effect from observed apparent resistivity was developed. Based on the reduced resistivity profile, four relatively optimum sites for additional exploration, such as by drilling, are specified. There is no specific interpretation of the data that can definitely indicate the occurrence of large underground reservoirs of fresh water anywhere along the profile. This is because the interpretation of horizontal profiling data is essentially relative and not absolute.