Surface conductivity in rocks: a review

Electrical properties of rocks depend on composition (i.e. bulk properties of the constituents), micro structure (i.e. geometrical arrangement of the constituents) and interfacial effects. We consider here a rock as a three component system — grains, pores, and interfaces — in order to account for the observed behaviour. We review first the main results relative to DC. conductivity. Surface conductivity effects show up clearly in the case of shaly formations or at low salinities. Although Archies' law (1942) and Waxman and Smits model (1968) are widely used, a more physically based model is that of Johnson and Sen (1988). We review also the variable frequency conductivity (complex conductivity) data and models. The important effect in that case is the enhancement of the dielectric constant at low frequencies (Knight and Nur, 1987) which can be interpreted as a geometrical effect although electrochemical interactions may also play an important role at low frequencies, depending on the rock type.