Selfpotential(SP) Method

orspontaneouspolarizationmethodisbasedonthesurfacemeasurement
ofnaturalpotentialsresultingfromelectrochemicalreactionsinthe
subsurface.
doesnotrequireelectriccurrentstobeinjectedintothegroundasinthe
RESISTIVITY & IP methods
RESISTIVITY&IPmethods.
has beenusedinbasemetalexploration,todetectthepresenceofmassive
orebodies,incontrasttotheIPmethodwhichisusedtopredominantlyto
b di i
t t t th IP th d hi h i
dt
d i
tl t
investigatedisseminated orebodies.
hasbeenincreasinglyusedingroundwater&geothermalinvestigations,
environmentalandengineeringapplications>mappingseepageflow
associated with dams, geological mapping, delineate shear zones and near
associatedwithdams,geologicalmapping,delineateshearzonesandnear
surfacefaults.
ranksasthecheapestofsurfacegeophysicalmethodsintermsof
ranks
as the cheapest of surface geophysical methods in terms of
equipmentnecessaryandamongstthesimplesttooperateinthefield.

OccurrenceofSelfpotentials
SPmethodispassive,i.e.differencesinnaturalgroundpotentialsare
measuredbetweenanytwopointsonthegroundsurface.
Thepotentialsmeasuredcanrangefrom<amillivolt (mV)to>1
Volt.
+or sighofthepotentialisanimportantdiagnosticfactorinthe
interpretation of SP anomalies
interpretationofSPanomalies.
Selfpotentials
Self potentialsaregeneratedbyanumberofnaturalsources(exact
are generated by a number of natural sources (exact
physicalprocessesstillunclear).

OccurrenceofSelfpotentials
Naturalgroundpotentialsconsistof2components
1.BackgroundPotentials
1.
Background Potentialsfluctuate
fluctuatewithtimecausedbydifferent
with time caused by different
processesrangingfromACcurrentsinducedbythunderstorms,
variationsinEarthsmagneticfields,effectsofheavyrainfalls
2.MineralPotentialsconstantduetoelectrochemicalprocesses

MechanismofSelfpotentials
SomephysicalprocessescausedsourcesofSParestillunclear.
h
l
d
f
ll
l
Groundwater isthoughttobecommonfactorresponsibleforSP.
Potentialsaregeneratedbytheflowofwater,bywaterreactingas
P t ti l
t d b th fl
f t b
t
ti
anelectrolyteandasasolventofdifferentminerals.
Electricalconductivitytoproducepotentialsofporousrocksdepends
onporosityandonmobilityofwatertopassthroughtheporespaces
depend
dependonionicmobilities,solutionconcentrations,viscosity,
on ionic mobilities, solution concentrations, viscosity,
temperature&pressure.
ThereareafewtypesofSP:
There
are a few types of SP :
1.Electrokineticpotential
2 Thermoelectric potential
2.Thermoelectricpotential
3.Electrochemicalpotential
/
p
4.Mineral/mineralizationpotential

Electrokineticpotential
Fl
Flowingoffluid
i
f fl id (electrolyte)throughacapillaryorporous
( l t l t ) th
h
ill
mediumgeneratespotentialsalongtheflowpath.
Thepotentialsarealternativelycalledaselectrofiltration,
The potentials are alternatively called as electrofiltration
electromechanicalorstreamingpotentials.
The effect is believed to be due to electrokinetic coupling
Theeffectisbelievedtobeduetoelectrokinetic
betweenthefluidionsandthewallsofthecapillary.
Theelectrokinetic
The electrokinetic potential(E
potential (Ek)generatedbetweentheendsof
) generated between the ends of
thecapillarypassageisgivenby
=Dielectricpermittivityofporefluid
=Electricalresistivityofporefluid
=Electrofiltration couplingcoefficient
=Pressuredifference
=Dynamicviscosityofporefluid

Electrokineticpotential
Ekgradientisinthesamedirectionasthepressuregradient,i.e.
di t i i th
di ti
th
di t i
oppositetothedirectionoftheelectrolyteflow.
Eknormallyprovidse
normally providse amplitudesofsomemVtoseveralhundreds
amplitudes of some mV to several hundreds
ofmV.
can be found associated with flow of subsurface water and
Ekk canbefoundassociatedwithflowofsubsurfacewaterand
thermalfluids
Ek
effects have been observed over zones of water leakage
k effectshavebeenobservedoverzonesofwaterleakage
throughfissuresintherockfloorofreservoirs,overterrainswith
largeelevationchanges,andingeothermalareas.

Thermoelectricpotential
P
Potentialgradientwillappearacrossarocksampleifa
t ti l di t ill
k
l if
temperaturegradientismaintainedacrosstherocksample.
Thermoelectriccouplingcoefficient(TEC)isdefinedas
Thermoelectric coupling coefficient (TEC) is defined as theratioof
the ratio of
thevoltagetothetemperaturedifference>TEC=V/T
TEC values ofrocksvaryfrom
of rocks vary from 0
0.09to+1.36mV/
09 to + 1 36 mV/C
C
TECvalues
average~0.27mV/C
SPgeneratedfromTEpotentialsareofsmalleramplitudesthan
SP generated from TE potentials are of smaller amplitudes than
usuallyseeningeothermalareas.
More concentrated areas of high temperature at shallow depth,
Moreconcentratedareasofhightemperatureatshallowdepth,
suchasthermalfluidsinafaultzone,couldgiverisetoanomalies
ofgreateramplitude.
BoundariesofSPanomaliesmeasuredinseveralgeothermal
areasappeartocorrelatewithzonesofknownanomaloushigh
heatflow>portionofanomaliesisgeneratedbyTEmechanism.

Electrochemicalpotential
If
Iftheconcentrationoftheelectrolytesinthegroundvarieslocally,
th
t ti
f th l t l t i th
d i l ll
potentialdifferencesaresetupduetothedifferenceinmobilities of
anions and cations insolutionsofdifferentconcentrations
anionsandcations
in solutions of different concentrationscalled
called
liquidjunction ordiffusionpotentials.
Forthismechanismtoexplainthecontinuedoccurrenceofsuch
p
potentials,asourcecapableofmaintainingimbalancesinthe
electrolyticconcentrationisneeded,otherwisetheconcentrations
differenceswilldisappearwithtimebydiffusion.
Electricalpotentialisalsogeneratedwhen2identicalmetal
electrodesareimmersedinsolutionsofdifferentconcentrations
l t d
i
di
l ti
f diff
t
t ti
calledNernstpotential.
Diffusion+Nernstpotentials=Electrochemical,orstatic,self
Diffusion + Nernst potentials = Electrochemical or static self
potential.

Electrochemicalpotential
O
OneofthemostcommonnaturalelectrolytesisNaCl.
f th
t
t l l t l t i N Cl
ForNaCl solutionsofdifferentconcentration(C1,C2)butatthesame
temperature T (C)
temperature,T(
C),theamplitudeoftheelectrochemicalpotential
the amplitude of the electrochemical potential
(Ec)isgivenby

Forexample,ifC1:C2 =5:1>Ec 50mV

Mineralpotential
iisthemostimportantinmineralexplorationofSPassociatedwith
th
ti
t ti
i
l
l ti
f SP
i t d ith
massivesulphideorebodies.
Largenegative()SPanomalies(1001000mV)canbeobserved
Large negative ( ) SP anomalies (100 1000mV)can be observed
particularlyoverdepositsofpyrite,chalcopyrite,pyrrhotite,
magnetite,andgraphite.
g
,
g p
Thepotentialsarealmostinvariablynegativeoverthetopofthe
depositandarequitestableintime.
SatoandMooney(1960)haveprovidedthemostcomplete
explanationoftheelectrochemicalprocessescausedtheobserved
SPanomalies.
Howeverthishypothesisdoesnotexplainalltheoccurrencesofthe
SP i di
SPindicatesthattheactualphysicalprocessesaremorecomplicated
h h
l h i l
li
d
andnoyettrulyunderstood.

MeasurementofSelfpotentials
simpleandinexpensive.
2nonpolarizable
p
porouspotelectrodesconnectedtoaprecision
p
p
p
voltmeterscapableofmeasuringtoatleast1mV
Eachelectrodeismadeupofacopperelectrodedippedina
saturatedsolutionofcoppersulphatewhichcanpercolatethrough
theporousbasetothepot.
An alternatezincelectrodeinsaturatedzincsulphatesolutionor
silverinsilverchloridecanbeused.

MaximumdepthofsensitivityofSPmethod=~60100mdepending
onorebodyandnatureofoverburden.
b d
d t
f
b d

Porouspotelectrodes

MeasurementofSelfpotentials
2fieldtechniquesor2electrodeconfigurations
2
fi ld t h i
2 l t d
fi
ti
1.Potentialgradientmethod(dipole/leapfrog/gradientconfiguration)
fixseparationof2electrodes(5or10m)
fi
i
f2 l
d (5 10 )
measurepotentialdifferencebetween2electrodes=potential
gradient [mV/V]
gradient[mV/V]
2porousareleapfrogged alongtraversewithcareofcorrectpolarity
of potential recorded
ofpotentialrecorded
observationpoints=midpointbetween2electrodes

MeasurementofSelfpotentials
2.Potentialamplitude,ortotalfieldmethod(fixedbase)
configuration
keeponeelectrodefixedatabasestation
measurepotentialdifference[mV]betweenbase&2nd
electrodesmovingalongtraverse
lowerlevelofcumulativeerrors&confusingpolarity
disadvantagesoftransportinglongwire

InterpretationofSelfPotentialData
SPanomaliesareofteninterpretedqualitativelyby

Profileshape
Amplitude
Polarity(+or)
C
Contourpattern

Topoforebodyisassumedtoliedirectlybeneathpositionof
minimum potential
minimumpotential.
Forquantitativeinterpretation,itispossibletocalculatethe
potential distributions around polarized bodies of simple shape,
potentialdistributionsaroundpolarizedbodiesofsimpleshape,
suchassphere,ellipsoid,anddipole,bymakingsome
simplificationsandassumptionsconcerningthepotentialonthe
surfaceofthesources.

SPprofilesoverburiedpolarizedrod

SP
SPprofilesoverburiedpolarizedsphere
fil
b i d l i d h

SP[m
mV]
SP anomalies generated by buried metal pipelines and well casings at Meso California USA
SPanomaliesgeneratedbyburiedmetalpipelinesandwellcasingsatMeso,California,USA

AnSPprofileacrosspegmatitedikesingneiss