Abandoned wells may act as conduits for the contamination of groundwater by oil field brines and other pollutants. The steel casings of abandoned wells eventually develop leaks, which if not properly plugged, can allow pollutants to reach freshwater aquifers that supply drinking water. Resistivity surveys were conducted in the vicinity of five abandoned oil wells in order to characterize the near-surface geology and to determine the effects of the steel casings and potential leakage. The arrays consisted of dipole-dipole (DD) and inverse Schlumberger (SLB) arrays. The effects from steel cased wells can manifest as low resistivity anomalies in the vicinity of the casings, depending on proximity of the line to the well, well location along the line, and the specific array used. These features appear as vertical, circular, elliptical, and bell-like anomalies. However, in some instances with the SLB array, the data appear not to be affected by the presence of steel casings. This observation is significant because resistivity surveys utilizing the SLB array can provide reliable information on near-surface geology next to abandoned wells, and horizontal and vertical extension of brine impacted areas due to leaking abandoned oil wells. The DD array, on the other hand, is better at locating potentially hidden abandoned wells but interpreting subsurface structure or contamination with the array is more difficult.

Mustafa Saribudak

Dale F. Rucker

Allan Haas

Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics

JEEG (ISSN 1083-1363) 是环境与工程地球物理学会 (EEGS) 的同行评审期刊。 JEEG 欢迎有关近地表地球物理学在环境、工程和采矿问题上的新发展的手稿，以及新的近地表地球物理学案例历史和针对近地表地球物理学界的新硬件的描述。

The Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics (ISSN 1083-1363) is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS). The journal welcomes manuscripts on new developments in near-surface geophysics related to environmental, engineering, and mining issues, as well as descriptions of new hardware and case studies in near-surface geophysics.

《Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics》 (ISSN 1083-1363) 是环境与工程地球物理学会 (EEGS) 出版的同行评审期刊。该期刊欢迎关于近地表地球物理学在环境、工程和采矿领域的新发展手稿，以及新的近地表地球物理学案例研究和针对该领域的新硬件的描述。

Category	Quartile
工程技术	4
工程技术, 工程地质	4
工程技术, 地球化学与地球物理	4

Electrical Resistivity Imaging near Abandoned Steel Oil Wells: Five Case Studies, USA

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS	3