Seismoelectric Method : Theory and Application

The seismoelectric method consists of measuring electromagnetic signals associated with the propagation of seismic waves or seismic sources in porous media. This method is useful in an increasing number of applications, for example to characterize aquifers, contaminant plumes or the vadose zone. This book provides the first full overview of the fundamental concepts of this method. It begins with a historical perspective, provides a full explanation of the fundamental mechanisms, laboratory investigations, and the formulation of the forward and inverse problems. It provides a recent extension of the theory to two-phase flow conditions, and a new approach called seismoelectric beamforming. It concludes with a chapter presenting a perspective on the method.

This book is a key reference for academic researchers in geophysics, environmental geosciences, geohydrology, environmental engineering and geotechnical engineering. It will also be valuable reading for graduate courses dealing with seismic wave propagation and related electromagnetic effects.

André Revil is Associate Professor at the Colorado School of Mines and Directeur de Recherche at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France. His research focuses on the development of new methods in petrophysics, and the development of electrical and electromagnetic geophysical methods applied to geothermal systems, water resources, and oil and gas reservoirs.

Abderrahim Jardani is Associate Professor at the University of Rouen, where he also obtained his PhD in Geophysics 2007. His research interests centre on environmental geophysics, mathematical modeling of hydrologic systems and inverse problems.

Paul Sava is an Associate Professor of Geophysics at Colorado School of Mines. He specializes in imaging and tomography using seismic and electromagnetic wavefields, stochastic imaging and inversion, computational methods for wave propagation, numeric optimization and high performance computing.

Allan Haas is currently working at hydroGEOPHYSICS, Inc. as a Senior Engineering Geophysicist.  He graduated with a PhD in Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines, on December 13, 2013.  During his PhD research, Allan investigated the measurable electrical signals associated with leakages in wells, hydraulic fracturing, and subsurface fracture flow.