Passive and active electric methods: New frontiers of application

Abstract Geophysical methods enable the identification of buried structures related to several human activities and also by nature. The basis for their use is the rules and the laws of physics that allow to differentiate the physical properties of the investigated medium. These methods can be used comprehensively to solve several thematic issues such as the detection of archaeological features, the recognition of geologic subsurface, and the study of monumental heritage conservation state. From the whole range of geophysical methods, taking into account the accuracy and the ability to use a variety of field conditions, the geoelectric active and passive imaging are increasingly being used. In this chapter, the instrumentation development and basic principles of geoelectric surveying techniques are presented. The ongoing developments in the survey designs and field procedures in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) geoelectric active and passive surveys are discussed. Particularly, the acquisition geometry for 3D geoelectric imaging data development was emphasized.