Contribution of electrical resistivity tomography to the study of detrital aquifers affected by seawater intrusion–extrusion effects: The river Vélez delta (Vélez-Málaga, southern Spain)

Abstract The coastal aquifer of the Plio-Quaternary delta sediment deposits of the Velez river (province of Malaga, Spain) presents a highly irregular basement morphology and widely varying fill thickness (10–80 m between neighbouring sectors). The basin, which is tectonically controlled, is filled with lutite facies alternating with channel-filling rudites. This detrital aquifer is affected by seasonal seawater intrusion–extrusion processes due to increasing withdrawal of groundwater for human consumption and irrigation during dry periods. A study was performed to improve the hydrogeological knowledge of this coastal aquifer system. The study examined the morphology of the impervious substratum, the facies distribution and the position of the seawater wedge. For this purpose, an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) geophysical technique was used and the tomographic data were calibrated using geological observations and borehole studies. An analysis was carried out to compare the direct information obtained from the 35 boreholes with the indirect data corresponding to the four electrical tomography profiles. In the study, over 9660 resistivity data points were processed. The ERT profiles perfectly corroborated the information derived from the boreholes. The profiles made it possible to detect thickness changes, lithological changes and the presence of faults. Moreover, from a hydrogeologic standpoint, this research technique is capable of detecting the position of the phreatic level and, in coastal aquifers such as the one examined in this study, the possible horizontal or vertical penetration of seawater intrusion. Therefore, the electrical geophysical prospecting based on ERT can be highly useful in areas lacking sufficient geological information and/or mechanical borehole data.