Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278 – 292

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The effect of dike geometry on different resistivity configurations

Thomas Henniga,T, Andreas Wellera, Tran Canhb
a
Institut für Geophysik, Technische Universität Clausthal, Arnold-Sommerfeld-Str. 1, D-38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
b
Institute of Geological Sciences, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
Received 19 March 2004; accepted 1 March 2005

Abstract

Geoelectrical profiling with multi-electrode systems has become an important tool for monitoring dike embankments
bordering rivers. Profiles running perpendicular to the dike axis are affected by the dike topography, with the amplitude of this
effect dependent on the surface geometry and the choice of the electrode configuration. Investigations using seven different
electrode configurations have shown that some configurations are less sensitive to the topography than others.
The topography correction method (TCM) is an important tool for processing data from measurements at river dikes. This
method is generally recommended for flank angles steeper than 108. The topography effect is calculated by two-dimensional
finite element modelling. The resulting synthetic data of a homogeneous dike body are used to apply a topographic correction
for each measurement.
The topographic effect and correction procedure is demonstrated for synthetic dike data and for a data set from a river dike in
Thai Binh province (Vietnam). The topography can be ignored for flank angles less than 258 if an averaged Half-Wenner
electrode configuration is used. This configuration has proved to be less affected by undulated topography and the focusing
effect of averaging the two data sets provides reliable structural information without the need for time-consuming data
inversion.
D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Electrical resistivity; Finite element method; Topography correction; Dike monitoring

1. Introduction connect a large number of equally spaced electrodes

Multi-electrode arrays are widely used in mon-
itoring dike embankments that border rivers to
prevent flooding (Ullrich and Meyer, 2003). Cables
T Corresponding author. Fax: +49 5323 722320.
E-mail address: thomas.hennig@tu-clausthal.de (T. Hennig).
0926-9851/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jappgeo.2005.03.001
with a control unit. The active electrodes are
selected by the control unit according to a
predefined measurement sequence. A set of different
electrode configurations which are commonly used
in multi-electrode surveys is shown in Fig. 1 with A
and B being the current electrodes, M and N the
potential electrodes, a the fixed electrode distance
and n an integer factor. Each configuration has its
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292 279

(a) Dipole - Dipole

B A M N
a na a

(b) Wenner-α
A M N B
na na na

(c) Wenner-β
B A M N
na na na

(d) averaged Wenner-α/β

A M N B

na na na

B A M N

(e) Half-Wenner forward

A M N B oo
na na

(f) Half-Wenner backward

N M A B oo
na na

(g) averaged Half-Wenner

A M N

B oo
na na
N M A
(h) Schlumberger
A M N B
na a na
Fig. 1. Commonly used electrode configurations for a multi-electrode survey. (a) Dipole–dipole. (b) Wenner-a. (c) Wenner-h. (d) Averaged
Wenner a/h. (e) Half-Wenner forward. (f) Half-Wenner backward. (g) Averaged Half-Wenner. (h) Schlumberger.

advantages and drawbacks (Ward, 1990). The
Wenner-a (Fig. 1b) configuration is suitable to
resolve resistivity changes with depth. Gradient
arrays like dipole–dipole configuration (Fig. 1a)
provide a better lateral resolution but they become
severely affected by noise as the electrode spacing
increases.
Earlier investigations have shown that a special
type of three electrode configuration which is called
Half-Wenner configuration (Fig. 1e,f) provides some
280 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292
advantages for resistivity profiling with multi-elec-
trode systems (Peschel, 1967):
(i) The number of measurements with a fixed
number of electrodes is larger than for Wen-
ner-a and dipole–dipole configuration. Since
more levels can be measured an increased depth
of penetration can be reached.
(ii) For the infinite electrode B a good location for
current injection can be found a large way
outside the profile.
(iii) Two Half-Wenner readings can be combined to
a Wenner-a reading.
(iv) The simple combination of a Half-Wenner
forward configuration and a Half-Wenner back-
ward configuration with a fixed position of
electrode M has proved to act as a focussing tool
(Kampke et al., 1998). The average of both
readings, which is called the averaged Half-
Wenner (Fig. 1g), results in a pseudo-section
that shows the main features of the subsurface
resistivity distribution.
It will be shown in this paper, that the averaged
Half-Wenner configuration is also less sensitive than
other commonly used configurations (e.g. Wenner-a,
dipole–dipole) to a rough topography.
Resistivity profiling is normally applied along the
dike axis. Profiles are measured either at the top of the
dike, the flanks, or even at the foot of the dike to explore
the foundation. If some resistivity anomalies are found
it is often difficult to predict the exact location of the
anomalous structure. A two-dimensional interpretation
assumes that the anomalies are caused by structures
directly beneath the profile. But it is known that
structures at both sides of the profile also affect the
measurements. In order to find out the exact location of
the zone of anomalous resistivity it is advisable to
measure a perpendicular profile, which provides a
cross-section of the dike body. Such a profile will
usually be severely affected by the dike geometry.
Different authors have investigated the influence of
topography on resistivity readings (e. g. Fox et al.,
1980; Tsourlos et al., 1999). Fox et al. (1980) have
shown that a dipole–dipole survey crossing a ridge of
homogeneous resistivity causes an apparent resistivity
maximum under the top and minima at the two feet of
the ridge. The maximum exceeds the intrinsic
resistivity by the factor 2.6. The minimum drops to
50% of the true resistivity. Tsourlos et al. (1999) used
a topography similar to the dike geometry. The
resulting resistivity pseudo-section for a dipole–dipole
array shows a strong resistivity maximum under the
dike body and adjacent minima near the feet of the
dike. The values of the maximum and the minima are
comparable to the model of Fox et al. (1980) that uses
the same slopes of 308 for both flanks. Tsourlos et al.
(1999) stated that slopes larger than 108 cause
misleading artificial errors that have to be removed.
In this paper, the effect of topography for different
electrode configurations is demonstrated for both a
model of synthetic data and field data from a
Vietnamese dike. A topography correction method is
applied (Fox et al., 1980) that largely eliminates the
influence of the dike geometry from the measured data.
2. Modelling with finite element method (FEM)
Forward modelling of geoelectrical measurements
can be done by different numerical methods: boun-
dary element method (e.g. Dieter et al., 1969; Okabe,
1981; Schulz, 1985), finite difference modelling (e.g.
Mufti, 1976; Dey and Morrison, 1979a,b; Weller et
al., 1996) or finite element method (FEM). Coggon
(1971) was one of the first authors to use FEM for
two-dimensional problems. An overview can be found
in Hohmann (1988). The FEM provides some
advantages for modelling geoelectrical data for an
environment with a rough topography as the triangular
elements are more flexible for more complicated
structures compared with the rectangular elements of
finite difference modelling. The Neumann-type boun-
dary condition at the earth’s surface is automatically
fulfilled by the formulation of the variation problem.
Additionally, the discretisation errors at the surface are
smaller than the errors using finite difference model-
ling due to the correct implementation of the boundary
plain between airspace and subsurface for undulated
topography.
The actual problem of geoelectrical modelling is
three-dimensional (3-D). The electrical potential
U(x,y,z) in a non-uniform isotropic medium is
governed by the following differential equation

j½rð x; y; zÞU ð x; y; zÞ þ jjs ð x; y; zÞ ¼ 0; ð1Þ
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292
where the function r(x,y,z) describes the conductivity
distribution and js(x,y,z) the source distribution of
current density. A Neumann-type boundary condition
at the surface and asymptotic conditions at the other
model boundaries complete the problem. The differ-
ential Eq. (1) is valid for steady current flow and is
also acceptable for alternating current at low frequen-
cies if electromagnetic effects can be ignored.
Dike structures can be represented by 2-D models.
If the y-axis of the model is chosen to be parallel to
the strike direction, the conductivity distribution
becomes independent of y and can be written as
r(x,y,z) = r(x,z). Even a 2-D resistivity structure
causes a 3-D potential distribution. A pure 2-D
modelling requires line sources in the strike direction
(Mufti, 1976). However, most of the current electro-
des used in geoelectrical prospecting can be assumed
to be point sources, and the problem remains 3-D. The
numerical expense in solving such problems can be
reduced by using a Fourier-cosine transformation of
potentials in strike direction y (Dey and Morrison,
1979a):
Z l
U ð x; k; zÞ ¼ 2
Ũ U ð x; y; zÞcosðkyÞdy; ð2Þ
0 dimension equal to the number of nodes. A character-
where k denotes the wavenumber. The current source
is assumed to be located in the plane y = 0. The
application of the Fourier-cosine transformation to the
3-D Eq. (1) results in a 2-D partial differential
equation:
   
B B B B
r Ũ U þ r Ũ U
Bx Bx Bz Bz ð3Þ
2 (Schwarz, 1991) for all wavenumbers. The resulting

rk ŨU þ Idð x
xs Þdð z
zs Þ ¼ 0;
where I is the current which is injected at position
(x s,0,z s) and d is the Dirac delta function. Eq. (3) has
to be solved for a set of discrete wavenumbers k. The
associated boundary condition for the upper boundary
is a Neumann-type condition with r air = 0. A mixed
boundary condition as proposed by Dey and Morrison
(1979b) is applied at the left, right and lower
borderline:
rndjU
bU ¼ 0;
with n being the unit vector perpendicular to the
boundary and b a factor that defines the asymptotic
behaviour of the potential field in a homogeneous
281
medium. Compared with the often used Dirichlet
condition, it allows a higher accuracy with a smaller
modelling area (Weller et al., 1996). Consequently,
fewer elements and less calculating time are required.
The discretisation of the subsurface is shown in Fig.
2. This model represents an idealized dike with flank
angles of 308. The highest density of nodes is chosen in
the inner area around the electrodes. The modelling
area is extended to the left and right and to the bottom to
satisfy the mixed boundary conditions. The inter-nodal
distance increases continuously outside the inner area.
Each quadrangular element is cut into four triangles.
This implements an additional node in the centre of the
element and consequently a higher level of discretisa-
tion of the model area. Using the static condensation
procedure (Schwarz, 1991), the additional nodes are
eliminated but the higher level of discretisation is kept.
Thus, a better discretisation can be attained without
increasing the dimension of the system of equations,
while the calculation time is reduced.
The transformed potential Ũ(x,k,z) is assumed to
vary linearly over each of the triangular elements.
Combining the resulting equations for all elements
yields a symmetric system of equations with a
istic property of FEM is that the resulting matrix is
symmetric, sparse, banded and diagonally dominant.
The structure depends on the order in which the nodes
are numbered. The bandwidth of the resulting matrix,
which is equal to the maximal index difference of
nodes in all elements, should be minimized. The
properties of the matrix are used to solve the linear
system of equations with the Cholesky algorithm
potentials Ũ(x,k,z) in the wavenumber domain are
used to reconstruct the potential U(x,y,z) by an inverse
Fourier-cosine transform. If the potential electrodes are
located in the plane y = 0 the inverse Fourier-cosine
transformation is performed by a simple integration
Z
1 l
U ð x; y; zÞ ¼ U ð x; k; zÞdk;
Ũ ð5Þ
p 0
which is done numerically by a combination of
ð4Þ
Gaussian quadrature and Laguerre integration as
proposed by LaBreque et al. (1996). The choice of
the wavenumbers affects the accuracy and the comput-
ing time of the algorithm. In our algorithm, nine wave
282 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292

2
electrode position

finite element grid node

0
z in m

-2

-4

-6

-8
-4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
x in m
Fig. 2. Ridge model for synthetic modelling after Fox et al. (1980) with the discretisation used for FE modelling.

numbers are used in order to keep the error of the
inverse transformation less than 0.5% (Kemna, 2000).
For each electrode configuration the potential
difference between the electrodes M and N and the
geometry factor K are used to calculate the apparent
resistivity for each measurement:
UM
UN
qa ¼ K:
I into the air (r air = 0). Consequently, the potential
The forward problem is solved for each current
source separately. The apparent resistivities for all
relevant electrode configurations can be computed
easily by a superposition of several pole–pole config-
urations. This method reduces the number of forward
problems to the number of current electrodes. The
number of measured configurations is generally much
higher.
3. Topographic correction method (TCM)
Topographic effects occur if the surface is not
flat. The intensity of the effect depends first of all
on the roughness of the surface and additionally on
the electrode configuration used. Assuming a flat
surface with a homogeneous subsurface, a current
injected at an electrode at the surface causes a
potential field around the electrode where the iso-
potential planes are represented by concentric half-
spheres in the subsurface. According to the Neu-
ð6Þ mann-type boundary condition no current can enter
lines are perpendicular to the surface. Considering
an uneven topography, the potential planes have to
act in the same way, they remain perpendicular to
the undulating surface. Consequently, the subsurface
potential distribution is disturbed. If this effect is
ignored anomalies in the subsurface would not be
correctly interpreted.
In order to determine the topographic effect of a
certain configuration the potential distribution for
any current electrode position is calculated, using a
constant resistivity q mod, for all elements of the
model. The apparent resistivity q cal results from the
potential difference between the positions of electro-
des M and N using the flat surface geometric factor
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292
K that ignores the small changes in electrode
distances caused by the topography. In the case of
a flat surface for all configurations the apparent
resistivity is expected to be close to the constant
resistivity q mod attributed to all elements. Slight
differences, that are called discretisation errors, are
caused due to the finite accuracy of the finite
element algorithm. Assuming an undulating surface,
the resulting apparent resistivity q cal may differ
considerably from the intrinsic value q mod. In order
to correct the resulting pseudo-sections for the
topographic effect correction factors CF (Fox et al.,
1980) are determined by dividing the constant
resistivity value q mod, that is attributed to all
elements, by the calculated apparent resistivity q cal:
qmod
CF ¼ : ð7Þ
qcal
The CF that are calculated for a given surface
topography can then be applied to the measured
apparent resistivity data. Only if surface topography
alone causes a resistivity anomaly the TCM yields
exactly the data that would have been measured on a
flat surface. Considering both inhomogeneous resis-
tivity structures and an undulating surface, the
topographic correction by the CF assumes that
topography response and the signal resulting from
the resistivity target are linearly superimposed. Since
the resistivity forward problem is nonlinear this
assumption can only be an approximation. But
comprehensive tests with simple resistivity structures
and surface geometry have shown that the TCM
yields satisfactory results (Fox et al., 1980; Tsourlos
et al., 1999).
4. Synthetic modelling experiments
4.1. Comparison with the ridge model
The developed algorithm is tested in comparison
with the results of Fox et al. (1980). Therefore, an
almost identical ridge model is used to determine the
apparent resistivity for a homogeneous subsurface.
The grid used is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of 405
nodes and 370 elements. The calculated results match
the results of Fox et al. (1980) for the dipole–dipole
electrode configuration. Some deviations are found in
283
the shallow subsurface. This effect probably occurs
because of the different discretisation of the subsur-
face air interface in both algorithms. Fox et al. (1980)
use finite element technique but they fill up the
modelling area to a horizontal line above the surface
with elements of high resistivity values. Though Fox
et al. (1980) do not exactly describe the dimension of
the elements used, the average difference between the
published values and our results reaches eight per
cent. The largest differences (up to 20%) appear for
the configurations with minimal spacing.
Further tests with the dike model from Tsourlos et
al. (1999) show a slightly better agreement with our
modelling results. The average difference reaches 7%
(Hennig, 2003).
4.2. Dike model with termite nest
River dikes in the northern provinces of Vietnam
have a total length of about 5000 km. The social and
economic development of this region largely depends
on the integrity of the dike system to prevent flooding.
The safety of river dikes is affected by a diversity of
problems. Sandy formations in the dike foundations
cause seepage effects. Various termite species dig
cavities for their nests in the dike body and decrease
the stability of the dike (Tuyen et al., 2000). The
efficiency of geophysical methods for dike monitoring
has to be improved to detect such defects in the dikes.
To study the problem of termite nests, an asym-
metric dike model with a resistive cavity has been
investigated. The dike model which is shown in Fig. 3
consists of a steeper flank with a slope of 308 on the
left side and the other flank descends with an angle of
158. The cavity with a cross-section area of 4 m2 is
placed 1.5 m below the top of the dike. It represents a
typical termite nest with a resistivity value of 1000 V
m (black box in Fig. 3). A resistivity of 25 V m is
attributed to the surrounding silty dike material. The
grid for FEM consists of 3941 nodes and 3756
elements.
Two apparent resistivity data sets of a Wenner-a
configuration have been generated by FEM model-
ling. The first data set corresponds to the homoge-
neous dike cross-section without a termite nest. The
resulting pseudo-section which is displayed in Fig. 4a
is shifted vertically according to the dike surface
geometry. The depth of penetration is assumed to be
284 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292

15

10 termite nest
1000 Ωm
z in m

5
dikebody
25 Ωm
0

-5
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
x in m
Fig. 3. Dike model for synthetic modelling of a river dike with an embedded resistive structure (1000 V m) in the dike body (25 V m).

(a)
10
z in m

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
31
x in m
30

29
(b)
28
10
27
z in m

5 26

24
0
23

22
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
21
x in m
20

19
(c)
ρ in m
10
z in m

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
x in m

Fig. 4. Resistivity pseudo-sections of synthetic Wenner-a data of dike model in Fig. 3. (a) Model without termite nest, pseudo-section without
topographic correction. (b) Model with termite nest, pseudo-section without topographic correction. (c) Model with termite nest, pseudo-section
after application of topographic correction.
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292
na/2 for all pseudo-sections. This is a good approx-
imation for Wenner configurations (Barker, 1989).
Though no nest was modelled, the pseudo-section
shows a resistive structure at shallow depth beneath
the top of the dike. But this anomaly and the other
resistive and conductive features result only from the
dike topography.
The second data set was generated including the
nest in the dike body. The resulting pseudo-section
(Fig. 4b) shows a more accentuated resistive anomaly
at the location of the nest. But it becomes obvious
from the comparison of both pseudo-sections that a
reliable conclusion whether a nest is located in the
dike can not be drawn. The application of TCM to the
second data set according to the previously described
procedure yields the corrected pseudo-section which
is shown in Fig. 4c. Though the lateral resolution of
Wenner-a configuration is limited, an extended weak
anomaly with resistivity values up to 28 V m becomes
visible beneath the top of the dike. A similar anomaly
would have been generated from a cavity below a flat
surface. Most other anomalous structures which were
related to the dike topography disappear after appli-
cation of TCM. It should be noted that the application
of TCM to the synthetic pseudo-section in Fig. 4a
results in a homogeneous section with constant
resistivity of 25 V m.
Another data set that consists of both forward and
backward Half-Wenner data has been generated by
FEM modelling. A 2-D inversion of this data set was
performed with the program DC2DSIRT (Kampke,
1996) which is based on a finite difference forward
procedure (Weller et al., 1996) and a simultaneous
iterative reconstruction technique. This robust inver-
sion technique, which uses a back-projection as
starting model, yields smooth models accentuating
the main features of subsurface resistivity distribution
after few iterations. The software which enables the
use of arbitrarily chosen configurations has been
successfully applied for hydrogeological (Olayinka
and Weller, 1997) and archaeological (Kampke, 1999;
Schleifer et al., 2002) projects. Several tests have
proved that the results are comparable with those of
commercial programs (e.g. Loke and Barker, 1995).
Fig. 5a represents the inversion result after ten
iterations. A resistive anomaly can be found in the
deeper subsurface with a maximum value of approx-
imately 50 V m. Almost no indication can be detected
285
in the shallow subsurface region of the termite nest.
The topographic effect hides the target and causes a
misleading interpretation. The termite nest would not
have been detected.
Applying TCM to the modeled data set and
inverting the corrected data set yields the cross-section
shown in Fig. 5b. A resistive anomaly is situated
exactly at the predetermined position. The deeper
structures, which were caused by the dike topography,
disappear completely. Resistivity values close to 25 V
m are calculated for the dike material. The resistive
anomaly that represents the termite nest reaches about
30 V m. Though the maximal value does not
correspond to the true value of 1000 V m, the
indicated structure shows the termite nest in the
correct position.
These examples show the influence of topography
on geoelectrical data, demonstrating that the interpre-
tation of uncorrected data sets can be wrong,
especially for small anomalies like termite nests.
The data quality in the theoretical model is ideal
whereas field measurements are often affected by
noise. Consequently, TCM becomes more important
for field data.
4.3. Sensitivity to topography of different electrode
configurations
The topographic surveying results of a dike at the
right side of Tra Li river in Thai Binh province have
been selected to demonstrate the sensitivity of differ-
ent electrode configurations to a typical dike geom-
etry. The dike cross-section and the FEM grid are
shown in Fig. 6. A homogeneous resistivity distribu-
tion is assumed in the whole dike body and the
subsurface. The height of the dike is about 10 m and
the length of the profile crossing the dike is about 35
m. The flank angles reach up to 238.
The correction factors (CF) are calculated for seven
different configurations:
! dipole–dipole (Fig. 1a),
! Wenner-a (Fig. 1b),
! Wenner-h (Fig. 1c),
! averaged Wenner-a/h (Fig. 1d),
! Half-Wenner forward (Fig. 1e),
! Half-Wenner backward (Fig. 1f),
! and averaged Half-Wenner (Fig. 1g).
286 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292

(a)
10

z in m
5

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
x in m
ρ in m
18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54

(b)
10
z in m

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
x in m
ρ in m
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Fig. 5. Inversion results of synthetic Half-Wenner forward and backward data of dike model in Fig. 3. (a) Without topographic correction. (b)
With topographic correction.

A summary of all CF and the total number of data resistivity readings can be seen in all configurations.
are compiled in Table 1. The resulting pseudo-sections However, the intensity and spreading of CF-values
of CF are embedded in the dike geometry plots of varies over a wide range for the considered config-
Figs. 7 and 8. The influence of topography on the urations. The commonly used dipole–dipole config-

electrode position
5 finite element grid node

0
z in m

-5

-10

-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

x in m

Fig. 6. Topographic profile of river dike in Thai Binh province with discretisation.
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292 287

Table 1
Values of correction factors (CF) for different electrode configurations for the dike geometry shown in Fig. 6
Number of data Minima of CF Maxima of CF Mean of CF S.D. of CF
Dipole–dipole 904 0.69 1.43 1.01 0.13
Wenner-a 664 0.84 1.30 1.01 0.08
Wenner-h 664 0.65 1.27 0.98 0.14
Half-Wenner forward 800 0.68 1.24 0.98 0.13
Half-Wenner backward 800 0.72 1.41 1.01 0.16
Averaged Half-Wenner 1600 0.90 1.10 1.00 0.05
Wenner-a/h averaged 1328 0.93 1.10 1.00 0.04

uration (Fig. 7a) is highly affected by topography. The apparent resistivity q cal from the true resistivity q mod.
CF values range from 0.69 to 1.43. According to Eq. Beside the significant topography effect dipole–dipole
(7) a CF of 1.43 corresponds to 43% deviation of the data are generally more disturbed by noise, especially

(a)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15

(b)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15
(c)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15
(d)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15
x in m
correction
factor
0.6 0.8 0.95 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7

Fig. 7. Correction factors for different electrode configurations. (a) Dipole–dipole. (b) Wenner-a. (c) Wenner-h. (d) Averaged Wenner-a/h.
288 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292

(a)
5

z in m
0

-10 -5 0 5 10 15
(b)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15
(c)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15
x in m
correction
factor 0.6 0.8 0.95 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7

Fig. 8. Correction factors for different electrode configurations. (a) Half-Wenner forward. (b) Half-Wenner backward. (c) Averaged Half-
Wenner.

for larger dipole distances n. Therefore, the depth of
penetration is normally restricted. The spreading of
CF-values is slightly lower for Wenner-h (Fig. 7c),
and the Wenner-a configuration yields a further
reduction, where the CF-values range from 0.84 to
1.30 (Fig. 7b).
Similar CF variations were obtained from the Half-
Wenner forward configuration that is shown in Fig.
8a. The Half-Wenner backward CF vary between 0.72
and 1.41 (Fig. 8b). Both Half-Wenner forward and
backward configurations are also sensitive to top-
ography. On closer examination of both diagrams it
becomes obvious that the minima of the forward
mode coincide with the maxima of the backward
mode and vice versa. Consequently, the average of
both images (Fig. 8c) results in considerably smaller
CF varying between 0.91 and 1.10. Thus, the
sensitivity to topography decreases for the averaged
configuration compared to the original forward and
backward modes.
The averaged Wenner-a and Wenner-h (Fig. 7d) as
well as the averaged Half-Wenner configuration (Fig.
8c) are less sensitive to rough topography. The CF-
values vary from 0.90 to 1.10 for averaged Wenner-a
and Wenner-h. As shown in Table 1, not only the
interval but also the standard deviation (S.D.) of the
CF-values becomes significantly reduced for the
averaged configurations. The standard deviation can
be regarded as topography induced noise that is added
to the measured signal. Since the suppression of noise
is a key criterion of data acquisition, configurations
with low standard deviation in CF-values should be
preferred.
As mentioned above, the number of measurements
for the same number of electrodes is higher for Half-
Wenner configurations (1600) than for Wenner-a/h
(1328) in this example. The information density of
the subsurface becomes more than 15% higher.
Regarding this result and the above-mentioned
advantages, it is recommended to use the averaged
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292 289

Half-Wenner configuration for geoelectrical data
acquisition. The vertical and lateral resolution of this
averaged configuration satisfies the requirements of
dike investigations.
5. Field data
The effect of topographic correction is demon-
strated in Figs. 9 and 10 for a field data set from Tra
Li river in Thai Binh province (Vietnam). The dike
topography is the same as in the example shown in
Fig. 6. The data was acquired with a GSM 150
device (GeoSys Leipzig) in Half-Wenner forward and
backward electrode configurations. The profile length
is 33 m. A constant electrode spacing of 0.5 m was
used along the profile. The maximum level of
investigation is n = 16. The uncorrected Half-Wenner
forward, Half-Wenner backward, Wenner-a and
averaged Half-Wenner pseudo-sections are presented
in Fig. 9. The Wenner-a data were generated by
averaging two Half-Wenner readings with the same
electrode spacing na and a common reference point
in the centre between the electrodes M and N. It can
be seen that the asymmetric configurations, like Half-
Wenner forward and backward, result in asymmetric

(a)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
(b)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
(c)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
(d)
5
z in m

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
x in m
in m
a
12 18 26 37 55 80

Fig. 9. Pseudo-sections of field data from Tra Li river dike. (a) Half-Wenner forward. (b) Half-Wenner backward. (c) Wenner-a. (d) Averaged
Half-Wenner.
290 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292
(a)
5
z in m
0
-10 -5
(b)5
z in m
-10 -5
in m
12
Fig. 10. Inversion result of field data from Tra Li river dike. (a) Without TCM. (b) With TCM.
pseudo-sections. Some maxima of the forward
measurement correspond with minima of the back-
ward measurement and vice versa. As shown in the
previous chapter, this topographic effect is widely
reduced by an averaging overlay of Half-Wenner
forward and backward pseudo-section. Compared
with the Wenner-a pseudo-section, which is more
distorted by topography, the averaged Half-Wenner
image is smoother.
The measured data set, consisting of 1148 Half-
Wenner forward and backward readings, was pro-
cessed with the 2-D inversion program DC2DSIRT. In
a first run the original data were inverted for a flat
surface, whereas for the second run the topography
correction was applied to the data. The resulting
resistivity models are shown in Fig. 10a and b. Since
only slight differences between the two images are
visible it becomes obvious that a topography correc-
tion can be neglected if both Half-Wenner forward and
backward data are available. The comparison with the
averaged pseudo-section in Fig. 9d verifies that the
inversion does not change the image significantly. The
high imaging quality of the averaged Half-Wenner
pseudo-section results from the focusing effect of this
configuration (Kampke, 1999). All relevant features
become visible in both the pseudo-section and the
inverted model. A resistive anomaly is found in the
shallow subsurface of the land side flank of the dike at
0 5 10 15 20
0 5 10 15 20
x in m
18 26 37 55 80
x = 2 m. As an excavation shortly after the survey has
proved, this anomaly is caused by an extended termite
nest. Since no excavations were allowed at the river
side dike flank, the origin of the other resistive
anomaly at x = 7 m could not be verified.
6. Conclusions
Geoelectrical multi-electrode measurements are a
suitable tool for investigating river dikes although
topographic effects often complicate the interpretation
of the measured data. To overcome the problems
caused by a rough topography either topographic
correction methods (TCM) or less sensitive electrode
configurations should be used.
TCM is based on a finite element forward
modelling that considers the real dike geometry.
The dike body is assumed to be homogeneous. The
resulting section of correction factors (CF) represents
the topographic effect at the measured data. The
TCM uses CF to remove topographic effects from
measured data. The interval of CF-values and their
standard deviation enable a quantitative comparison
of the sensitivity to topography of different electrode
configurations.
It has been shown that an appropriate combination
of different electrode configurations reduces the
 T. Hennig et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 57 (2005) 278–292
sensitivity of the generated pseudo-sections to the
topography. This effect was demonstrated with the
averaged Half-Wenner configuration and the average
of the Wenner-a and Wenner-h configurations.
The investigations have shown that the topographic
effect becomes larger as the flank angle increases. The
topographic correction can be neglected for both
averaged configurations if the flank angles are less
than 258. Since this condition is fulfilled at most dikes
there is a clear advantage of using these configu-
rations for dike monitoring. Other configurations that
are more affected by topography like dipole–dipole
and Wenner-a require a topographic correction even
at lower flank angles.
The use of configurations that are less affected
by topography makes the interpretation also less
sensitive to uncertainties of the geometric surveying
data. The larger the topographic effects of the
chosen configuration the more exact the surface
topography has to be surveyed. Thus, the expense
for geometric surveying can be reduced if appro-
priate configurations are applied. This conclusion
remains valid even if modern inversion procedures
which include an automatic topographic correction
are used.
Another advantage of the averaged configurations
is the resemblance between the pseudo-section and the
section obtained by inversion that results from the
focusing effect of these combined configurations.
Without any time-consuming inversion a reliable
image of the subsurface structures can be generated
in the field. Termite nests and other defects in the dike
body can be easily detected in the pseudo-section plot.
The operator can quickly provide the relevant
information that would allow more detailed lines to
be measured right away.
Considering the low sensitivity to topography, the
high image quality and the good data coverage, a
survey with a combination of Half-Wenner forward
and backward configurations is highly recommended
for dike monitoring.
Acknowledgments
The presented investigations were made in the joint
scientific project bDevelopment of a geoelectrical
technology to find termite nests in river dikesQ
291
between the Institute of Geological Sciences at the
Vietnamese Academy of Sciences and Technology
and the Institute of Geophysics at Technical Univer-
sity Clausthal (Germany) that was sponsored by the
Volkswagen-Stiftung (2001–2004). We thank for the
assistance provided by the authorities of Thai Binh
province which enabled our field measurements at a
dike section at Tra Li river.
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