Relationship between hydraulic and geoelectrical parameters for alluvial aquifers in Bursa, Turkey—a case study

Abstract

This research aims at analyzing the relationship between the hydraulic conductivity and the formation factor in alluvial aquifers. The study was conducted on the alluvial aquifers within the province of Bursa, Turkey. Field surveys were carried out on 12 different locations each having alluvial formation. Initially, slug tests were applied at the wells and hydraulic conductivity values were calculated by using Bouwer-Rice and Dagan analytic methods. Afterwards, vertical electrical sounding method with Schlumberger array was applied on these locations to obtain apparent resistivity. These values were then converted to real resistivity under IPI2WIN software. Water samples were taken from the wells, and their electrical conductivity values were measured in the laboratory which were converted to water resistivity. Finally, formation factor was calculated as a ratio of real resistivity to water resistivity. The variations of hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity values against the formation factor were examined, and a linear relation was observed. Furthermore, their variations against modified formation factor and modified aquifer resistivity were also investigated and similarly linear relationships were observed. The graphs obtained conform to the results of similar studies in literature and will serve as a guideline for prospective groundwater research in the study area.