Improving the delineation of hydrocarbon‐impacted soils and water through induced polarization (IP) tomographies: A field study at an industrial waste land

Without a good estimation of samples representativeness, the delineation of the contaminated plume extent and the evaluation of volumes of hydrocarbon-impacted soils may remain difficult. To contribute to this question, a time domain induced polarization (IP) field experiment was conducted on an industrial waste land. Boreholes were drilled to specify the local geological context. Cross-hole seismic tomographies were performed to extend borehole logs and to draw an interpreted geological cross-section. Soil samples taken during drillings were analysed in laboratory. A preliminary survey was conducted to locate the IP profile. The polarization signatures linked to the presence of clayey sediments were filtered out from the data set. Chargeability and resistivity depth soundings were computed and compared to mean concentrations of total organic products to overcome the data support issue between the geophysical models and the spot samples of soils. A logarithmic relation between chargeabilities and smoothed hydrocarbon concentrations in soils was found. Taking into account contaminant's concentration thresholds defined in local codes and regulations allows defining chargeability classes to delineate hotspots on this site. This showed that IP tomography can be an accurate screening methodology. A statistical methodology is proposed to assess the efficiency of the investigation strategy.

► A surface IP field experiment is conducted on an NAPL impacted site.
► IP signatures linked to clayey sediments are filtered from the dataset.
► Mean concentrations of total hydrocarbon products were compared to chargeabilities.
► IP signatures allow discriminating between uncontaminated areas and hot spots.
► A performance test shows the reliability of the proposed strategy based on IP signatures.