Comparison Of Different Electrode Materials For Induced Polarization Measurements

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of the induced polarization (IP) and<br>spectral induced polarization (SIP) techniques in environmental surveys. As a result, the required<br>measurement sensitivity of this method has increased significantly from their original application in<br>mineral exploration. In order to obtain the best results from IP and SIP data, considerable work has been<br>done on the data inversion procedures whilst the field procedure has remained essentially the same.<br>Standard IP survey practice is to record data using non-polarizing electrodes. However, recent work has<br>concentrated on the use of different materials as potential electrodes. Of particular interest has been the<br>use of standard metal electrodes in the place of non-polarizing electrodes since this would greatly<br>improve the speed and ease of field surveys. Here we focus on the initial results of trials assessing the<br>use of different electrode materials in both laboratory and field-analogue environments. The<br>experiments compare and contrast the use of a range of electrode materials, including non-polarizing, for<br>IP measurements. Electrode performance assessment focussed on the strength, stability, noise levels,<br>and frequency response of the signal recorded with each material. The results have implications on the<br>design of future electrode arrays and field surveys.