A practical time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography framework for monitoring soil water infiltration
Journal
PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH
Journal Volume
145
Journal Issue
1
Start Page
104863
ISSN
1474-7065
Date Issued
2027-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Soil water infiltration is critical for agricultural water management, yet observing its rapid temporal evolution and spatial heterogeneity at the field scale remains challenging. Although time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (TL-ERT) shows potential for imaging moisture dynamics, its application is often constrained by inadequate sampling strategies and complex workflows. This study proposes a practical TL-ERT monitoring framework for field-scale infiltration observation. Rather than pursuing detailed hydraulic parameter estimation, the framework emphasizes operational simplicity and straightforward interpretation, focusing on relative resistivity changes as indicators of infiltration dynamics. The workflow integrates automatic data acquisition, consistent data processing, and fixed-parameter inversion into a streamlined operational framework. This framework is demonstrated through a field experiment under natural rainfall, in which resistivity was monitored at 2-h intervals over 29 days and compared with in situ soil moisture sensors. During the largest rainfall event, which delivered 57 mm of cumulative precipitation, TL-ERT captured progressive wetting to depths of up to 2 m, with clear lateral contrasts between the sandy and sandy-gravel sections of the resistivity profile. A simplified contour-based tracking approach yielded an average wetting-front velocity of 2.45 & times; 10-6 m/s, consistent in order of magnitude with the value derived from the soil moisture sensors. These findings indicate that the proposed framework enables TL-ERT to serve as a practical monitoring tool, offering a pragmatic pathway for translating geophysical observations into actionable information for agricultural water management.
Subjects
ERT
Time-lapse
Soil moisture
Infiltration monitoring
Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Type
journal article