Application of Induced Polarization Imaging Across Different Scales to Understand Surface and Groundwater Flow at the Hofermuehle Landslide

Although the hydraulic conductivity is a key parameter to understand landslides, direct methods cannot easily solved with high resolution it at the field scale. In this study we present the application of the induced polarization (IP) method to characterize preferential areas for water flow and accumulation in a clay-rich landslide. IP provides the distribution of the electrical conductivity and polarization properties of the subsurface and extensive laboratory investigations have demonstrated its sensitivity to textural properties of the soil (i.e., clay content); thus it’s potential to improve the estimation of hydraulic properties. Here we investigate the application at the field scale of the IP method to map changes in subsurface hydraulic condnductivity using existing petrophysical models. Our results reveal clear variations in the electrical conductivity and polarization response of the subsurface, as well as an evident frequency-dependence between 0.1 and 1000 Hz. Such response is also