Geophysical Characterization of Subsurface Layers and Soil Competency of Naraguta Campus, University of Jos-Nigeria

Abstract

The utilization of geophysical methods can increase the effectiveness of civil engineering works since it can provide the information which the conventional civil engineering method was hard to determine due to the concern of money, time and quality. One of such geophysical methods is the Electrical resistivity using the Schlumberger array which was employed in this study. The study identified three lithological units of top lateritic soil, weathered / fractured basement and the fresh basement. The thickness of the top lateritic soil ranges from 0-4m, the weathered/ fractured basement has an average thickness in the range of 3.0-25 m while the fresh basement thickness ranges from 25 m to infinity. The resistivity values of the sub-surface layers range from 11.40 Ωm to 5896.7 Ωm with most of the lithological units rated competent to highly competent. This study serves as basis for further engineering investigation for the design and construction of proposed buildings and has shown the relevancy of the application of geophysics to civil engineering works.

Keywords: Competence, Resistivity, Schlumberger, Sub-surface layers, VES

DOI: 10.7176/JEES/11-10-03

Publication date:October 31^st 2021