Electrical resistivity survey (VES)
Vertical electrical sounding to define soil layer boundaries, the groundwater table and the depth of aquifers across the site.
Licensed service · EL-845/2026
Electrical resistivity surveying studies how the resistivity of the ground changes with depth. Its most common form is vertical electrical sounding (VES): current is injected through electrodes driven into the ground, the potential difference is measured, and as the electrode spacing grows, the measurement reaches progressively deeper layers.
Clay, sand, gravel, limestone and saturated soils all have distinct resistivities, so a VES survey reveals layer boundaries, the groundwater table, aquifer depth and saline zones. The method is particularly effective for siting water wells, building a geological section along roads and pipelines, and interpolating geology between boreholes.
We measure with a digital resistivity meter using Schlumberger or Wenner arrays; the depth of investigation ranges from a few metres to 100 m or more depending on the task. Every sounding point is positioned with GNSS RTK, the data are inverted in specialised software and interpreted against available borehole logs.
Work is carried out in Baku, on the Absheron peninsula and throughout Azerbaijan under our licence and in line with current building codes (AzDTN/SNiP).
When you need it
- Siting a water well and estimating aquifer depth
- Optimising borehole locations on large sites
- Building a geological section along roads, pipelines and canals
- Mapping the groundwater table and saline zones
- Studying the structure of landslide-prone slopes
What's included
- Review of available geological and archive data
- Design of the VES grid and profiles
- Field measurements with a digital resistivity meter
- GNSS RTK positioning of sounding points
- Curve inversion and construction of a geoelectric model
- Interpretation correlated with borehole data
How we work
- Agreeing the scope and required depth
- Site reconnaissance and survey layout
- Field soundings at VES points
- Office processing and interpretation
- Report preparation and handover
Deliverables
- Geoelectric sections and resistivity maps
- Coordinate list and layout plan of VES points
- Conclusions on layer boundaries and groundwater
- Technical report (paper and digital)
