EXCITATION OF GEOELECTRIC OSCILLATIONS AND ALTERATION OF GROUND CONDUCTIVITY BY A VIBRATION GENERATOR

Abstract

We studied the electrical response of a soil consisting of an organomineral layer 0.5 m thick and an alternation of sand and clay deposits typical of the upper tier of the sedimentary cover in the Belorussian Polesie. The article shows a typical recording made with the SV low-frequency vibrator. The results suggest that strong, nonuniform microseismic oscillations may give rise to stable changes in electrical resistivity in the focal zone of an earthquake in preparation. As a result, the observed variations before earthquakes may be associated with two effects: a change in the stress field and a constant deformation of the rock volume, or an increase in the intensity of the microvibrations associated with cracking of the medium.