Application of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) for the identification of pipe-lavas, case study: El Quebracho, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico.

Abstract

The town of Huajomulco in the municipality of Tulancingo in Hidalgo State, there is a cavity in the subsoil called "El Quebracho", which geologically has features of lava tube or also called tube-lava, generated due to spills of viscous lava of basaltic type. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is a tool by which the terrain is characterized through several measurements of electrical potential along the terrain, having as an answer the different resistivity values of each of the materials of the terrain, in this case it was used to determine and characterize the structure that suggests to be a lava-tube. Five 2D resistivity profiles were obtained along which the structure was identified, as well as geoelectric units, morphology, lithology and the different subsoil materials.

According to the resistivity results obtained with the SRT, it was possible to obtain favorable results for 2D characterization of the tube-lava, proving the versatility of the method when applied. This methodology can be used in subsequent studies to determine the geological context of the subsoil and evaluate the geological risks in the locality due to the existence of a possible Tube-lava system.