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Architecture and temporal variations of a terrestrial CO2 degassing site using electric resistivity tomography and self-potential

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Abstract

The Hartoušov mofette field in NW Bohemia, Czech Republic, is characterized by strong CO2 degassing from the Lithospheric Mantle. In a test survey using electrical resistivity tomography, we observed changes over time in the subsurface structure beneath heavily CO2 degassing spots to depths of about 40 m and compared them to CO2 gas flux and soil gas mappings from previous studies. Changes in the electrical resistivity were measured between September 2012 and October 2013 at irregular intervals and highlight large variations in the resistivity distribution where the CO2 degassing was strongest (56 × 103 g m−2 day−1), indicating a fluid-induced change of properties of the underlying clayey sediments. Positive and negative anomalies in the electric self-potential parallel to the ERTs can be found where CO2 degassing occurs which indicates varying ascent or descent of fluids within these spots. Some degassing spots seem not to be actively degassing continuously over time, which can also be observed by other studies in the same area. We suggest that future gas mappings are accompanied by methods that observe the state of fluid systems at subsurface over time, e.g. electric resistivity tomography and self potential.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for funding this project (KA902/16 and FL271/13). We are grateful to the two reviewers, Dr. Thomas Jahr and Dr. Tullio Ricci, for their suggestions and improvements. Special thanks go to Claudia Schütze from the UFZ Leipzig and Tomas Fischer from Charles University in Prague for providing ground water data from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute in Prague, and to Jens Heinicke for providing rain gauge data from Bad Brambach.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Geophysics and Geology, University of Leipzig,, Talstrasse 35, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Tobias Nickschick, Christina Flechsig & Cornelia Meinel

  2. German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ Potsdam, Section 4.3 Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, 14473, Germany

    Tobias Nickschick & Horst Kämpf

  3. Institute of Geophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bocˇní II, 141 31, Praha 4, Czech Republic

    Jan Mrlina

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  1. Tobias Nickschick
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  2. Christina Flechsig
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  3. Cornelia Meinel
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Correspondence to Tobias Nickschick.

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Nickschick, T., Flechsig, C., Meinel, C. et al. Architecture and temporal variations of a terrestrial CO2 degassing site using electric resistivity tomography and self-potential. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 106, 2915–2926 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-017-1470-0

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