Optimizing the information content of DC resistivity data

In an attempt to exploit better the capabilities of multi-electrode acquisition systems, we have developed an experimental design procedure to identifi suites of electrode configurations that provide maximum subsurface information. The experimental design algorithm is based on a goodness function that ranks the sensitivity of every possible electrode configuration to changes in the subsurface parameters. To examine the potential and limitations of the new algorithm, we performed a synthetic experiment and compared the resolution power of the optimized data sets with those of Wenner and dipole-dipole configurations. The results indicate that the optimized configurations lead to substantially better inversion results than the standard data arrays.