163: The next step in the evolution of time-lapse electrical imaging

Tim Johnson discusses his article in August's The Leading Edge about real-time electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). Time-lapse electrical imaging has been used for diverse scientific and engineering problems to monitor changes in the subsurface associated with fluid injections, fluid flow, solute transport, phase changes, and other physical and chemical processes. The burgeoning applications of time-lapse electrical imaging underscore its potential to provide valuable, qualitative insight to support the development of conceptual models of subsurface frameworks and processes. Tim and his co-authors posit that the next step in the evolution of time-lapse electrical imaging is autonomous, real-time monitoring, which has the potential to support real-time management decisions and feedback control of subsurface systems. Tim presents a framework for autonomous, real-time electrical imaging. He also shares two case studies of the framework in action and potential areas of development for this work. This forward-looking conversation utilizes machine learning and the latest electrical geophysical instrumentation to highlight what the future can be for hydrogeophysics. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Tim C. Johnson is a computational scientist in subsurface geophysical imaging and interpretation related to complex environmental challenges and energy applications. He is nationally and internationally recognized for his work in electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) as a characterization and monitoring technology. He pioneered the development of E4D-RT, a real-time, four-dimensional subsurface imaging software that allows scientists to “see” subsurface processes and solutions in real-time. Tim and his team received a prestigious R&D 100 Award in 2016 for this tool. As a senior research scientist, Tim joined the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2010. He worked at Idaho National Laboratory from 2007-2010 and, before that, was a staff engineer at American Geotechnics. Tim is focused on joint inversion of multiple geophysical techniques using parallel computing to improve time-lapse imaging. RELATED LINKS * Tim Johnson, Chris Strickland, Jon Thomle, Fred Day-Lewis, and Roelof Versteeg, (2022), "Autonomous time-lapse electrical imaging for real-time management of subsurface systems," The Leading Edge 41: 520–528. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle41080520.1) * Frederick D. Day-Lewis and Arpita P. Bathija, (2022), "Introduction to this special section: Hydrogeophysics," The Leading Edge 41: 518–518. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle41080518.1) * Read the August 2022 special section: Hydrogeophysics (https://library.seg.org/toc/leedff/41/8) Subscribers can read the full articles at https://library.seg.org/, and abstracts are always free. CREDITS SEG produces Seismic Soundoff to benefit its members and the scientific community and to inform the public on the value of geophysics. To show your support for the show, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It takes less than five seconds to leave a 5-star rating and is the number one action you can take to show your appreciation for this free resource. And follow the podcast while you are on the app to be notified when each new episode releases. Original music created by Zach Bridges. Andrew Geary hosted, edited, and produced this episode for 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Jennifer Cobb, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis.