Earth-Resistivity Measurements In The Lake Superior Copper Country (Technical Publication No. 82)

DURING the summer of 1927, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington joined with the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in conducting a series of earth-resistivity measurements in the Michigan copper country. The geological structure in this section is quite varied and fairly well known. The purpose of the investigation was to discover the correlation between the variations in electrical resistivity of large masses of soil and rock in place and the geological structure below the surface. The work done may be roughly divided into two parts: (1) Measurement and study of the variations in resistivity with depth, or with volume, to establish such general relations as exist between the two: and (2) the determination of the specific resistivity of various formations in order to make available more fundamental data which may aid in the interpretation of the results of the former type of measurement. A report by Mr. Rooney, which gives in detail the measurements made and the results obtained, forms the basis for this article.