• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.187-197
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• 2021

Clay mineral content of weathered zone is a key parameter for landslide studies. Electrical resistivity tomography is usually performed to delineate the geometry of complex landslides and to identify the sliding surface. In clay-bearing weathered zone, parallel resistivity Archie equation is employed to investigate the effect of conductivity added (resistivity reduced) by clay minerals of kaolinite and montmorillonite, which is dependent on their specific surface area and cation exchange capacities (CEC). A decrease of overall resistivity and apparent formation factor is observed with increasing pore-water resistivity, significantly in montmorillonite. Formation factor is found decreased with increasing porosity and decreasing cementation factor. Parallel Archie equation was applied to the electrical resistivity data from the test area (Sinjindo-ri, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea) which experienced land creeping in the year of 2014. A panel test with varying clay-mineral contents provides the best fit section when the theoretical section constructed with the assumed contents approaches the field section, from which the clay-mineral content of the weathered zone is estimated to be approximately 10%. Resistivity interpretation schemes including the clay mineral contents for land creeping studies explored in this paper can be challenged more when porosity, saturation, and pore-water resistivity are provided and they are included in the numerical resistivity modeling.