Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain)

Carrasco-García, Pedro; Herrero-Pacheco, José Luis; Carrasco-García, Javier; Huerta, Pedro

doi:10.3390/w18020143

Open AccessArticle

Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain)

by

Pedro Carrasco-García

^1,*

,

José Luis Herrero-Pacheco

¹,

Javier Carrasco-García

²

and

Pedro Huerta

³

¹

Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Polytechnic School of Avila, University of Salamanca, Av. Hornos Caleros, n° 50, 05003 Avila, Spain

²

Técnicas Geofísicas S.L., 05003 Avila, Spain

³

Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Salamanca, Pza. de la Merced S/N, 37008 Salamanca, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Water 2026, 18(2), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020143

Submission received: 23 October 2025 / Revised: 20 December 2025 / Accepted: 3 January 2026 / Published: 6 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogeological Investigations: Field Monitoring, GIS, AI, Remote Sensing, Geophysical Techniques, and Hydrochemical Analysis)

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Abstract

Time-Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) soundings are widely recognized as an effective method for subsurface characterization at intermediate depths. This study applies TDEM surveying to the municipality of Alfaro (La Rioja, Spain), where ten stations with 200 × 200 m loops were acquired and processed using Occam 1D inversion. The resulting models were integrated into a 3D environment in geomatic software (Seequent, Oasis montaj 2025.1) to generate a continuous geoelectrical volume of the subsurface. Three major resistivity domains were identified: a shallow resistive unit (40–80 ohm·m), an intermediate unit (20–40 ohm·m), and a deep conductive domain (<20 ohm·m). The pseudo-3D model revealed a thickening of the intermediate–resistive domain toward the central and western sectors, interpreted as the most favorable zone for groundwater extraction. This workflow demonstrates that integrating 1D TDEM inversion results into a pseudo-3D geoelectrical framework improves the spatial interpretation of resistivity distributions and provides a practical decision-support framework for identifying optimal drilling sites.

Keywords: TDEM; 3D resistivity modeling; groundwater exploration; applied geophysics; inversion (Occam’s method); hydrogeophysics

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MDPI and ACS Style

Carrasco-García, P.; Herrero-Pacheco, J.L.; Carrasco-García, J.; Huerta, P. Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain). Water 2026, 18, 143. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020143

AMA Style

Carrasco-García P, Herrero-Pacheco JL, Carrasco-García J, Huerta P. Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain). Water. 2026; 18(2):143. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020143

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carrasco-García, Pedro, José Luis Herrero-Pacheco, Javier Carrasco-García, and Pedro Huerta. 2026. "Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain)" Water 18, no. 2: 143. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020143

APA Style

Carrasco-García, P., Herrero-Pacheco, J. L., Carrasco-García, J., & Huerta, P. (2026). Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain). Water, 18(2), 143. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020143

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Integrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic Soundings into a Geomatic Platform to Generate a Pseudo-3D Geoelectrical Model for Groundwater Exploration: The Alfaro Case Study (La Rioja, Spain)

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