Journal of Arid Environments 121 (2015) 79e83

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Journal of Arid Environments

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jaridenv

Short communication

Mapping underground layers in the super arid Gidron Wadi using

electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)
Gidon Winters a, *, Ina Ryvkin a, Tali Rudkov a, Ziv Moreno b, Alex Furman b
a
b

The Dead Sea Arava Science Center, Tamar Regional Council, Neve Zohar 86910, Israel
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion e Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 32000, Israel

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 19 November 2014
Received in revised form
2 May 2015
Accepted 22 May 2015
Available online

Along the arid Arava, southern Israel, acacia trees are considered keystone species. Based on survival of
acacias through drought years that have not seen a single rainfall or ood, it is assumed that acacias
endure the local harsh conditions by drawing water from deep underground water reservoirs. Studying
water use of acacias has so far been done by exposing root systems or by isotopic water measurements,
both problematic methods.
We present a new application of a two-dimensional direct current electrical resistivity tomography
(ERT) to measure the electrical resistivity of the subsurface. We applied the ERT device to two xed
100 m transects cutting across (north-south) and along (west-east) the super arid Gidron Wadi during
March, April and August 2013. An inversion model was used to create a map of electrical resistivity of the
layers below ground, an indirect indicator of the underground water content. We identied a conductive
layer located at ~7e10 m below ground in all surveys. Although we could not identify changes to this
apparent perched aquifer, such a layer may be a secondary source of water for acacias that can explain
their survival in drought years. Further ERT-aided studies are needed to correlate acacia distribution and
ecophysiological state with perched aquifers, even if quantitative analysis of their replenishment in such
desert environments is not trivial.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Acacia raddiana
Acacia tortilis
Underground water
Water use
Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)
Flash oods
Ecophysiology
Arava

1. Introduction
Acacia trees (Acacia raddiana and Acacia tortilis) are major
components of savannas and other arid regions in Africa and the
Middle East. In these deserts, they are often the only woody species,
and as such they are considered keystone species that locally
improve soil conditions for other plant species and provide food
and shelter for many desert animals (Milton and Dean, 1995; Ward
and Rohner, 1997). Within the arid Arava valley along the SyrianAfrican transform in Israel and Jordan, these trees grow along
ephemeral river beds (called wadisin Arabic; Ward et al., 2010).
The ongoing mortality of acacia trees in the region continues to
be of major concern, with changes in levels and patterns in local
precipitation levels considered as one of the reasons (Perleberg
et al., 2013). Annual precipitation in this arid region has always
been low at 25e50 mm (Goldreich and Karni, 2001), but recent
studies indicate that precipitation levels during the past 15 years

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wintersg@adssc.org (G. Winters).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.05.008
0140-1963/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

have declined even further to only 25e30 mm a year (Ginat et al.,

2011). In addition to the reduction in annual precipitation levels,
these studies demonstrate large year-to-year variability in the
precipitation patterns and point to changes in the timing and
duration of ood events, both of which are apparently critical for
survival of acacia trees in the region. The adverse effects of such
climatic changes on tree mortality are amplied by anthropogenic
disturbances caused by the increase in human population in the
region, which includes the ongoing aquifer depletion for agriculture (Ward and Rohner, 1997) and the conversion of natural land to
agricultural land.
Studying water use of acacia trees has so far been done by
exposing their root systems (Peled, 1988; see example in Appendix
A) or by comparing the 18O/16O isotopic ratios (Sher et al., 2010) in
water samples extracted from acacia twigs and from nearby water
resources. Exposing root systems is destructive and is limited by
depth of excavation. Furthermore, it would be difcult to recover or
nd the small gentle roots that might go deeper. Indeed, so far,
acacia roots in the region have only been excavated to a depth of
1.5e3.5 m (Peled, 1988). Since most roots were found in the rst
few meters of the soil, Peled (1988) and Shalmon (personal

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G. Winters et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 121 (2015) 79e83

communication) have suggested that acacia trees in the Arava region draw most of their water from shallow layers that in turn are
fed by ood water (Perlberg et al., 2013).
However, since ood events do not necessarily occur on a yearly
basis and acacia trees seem to survive and thrive upon the local arid
conditions even in such years, other researchers have assumed that
acacia trees survive the local harsh conditions by developing deep
tap roots that are able to draw water from deep underground water
reservoirs (i.e. they are phreatophytic; Halevy and Orshan, 1972;
Sher et al., 2010). In order to verify that acacia trees draw water
from specic deep (>100 m) underground reservoirs, Sher et al.
(2010) compared the O18/O16 isotopic composition in water
extracted from local acacia trees and nearby water wells. While this
method could provide much information, it is limited to areas near
to existing water drillings which further connes this method.
Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a geophysical prospecting technique for imaging sub-surface structures (in the scale
of 10e100s of meters of depth) from electrical resistivity measurements made at the surface (Telford et al., 1990; Kemna et al.,
2002; Park and Wernicke, 2003; Koukadaki et al., 2007).
Compared with the above mentioned methods, using ERT offers the
potential to identify available water reservoirs non-intrusively and
virtually without depth limitation, thereby providing at least indirect evidence of water use by acacia trees. ERT was used before to
study plant water sources by Nijland et al. (2010), including in
Mediterranean environment (though not as extreme as the one
described here; ERT is also used in recent years to study root water
uptake in high spatial and temporal resolution for irrigated soils
(Furman et al., 2012; Garre et al., 2011). Here we describe a novel

application of ERT in an extreme arid environment for determining

the existence, depth and renewal of underground water sources in
the arid Arava region. The aim of this application was to further our
understanding of the persistence of acacia trees in this dry region.
2. Materials and methods
The present study was conducted in the central Arava region
(southern Israel; Fig. 1a.) within the Gidron Wadi (dry streambed,
30
460 N, 35
140 E, -137 m elevation; Fig. 1a,b). This wadi is populated by both Acacia raddiana and A. tortillis trees and seedlings, and
it is very close (500 m) to the Yair Station where rainfall and ood
events are documented. We obtained rainfall data for the Yair
station through the Israeli Metrological Service (http://www.ims.
gov.il; the website was accessed during September 1ste3rd 2013,
the Yair station code in this web site is station 340528). Data
obtained included both a general overview of rainfall in the area
(annual rainfalls for 2001e2013 and monthly averages for this
overall period) and for the specic season in which we performed
our work (winter of 2012e2013).
The geological structure of this region was recently mapped by
Ryvkin et al. (2014), providing us with an opportunity to understand the geological structure of the Gidron Wadi itself (detailed in
Appendix B in the supplementary material).
For making electrical resistivity measurements the Syscal Pro
Switch 96 ERT device (Iris instruments, France) was applied to two
xed 100 m transects cutting across (NeS) and along (WeE) the
Gidron Wadi in March, April and August 2013 (Fig. 1b). Resistivity is
a fundamental material property that measures how strongly a

Fig. 1. Area of study and experimental set up. Map of the southern part of Israel (a) showing the location of the Gidron Wadi within the central Arava (b). The two dashed black lines
represent the two transacts we measured three times season within the Gidorn Wadi (b). Conducting measurements on the EasteWest transect. C1 and C2 are examples of current
electrodes. P1 and P2 are examples of potential electrodes. The orange cable conducts the current from the device to the electrodes (c). (For interpretation of the references to colour
in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

G. Winters et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 121 (2015) 79e83

given material (or in our case underground layer) opposes the ow

of electric current. It is expressed in units of ohm-meters (Telford
et al., 1990; Park and Wernicke, 2003; White et al., 2003;
Koukadaki et al., 2007). To measure the resistivity of a crosssection of an underground layer, a current is injected into the
ground through two current electrodes, and the potential (voltage)
is measured between two other potential electrodes e altogether
forming a quadruple. The specic distribution of current density
depends on the spatial distribution of the subsurface electrical resistivity. Therefore, each measured resistance (the product of
measured potential and the applied current) can be seen as a
weighted product (not necessarily in its pure mathematical
meaning) of the subsurface resistivity blocks. Repeating the basic
measurement several 100s or 1000s of times (where in each
measurement, the electrodes location is different), allows for the
distinction of the resistivity distribution through a mathematical
inversion process.
For this, 80 stainless steel electrodes (40 cm in length, 2 cm in
diameter) were inserted some 10e20 cm into the ground and
placed every 1.25 m along these 100 m transects (Fig. 1c) creating a
linear array measuring the resulting voltage differences at any two
potential electrode pairs. About 2730 measurements were made in
each array (of Schlumberger type). We used a combination of both
the Wenner and Schlumberger arrays (Park and Wernicke, 2003;
White et al., 2003; Koukadaki et al., 2007) creating the widest
horizontal coverage and the deepest depth of investigation (Telford
et al., 1990).
Data was rst screened for noise (i.e. measurements with low
repeatability, extreme values, etc. through the Syscal automatic
screening tool), and then inverted using the RES2DINV software
(GeoTomo software, Malaysia) to create an underground resistivity
map of the cross sections (Kenma et al., 2002). Data screening
resulted in omitting between 2e15% for the East-West line, and
11e40% for the North-South line. Note that most measurements
omitted in the NeS line were ones including electrodes that are
outside of the main channel. This makes sense as these regions are
less affected by oods and therefore are expected to be drier, posing
even lower electrical contact between the electrodes and the
ground. Further, measurement-screening ratio consistently increase into the summer.
For trying to determine the existence and depths of underground water reservoirs and the seasonal effect on them that
potentially could be available to local acacia trees we conducted
three measurements during the 2012e2013 sampling season: 1)
March 2013 e a period which is considered to be the end of winter,
a winter that included six ooding events in the Gidron Wadi, thus
representing a period when the ground was supposed to be with
the highest water content values, 2) April 2013 e after 2 minor rain
events (no oods), and 3) at the end of August 2013, which represents the end of summer where the ground was supposed to be
with the lowest water content values. In each one of these sampling
sessions we conducted measurements along the two xed transects (mentioned above) and created resistivity maps of the underground for each measurement.

81

Fig. 2b). Although rare, in some years rainfall is prolonged all the
way into May and starts early with the rst autumn rainfalls in
September (Fig. 2b). During our study year, trees were blessed with
early rains (Nov 2012), but the year was characterized by average
precipitation levels (around 25 mm throughout the 2012e2013
season). Six ash oods were recorded in the Gidron Wadi during
this period (insert in Fig. 2c).
In all 6 bulk resistivity plots (Fig. 3), data are truncated at edges
due to the limited sensitivity at these transect boundaries. In all
plots, we can clearly notice a relatively deep layer with lower resistivity values in regard to its surrounding at about 7e10 m below
the surface. As low resistivity is typically related to higher saturation, this may indicate the existence of a perched wet layer
(possibly a saturated one). When looking at the results in the
perspective of time the overall value of the resistivity, throughout
the investigated domain rises as the measurements are made
further from the wet season but in all measurements the layer
7e10 m deep is more conductive (less resistant) than the surroundings. However, it is difcult to clearly determine if the

3. Results and discussion

Annual rainfall in the area of the Gidron Wadi demonstrates the
extreme conditions with which acacia trees in region are forced to
cope with (Fig. 2). On average (2000e2013), annual rainfall was less
than 30 mm per year, with yearly rainfall ranging from 8 mm (in
2009) to 69 mm (in 2010) of rain, demonstrating the large variability of annual rainfall in the region (Fig. 2a). Rainfall occurs between October through May, with most of this rainfall concentrated
in January (on average 7.9 mm) and December (average of 6.58 mm;

Fig. 2. Precipitation conditions in the study site. Annual (JaneDec) cumulative rainfall
(mm/year) for 2000e2013 (a), averages of monthly rainfall (mm/month) for this 13
year period (b) and for the time of the study (2013) (c). The months in which the ETR
was deployed (March, April and Sept 2013) are marked in black (c). Shown also are the
dates of the ood events in the Gidron Wadi during the winter of 2012e2013 (insert in
Fig. 2c).

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G. Winters et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 121 (2015) 79e83

resistivity of the layer at 7e10 m signicantly changes over that

period (although one may wish to imagine that when comparing
panels b and c or e and f in Fig. 3, differences calculations, not
shown, were inconclusive).
Low resistivity values (i.e. the layer is electrically more
conductive than its surrounding) can be explained by two different
mechanisms. The rst explanation could be salinity. Dissolved salt
content makes the pore-water more conductive (and hence the
bulk soil conductivity). The more reasonable explanation could be
water content. Water in the soil makes it more conductive. The
insignicant changes in the resistivity of this layer throughout the
spring and summer suggests that the acacia not signicantly using
it or that it is large enough to avoid its drainage (i.e. it acts as a
secondary reserve). Geological stratication are likely also part of
the signature of that layer. However, given the low resistivity values
the geology contribution to the electrical signature is likely through
the creation of the physical conditions for holding water (likely a
layer of ner material at or below the low resistivity layer that allows the formation of a perched aquifer), and not directly through
electrical properties of the minerals.
As the overall resistivity (i.e. throughout the domain) rises, so
does the inversion error (a measure of how well measurements and
model t each other) from 3.5% in March up to 25% in August (topleft part of each panel in Fig. 3). This is most likely related to
elevated measurement noise, which in turn is related to bad contact
of the electrodes. Nevertheless, the repeatability of the results and
the stability of the inverse solution suggest that this is a true layer
and not an inversion artifact. It is important to note that resistivity
increase with time is evident throughout the domain, and mostly in
shallower regions (indicating evaporation and drainage), much less
in the wet layer of interest. Resistivity differentiation in that depth
show minimal changes (not shown). Given the non-negligible
measurement noise in the summer measurement, we cannot
claim that this layer is indeed the main source of water for the

acacia, but it clearly is a potential water source. In other words, the

ERT technique, as used in our case, is sufcient to detect potential
water bodies in the subsurface, but is not sensitive enough to
quantitatively measure root water uptake from such deep layers.
Our work has resulted in the nding of a layer of lower resistivity values at depth of 7e10 m which is clearly noted in the
cross sections (resistivity maps of all transacts in Fig. 3). This layer is
characterized by low resistivity values compared with the surroundings throughout the year, even in the summer months. When
looking at the perspective of direction (NeS vs. EeW), there were
no apparent differences between the transects regarding the location of the conductive layer. It is important to note that the regional
groundwater in this area is relatively much deeper below the surface (analyzed from The Hydrological Service, 2012). Much shallower groundwater exists several km to the east, along the Arava
wadi. As such, the low resistivity layer detected in our ERT surveys
is likely a perched aquifer and not a regional one. Similar structure,
under ethereal streams, was found nearby by Dahan et al. (2007).
Although this was not studied to details, likely ner particles are
drifted down the alluvial bed to form a perching layer.
Examination of the resistivity values in the layer of interest
(roughly 10 U m and below) suggest very high water content, likely
saturation. However, note that (a) these are bulk resistivity values,
not water resistivity; and (b) in this region variability of salinity
may be enormous (Oren et al., 2004) so although it is likely a
saturated layer, and similar saturated layer was found by Dahan
et al. (2007) not too far, it would be too much of speculation to
make a sharp decision with no further site-specic supporting data.
While both the roots excavation work (Peled, 1988) and the O18/
O16 isotopic ratios (Sher et al., 2010; mentioned above) suggested
that acacia trees in the Arava region draw most of their water from
shallow layers (1.5e3.5 m) affected by periodic rains and oodwater that occur in the region in large pulses (Ward and Rohner,
1997; Sher et al., 2010), the nding in the Gidron Wadi of a high

Fig. 3. Bulk Resistivity maps of the underground layers up to a depth of 20 m (Y axis) made for south to north (aec) and east to west (def) 100 m transects (X axis), that were made
from ERT measurements made on March (a,d), April (b,e) and Sep (c,f) 2013. The colors of the plot represent the bulk resistivity (rb) in ohm-meter, calculated from the ERT
measurements, with the resistivity color logarithmic scale in each plot ranging between low (blue) to high (red) measured resistivity. (For interpretation of the references to colour
in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

G. Winters et al. / Journal of Arid Environments 121 (2015) 79e83

water content layer that only starts at about 7 m (Fig. 3), could
possibly be the year-round water source for the mature acacia trees
in the Gidron Wadi. Hence, we identied a potential water source
that is not as deep as that excluded by Sher et al. (2010), but also not
as shallow (upper 1.5e3.5 m) as others have suggested. Such a
shallow water source (i.e. in the upper 3 m) likely would have been
more sensitive to the harsh environmental conditions (as our ERT
plots suggest when looking at the shallow regions, comparing
summer and spring measurements (Fig. 3). This relatively deep
layer does not explain the success of local acacia seedlings that are
assumed not reach these depths. Further work in the Gidon Wadi
should be aimed at applying isotopic water composition in both
mature and young trees, throughout the year, which will be
compared to that of the water containing layer found here. Similar
ERT work in other wadis with acacia trees in them, focusing
perhaps on trees that show more pronounced stress in dry years for
comparison, could help to determine whether these trees are
indeed limited to wadis with relatively high water levels.
4. Conclusions
The work presented here demonstrates the potential use of ERT
in ecological research. It is important to note that most ERT studies
of plant root zone were conducted in wet or irrigated environments
(e.g. Michot et al., 2003; Beff et al., 2013; Moreno et al., 2015), with
the exception perhaps of Nijland et al. (2010) who studied Mediterranean environment (yet wetter). Therefore, this work can be
seen as an extension of their work to the more arid regions, and to
greater depths. In that aspect the research presented here is technically and conceptually challenging.
The main question that is not yet answered in the literature is
how do acacia trees survive and thrive in the harsh environment
even in drought years. While the literature suggests that the main
source of water for acacia is soil water at the shallower regions and
excludes the very deep groundwater as a major source, our results
here suggest that an intermediate source, local perched aquifers or
layers of high holding capacity. Such a relatively deep (about
7e10 m) source of water is less sensitive to the climate and may
provide the needed assurance for dry years.
Repeating measurements over time along the same transects in
combination with other supporting measurements could potentially provide information about the changes in underground water
containing layers throughout the year. As shown, in this arid
environment, ERT alone, cannot provide a sensitive enough quantitative measure for root uptake. However, this knowledge could be
linked to local precipitation and ood information in order to
examine whether these layers are replenished from local oods,
and by that improve our predictions on the ecological ability of
acacia trees in this region to survive direct (anthropogenic) and
indirect (climate) change.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.05.008.

83

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