Joint ERT, SP and IP Investigations at Waste Dump of Savoia di Lucania (Southern Italy)

The aim of this work was the joint application of different electric geophysical methods for studying the landfill of Savoia di Lucania (Southern Italy). This landfill for its engineering features and small dimensions (70m x 30m x 6m) represents an optimal test site to assess a geophysical survey protocol survey for municipal solid waste landfills. However, the proposed protocol should be used in time lapse way to obtain a monitoring system for waste deposits. The landfill of Savoia di Lucania has been built with reinforced concrete material and coated with a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) liner. Three Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), two Self Potential (SP) map surveys and one Induced Polarization (IP) section have been performed both in the surrounding area and inside the waste landfill. The geophysical investigations well defined the buried boundaries of the landfill basin and localized the leachate accumulation zones inside the dumpsite. The comparison of our results with other engineering and geological investigations could be the key for evaluating the integrity of the HDPE liner. Finally, the integration of the ERT, IP and SP methods seems to be a promising tool for studying and for designing new monitoring systems able to perform a time-lapse analysis of waste landfill geometry and integrity.