Fresh-Salt Water Boundary Estimation Using Combination of Geoelectrical Resistivity and Geostatistical Methods: A Case Study of Khir-Plain, Fars Province

Existence of saline sediments in most plains of Iran affects the salinity of underground waters in these areas. Invasion of saline water into fresh water zones and uncertainty in saline-fresh water boundary cause some problems in management and exploitation of underground water resources.In this research, using geoelectrical technique, various alluvial layers in Khir plain were distinguished on the basis of their different resistivity. By geostatistical and variography methods the spatial correlation of resistivity data were investigated. The resistivity in unsampled area and their probability of saline water existence were estimated. The results showed that the maximum variation in resistivity exists in northeast-southwest direction and ordinary and indicator kriging methods can demonstrate a reasonable estimation of saline-fresh water boundary in this area.