Barren Acidic Soil Assessment using Seismic Refraction Survey

Seismic refraction method is one of the geophysics subsurface exploration techniques used to determine subsurface profile characteristics. From past experience, seismic refraction method is commonly used to detect soil layers, overburden, bedrock, etc. However, the application of this method on barren geomaterials remains limited due to several reasons. Hence, this study was performed to evaluate the subsurface profile characteristics of barren acidic soil located in Ayer Hitam, Batu Pahat, Johor using seismic refraction survey. The seismic refraction survey was conducted using ABEM Terraloc MK 8 (seismograph), a sledge hammer weighing 7 kg (source) and 24 units of 10 Hz geophones (receiver). Seismic data processing was performed using OPTIM software which consists of SeisOpt@picker (picking the first arrival and seismic configureuration data input) and SeisOpt@2D (generating 2D image of barren acidic soil based on seismic velocity (primary velocity, Vp) distribution). It was found that the barren acidic soil profile consists of three layers representing residual soil (Vp= 200-400 m/s) at 0-2 m, highly to completely weathered soil (Vp= 500-1800 m/s) at 3-8 m and shale (Vp= 2100-6200 m/s) at 9-20 m depth. Furthermore, result verification was successfully done through the correlation of seismic refraction data based on physical mapping and the geological map of the study area. Finally, it was found that the seismic refraction survey was applicable for subsurface profiling of barren acidic soil as it was very efficient in terms of time, cost, large data coverage and sustainable. (paper)