Landfill Leakage Monitoring: Geomative’s Connected IoT Approach

Why Landfill Leakage Monitoring Requires More Than Periodic Sampling

Landfill leachate migration can occur below ground and may change with rainfall, landfill operations, liner condition, groundwater conditions, and local geology. Periodic sampling, drilling, and site inspection remain important parts of environmental management, but they provide information only at selected locations and times.

A monitoring program can benefit from combining baseline investigation, direct sampling, geological and hydrogeological information, geophysical surveys, continuous monitoring data, and professional interpretation. No single method independently confirms the source, extent, or environmental impact of a leachate release.

Geomative Co., Ltd., headquartered in Shenzhen, China, provides geophysical equipment and online monitoring solutions under its “Geophysics+” concept, combining field hardware, IoT communication, and cloud-based data services.

DIGspace Geo-3D Platform for Continuous Data Observation

According to Geomative’s latest product information, DIGspace Geo-3D Platform is the company’s current naming for its developing digital-platform offering. The company’s public online monitoring information describes a system that combines field monitoring equipment, cloud data transmission, IoT communication, and data-analysis functions.

When deployed with a project-specific monitoring design, the platform can support:

• 24-hour online data collection and remote data access;

• trend review of configured monitoring data;

• data display, modelling, and collaboration functions;

• configurable alert thresholds, alert levels, and notification methods;

• integration of manual inspection, periodic survey, and real-time monitoring data.

For landfill projects, continuous data collection can help operators establish a time series for observing changes in monitored conditions. An alert or anomalous trend should trigger review, site inspection, sampling, direct verification, and qualified environmental or engineering assessment where appropriate. It should not be treated as automatic confirmation of a leachate breakthrough.

Electrical Resistivity Surveys for Baseline Investigation

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) can provide continuous geophysical sections or three-dimensional datasets for investigating subsurface electrical contrasts. In landfill settings, these contrasts may be associated with variations in moisture, material composition, waste distribution, groundwater conditions, geological structure, or other site-specific factors.

Such results are indirect evidence. ERT interpretation should be evaluated together with boreholes, monitoring wells, sampling results, landfill design records, hydrogeological information, and field observations.

GD-10 Single-Channel Electrical Resistivity System

The GD-10 is a single-channel electrical resistivity system. Depending on model and configuration, it can support 1D vertical electrical sounding and 2D ERT/IP profiling, with applicable configurations for 3D survey work.

For landfill investigation, GD-10 can provide electrical data to support targeted assessment of site conditions. Survey layout, electrode spacing, target depth, access constraints, and local electrical noise should be evaluated before deployment.

GD-20 Multichannel Electrical Resistivity System

The GD-20 is a multichannel electrical resistivity system with an independent 5/12-channel design. In ERT surveys, it can acquire up to 10 channels of data simultaneously. In VES work, it can test up to 12 sets of sounding points at the same time.

Geomative states that, under comparable conditions, the GD-20’s average multichannel test efficiency can be 2–3 times that of single-channel equipment. The system supports resistivity, induced polarization, and self-potential measurements, with 2D, 3D, and pseudo-3D survey options depending on configuration and survey layout.

The GD-20 product page lists landfill and seepage-area exploration among its application directions. For larger landfill sites or projects requiring multiple survey lines, teams can assess whether a multichannel workflow is appropriate for the site’s investigation scope.

From Field Setup to Data Review

Geomative Studio supports array-script management and survey-parameter preparation for electrical resistivity work before field deployment. This can help project teams organize acquisition settings and survey layouts.

Data quality and interpretation confidence remain dependent on site-specific conditions, including electrode contact, local interference, weather, survey geometry, geological setting, and the technical experience of the investigation team. Geophysical data should be quality-checked and interpreted in context rather than used as a stand-alone environmental conclusion.

Related Environmental Investigation Evidence

Geomative documents an oil-pollution investigation at a chemical-factory site using a Wenner-Schlumberger ERT survey. The case reported a pollution-distribution area of approximately 1,287 m², with anomaly depths averaging about 3–7m and reaching approximately 12m.

This case provides an example of ERT being used to investigate subsurface electrical anomalies in a specific oil-pollution setting. It does not constitute direct proof of landfill-leachate detection performance, because contaminant properties, hydrogeological conditions, landfill construction, and verification requirements differ from one site to another.

A Practical Workflow for Landfill Leakage Monitoring

A connected landfill-monitoring program may include four stages:

1. Baseline investigation
   Review landfill records, liner information, monitoring-well data, hydrogeological conditions, inspection history, and available environmental sampling results. Use suitable geophysical methods where they can provide supplementary information.

2. Monitoring-system design
   Define the monitoring objective, sensor or electrode layout, data-collection interval, communication method, alert rules, maintenance plan, and verification process.

3. Continuous observation
   Collect and transmit configured data for remote access, historical comparison, and trend review.

4. Anomaly review and verification
   When data indicates an abnormal trend or threshold exceedance, conduct field inspection and appropriate direct verification before reaching an environmental or remediation conclusion.

Conclusion

Landfill leakage monitoring is a continuing environmental-management process rather than a one-time survey or an automated confirmation of contamination. Electrical resistivity surveys can support baseline investigation and anomaly review, while online monitoring can provide continuous data collection and remote observation.

Geomative’s GD-10 and GD-20 electrical resistivity systems, together with the DIGspace Geo-3D Platform, provide equipment and digital-platform options that landfill operators and environmental engineering teams can evaluate for connected monitoring workflows. Final interpretation, regulatory reporting, and remediation decisions should always be based on project-specific conditions and qualified environmental or engineering assessment.

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