Professional Practice in Environmental Geophysics: Case Studies from the Niger Delta

This study examines professional practice in environmental geophysics as applied in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, documenting methodological approaches, quality standards, and regulatory compliance across a sample of environmental geophysical survey projects. Environmental geophysics applies geophysical techniques to characterise soil and groundwater contamination, map waste site extents, and support environmental restoration decisions. In the Niger Delta, where decades of petroleum exploration and production have created widespread hydrocarbon contamination, environmental geophysics is critical for site assessment and remediation planning. This study reviews 30 environmental geophysical survey reports produced for oil spill assessment, waste pit characterisation, and groundwater contamination delineation purposes in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, and Akwa Ibom States from 2020 to 2023. Report quality is assessed against international environmental geophysics guidelines including ASTM standards and ITRC technical guidelines for geophysical survey quality. Professional competency, methodology appropriateness, and data interpretation quality are evaluated. Findings reveal that only 38 percent of reviewed reports meet basic ASTM quality documentation standards for environmental site characterisation surveys. Methodology selection is often driven by cost minimisation rather than fitness for purpose, with resistivity profiling routinely applied to hydrocarbon contamination problems where EM or GPR would be more appropriate. Independent technical review of submitted survey reports is absent in most regulatory review processes. The study concludes that professional environmental geophysics practice in the Niger Delta requires both quality standard elevation and improved regulatory oversight. It recommends a Niger Delta environmental geophysics professional practice framework.

Keywords: environmental geophysics, Niger Delta, professional practice, contamination mapping, quality standards.