ANALYSIS OF THE CARSTIFICATION PROCESSES IN THE IRECÊ BASIN USING GPR AND ERT
GPR; ERT; fracture corridor; karst; reservoir analog.
The Irecê basin, located in the central portion of the state of Bahia, comprises the largest cover of carbonate rocks of Neoproterozoic age, intensely carstified and cut by systems of caves, dolines, uvalas and several typical features of karst landscapes, with hundreds of kilometers of extension. The study region is dominated by the Iraquara Karst System, bringing together a complex system of interconnected caves with a preferential north-south and east-west direction. These structures typical of a karst system appear to interconnect surface drainage from the edges of the basin through the underground flow, thus representing an extensive corridor of fractures and carstified faults. This model can serve as an analogue to carbonate reservoirs interconnected by fracturing and dissolving systems. The mapping of the karst system using GPR and electroresistance data provides subsidies for understanding the underground flow mechanisms controlled by fracture and carstified fault corridors.