PENDENT SPECTRAL INDUCED POLARIZATION (SIP) SIGNATURES OF CELLULAR BIOMASS VERSUS EXTRACELLULAR POLYMERIC SUBSTANCES: A COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION IN DELTA NORTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT, NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/jnamp.vol73no.759Keywords:
Biogeophysics, Cole–Cole inversion, Complex conductivity, Extracellular polymeric substances, Hydrogeophysics, Spectral induced polarizationAbstract
Pendent Spectral ISpectral induced polarization (SIP) is increasingly used to characterise biological polarization in the subsurface. We investigated frequencydependent SIP signatures of cellular biomass versus extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in unconsolidated sandy aquifer material from Delta State, Nigeria (Asaba, Ogwashi-Uku, Agbor). Repacked cores received four treatments: abiotic control, washed biomass (EPS-depleted), isolated EPS, and biomass–EPS mixture. Complex conductivity spectra were measured from 10 mHz to 10 kHz at 25°C. Treatments produced separable polarization responses. Biomass showed a high-frequency quadrature peak (~100 Hz; τ = 3.5 × 10−2 s), consistent with Maxwell–Wagner polarization across intact cell membranes. EPS dominated low-frequency response (~1 Hz; τ = 8.1 × 10−1 s), with highest chargeability (245 mV/V), attributed to Stern-layer polarization of charged polymer functional groups. Cole–Cole inversion showed broader polarization length scales for EPS (c = 0.38 ± 0.05) than biomass (c = 0.61 ± 0.04). Low-frequency imaginary conductivity may proxy EPS development, while peak frequency indicates intact cell boundaries, reducing interpretational ambiguity in biogeophysical monitoring of sandy aquifers..nduced Polarization (SIP) Signatures of Cellular Biomass versus Extracellular Polymeric Substances: A Comparative Investigation in Delta North Senatorial District, Nigeria
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