Some fundamental considerations in induced polarization
Abstract
In a growing number of studies, researchers have presented induced polarization as a dielectric-related phenomenon arising from the complex nature of the permittivity in the constitutive law associated with the displacement current. Using Ampères's law, they then write the conductivity as a complex number with an imaginary part related to the real part of the permittivity mixing Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization and induced polarization phenomena. This presentation may be misleading to students and new researchers in the field. In terms of underlying physics, induced polarization phenomena have nothing to do with the displacement current density in Ampère's law and Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization should not be considered as an induced polarization mechanism per se . At the microscopic level, low-frequency polarization arises because the ionic fluxes responsible for the local electrical current are coupled in the Nernst-Planck equation not only through the long-range Coulombic field but also through their physical interactions associated with diffusion phenomena driven by the random thermal motion of charge carriers. In other words, the thermodynamic force associated with ionic migration is not the electrical field alone but electrochemical potential gradients (induction effect can be accounted for, if needed, in the electrical field component of the Nernst-Planck equation governing the fate of ions in the pore space and along the surface of the mineral grains in their so-called electrical double layer). This has been known since the seminal papers of D.J. Marshall & T.R Madden in the 50 s and Vinegar & Waxman in the 80 s. This point seems, however, forgotten in recent studies leading to some misconceptions preventing a mechanistic understanding of both induced polarization processes and broad-band spectroscopic data.
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BibTeX
@article{revil2026some,
title = {{Some fundamental considerations in induced polarization}},
author = {André Revil and T Bore and A Ghorbani},
journal = {Geophysical Journal International},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1093/gji/ggag289},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05760392v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Some fundamental considerations in induced polarization
AU - André Revil
AU - T Bore
AU - A Ghorbani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/10
JO - Geophysical Journal International
DO - 10.1093/gji/ggag289
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05760392v1
AB - In a growing number of studies, researchers have presented induced polarization as a dielectric-related phenomenon arising from the complex nature of the permittivity in the constitutive law associated with the displacement current. Using Ampères's law, they then write the conductivity as a complex number with an imaginary part related to the real part of the permittivity mixing Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization and induced polarization phenomena. This presentation may be misleading to students and new researchers in the field. In terms of underlying physics, induced polarization phenomena have nothing to do with the displacement current density in Ampère's law and Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization should not be considered as an induced polarization mechanism per se . At the microscopic level, low-frequency polarization arises because the ionic fluxes responsible for the local electrical current are coupled in the Nernst-Planck equation not only through the long-range Coulombic field but also through their physical interactions associated with diffusion phenomena driven by the random thermal motion of charge carriers. In other words, the thermodynamic force associated with ionic migration is not the electrical field alone but electrochemical potential gradients (induction effect can be accounted for, if needed, in the electrical field component of the Nernst-Planck equation governing the fate of ions in the pore space and along the surface of the mineral grains in their so-called electrical double layer). This has been known since the seminal papers of D.J. Marshall & T.R Madden in the 50 s and Vinegar & Waxman in the 80 s. This point seems, however, forgotten in recent studies leading to some misconceptions preventing a mechanistic understanding of both induced polarization processes and broad-band spectroscopic data.
SN - 0956-540X
SN - 1365-246X
ER -