Investigating the location and orientation of a major fault is crucial in conducting infrastructural development plans for any urban environment. In this research electrical geophysical methods have been utilized to investigate lithological changes in order to delineate the North Tehran Fault system within the northwestern limits of Tehran, and to determine the orientation and depth of the fault. For this purpose, a geophysical survey comprised of 1D and 2D electrical resistivity surveys and Induced Polarization (IP) was designed and conducted in three designated areas. Initially a total of 74 Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) were performed using the Schlumberger array. Using the resulting sections of the 1D survey and through interpretation of potential anomalies 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and IP acquisition surveys were designed and carried out. In total 7 IP/Rs acquisition lines with a pole-dipole array were performed in the anomalous zones of the survey.
The acquired IP/Rs field data were processed and modeled utilizing specialized geophysical software and 1D and 2D resistivity sections, as well as 2D chargeability sections were created. Integrated interpretation of the sections resulted in successfully delineating the faults and displacements in areas of interest.