Electrical images in boreholes are becoming increasingly important in interpreting the rock record. In addition to identifying fractures and faults, borehole imaging tools are used in a variety of other applications, such as horizontal drilling; environmental studies; stress-orientation-measurement studies; sequence stratigraphy; and paleotransport, facies, and diagenetic analyses.

Analysis of spatial variability in unsaturated flow is critical to evaluating contaminant transport in areas of focused or preferential flow. This study examined spatial variability at a variety of scales from focused flow through playas to preferential flow in macropores. A total of 39 boreholes from 7 playa and adjacent interplaya settings on the Southern High Plains of Texas were sampled for hydraulic and hydrochemical parameters. To evaluate preferential flow in surficial sediments, we applied bromide and organic dyes.