Thesis Abstract

This research assesses the various factors responsible for road failures in the southwestern and south-southern parts of Nigeria with the aim of reporting findings to the public domain. The research further stressed the importance and relevance of geophysics in evaluating civil engineering structures such as roads. The above goals were met by studying the results of surveys carried out by researchers in southern Nigeria. Electrical Resistivity and Electromagnetic methods have been used to evaluate subsurface integrity around the southern part of Nigeria. The VLF-EM methods were used by researchers to carryout survey in these areas which showed the presence of near surface linear geologic structures of varying lengths, depths and attitude, which suggest probable conductive zones that affect the foundation of roads. The quantitative interpretation of VES results obtained from various parts of the southern part of Nigeria established the presence of clay materials which is indicated by low resistivity values or high conductivity values.

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