With the accelerated pace of global industrialization and urbanization, environmental pollution and ecological degradation have escalated into pressing challenges, imposing stringent demands on the precision, spatial coverage, and real-time performance of environmental monitoring protocols. Conventional monitoring techniques, such as borehole drilling and laboratory sample analysis, are inherently constrained by their point-scale discretization, prohibitive costs, and inability to achieve continuous, large-area surveillance. As a non-invasive, high-efficiency, and spatially extensive detection methodology, geophysical exploration has garnered widespread adoption in environmental monitoring and demonstrated immense application potential. This paper systematically elaborates on the fundamental principles and technical attributes of mainstream geophysical approaches, encompassing electrical methods, electromagnetic methods, seismic wave methods, gravity and magnetic surveys, nuclear geophysical techniques, and remote sensing technologies. It focuses on the practical implementation of these methods across critical environmental domains: soil and groundwater pollution investigations, solid waste landfill monitoring, geological hazard environmental assessment, and ecological surveillance for carbon neutrality initiatives. Through in-depth analyses of representative case studies, this research elucidates the unique advantages of geophysical technologies in characterizing pollution plumes, tracing leakage pathways, evaluating stratum stability, and monitoring carbon sequestration processes. Finally, the paper examines the prevailing challenges confronting geophysical techniques—including interpretational non-uniqueness, environmental noise interference, and inadequate quantitative accuracy—and forecasts future development trends, such as multi-method data fusion, intelligent data processing, construction of real-time online monitoring networks, and the integration of novel sensing technologies. The findings indicate that geophysical exploration has evolved into an indispensable component of modern environmental monitoring frameworks. Its seamless integration with geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) will furnish robust scientific and technological underpinnings for achieving precision early warning, efficient remediation, and long-term regulatory oversight of environmental issues. 

Yu Jianhua, Li Xiaoyong, Qu Weigui. Application of Geophysical Prospecting Methods in Environmental Monitoring. Academic Journal of Environment & Earth Science (2026), Vol. 8, Issue 1: 18-24. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJEE.2026.080103.

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