Under some conditions chemical contaminants will alter the physical properties of the subsurface enough to be measured by geophysical techniques. The most common chemicals involved in subsurface contamination are petroleum, pesticides, solvents, and heavy metals.

Mapping a plume of groundwater or soil contamination can take months or years using the traditional methods of soil borings and monitoring wells. With geophysical methods the same task can be done in days. In some cases contaminated areas detected by soil borings were found to cover a much larger area. In many cases soil borings miss areas of contamination completely.