• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.63-66
• /
• 2005

With the aim of global environmental monitoring we carried out GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) surveys at the Livingstion Island in Antarctica. Research area is near the Mt. Charra (340 m) in Livingston Island which is located 80 km to the southwest of the King Sejong Station. We have collected 5 lines of GPR data. Two kinds of survey, CMP (Common Midpoint) surveys and common offset profiles, were performed. We classified the glacier into the three layers using electromagnetic velocity of the ice and reflection characteristic. The depth of glacier reached about 80∼110 m. Some reflectors showed the evidence of the water filled englacial drainage and volcanic ash-layers.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2002.09a
• /
• pp.163-178
• /
• 2002

Investigation of underwater sedimentary layers has been carried out with GPR (Ground Penetration Radar) survey. GPR survey has been proved to be very satisfactory since the target area has shallow water depth of about 2.5 m, is lake with no water flow, and the thickness of mud layer, which is a main survey target, is relatively thin. The results clearly showed the underwater sedimentary layers, which includes mud, sand, gravel and basement layer. Specially, the distribution and total amount of mud layers from the survey, which is main target of removal, can be used as a basic data for the dredging of mud layer in the area.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 1998

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) experiments were performed in a sand tank to study the ability of detection of buried pipes and to characterize the signal of the reflection wave. The ratios of diameter of buried pipes to the depth were set 4 up to 24 % and materials were metal, synthetic resin, and wood. In case of groundwater table below buried materials, strong reflection signals were observed irrespective of diameter and depth except for wood. While it is very difficult to detect the reflection signals in case that the groundwater table is set to higher than buried materials. The reflection signals from the bottom of the sand tank, however, were clearly observed even in case of higher groundwater table. This implies that the weak reflection signals from the buried materials are not all due to the wave attenuation. The vertical reflection profiling method is recommended in case that the object of the survey is to find horizontal position of buried material because this method has the advantage in cost and time of survey. However, the full or partial CMP gather method is recommended in case that the objects of the survey are to get the detailed subsurface information, i.e. the depth to buried material, interval velocity of geological layer, and mapping the groundwater table.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.93-98
• /
• 2004

The sand-covered Muweilah archaeological site in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a unique Iron Age site, and has been subject to intensive investigations. However, excavations are time consuming and may require twenty years to complete. Thus geophysical surveys were undertaken with the objective of characterising the site more expeditiously. This paper presents preliminary results of these surveys. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) was tested as a primary imaging tool, with an ancillary shallow time domain EM (MetalMapper) system. Dense 3D GPR datasets were migrated to produce horizontal (plan view) depth slices at 10 cm intervals, which is conceptually similar to the archaeologists' excavation methodology. The objective was to map all features associated with anthropogenic activity. This required delineating extensive linear and planar features, which could represent infrastructure. The correlation between these and isolated point reflectors, which could indicate anthropogenic activity, was then assessed. Finally, MetalMapper images were used to discriminate between metallic and non-metallic scatterers. The moderately resistive sand cover allowed GPR depth penetration of up to 5 m with a 500 MHz system. GPR successfully mapped floor levels, walls, and isolated anthropogenic activity, but crumbling walls were difficult to track in some cases. From this study, two possible courtyard areas were recognised. The MetalMapper was less successful because of its limited depth penetration of 50 cm. Despite this, the system was still useful in detecting modem-day ferruginous waste and bronze artefacts. The results (subject to ongoing ground-truthing) indicated that GPR was optimal for sites like Muweilah, which are buried under a few metres of sand. The 3D survey methodology proved essential to achieve line-to-line correlation for tracking walls. In performing the surveys, a significant improvement in data quality ensued when survey areas were flattened and de-vegetated. Although MetalMapper surveys were not as useful, they certainly indicated the value of including other geophysical data to constrain interpretation of complex GPR features.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.5-14
• /
• 2024

Reinforced concrete bridge decks are the first to be damaged by vehicle loads and rain infiltration. Concrete deterioration primarily occurs owing to the corrosion of rebars and other metal components by chlorides used for snow and ice melting. The structural condition and concrete deterioration of the bridge decks within the pavement were evaluated using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey data. To evaluate concrete deterioration in bridges, it is necessary to develop GPR data analysis techniques to accurately identify deteriorated locations and rebar positions. GPR exploration involves the acquisition of reflection and diffraction wave signals due to differences in radar wave propagation velocity in geotechnical media. Therefore, a full-waveform inversion (FWI) method was developed to evaluate the deterioration of reinforced concrete bridge decks by estimating the radar wave propagation velocity in geotechnical media using GPR data. Numerical experiments using a GPR velocity model confirmed the deterioration phenomena of bridge decks, such as concrete delamination and rebar corrosion, verifying the applicability of the developed technology. Moreover, using the synthetic GPR data, FWI facilitates the determination of rebar positions and concrete deterioration locations using inverted velocity images.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.69-76
• /
• 2009

We report an implementation of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey at a site that corresponds to a ruined castle. The objective of the survey was to characterise buried archaeological structures such as walls and tiles in Van Khan Tooril's Ruin, Mongolia, by 2D and 3D GPR techniques. GPR datasets were acquired in an area 10mby 9 m, with 10 cm line spacing. Two datasets were collected, using GPR with 500MHz and 800MHz frequency antennas. In this paper, we report the use of instantaneous parameters to detect archaeological targets such as tile, brick, and masonry by polarimetric GPR. Radar polarimetry is an advanced technology for extraction of target scattering characteristics. It gives us much more information about the size, shape, orientation, and surface condition of radar targets. We focused our interpretation on the strongest reflections. The image is enhanced by the use of instantaneous parameters. Judging by the shape and the width of the reflections, it is clear that moderate to high intensity response in instantaneous amplitude corresponds to brick and tiles. The instantaneous phase map gave information about the location of the targets, which appeared as discontinuities in the signal. In order to increase our ability to interpret these archaeological targets, we compared the GPR datasets acquired in two orthogonal survey directions. A good correlation is observed for the alignments of reflections when we compare the two datasets. However, more reflections appear in the north-south survey direction than in the west-east direction. This is due to the electric field orientation, which is in the horizontal plane for north-south survey directions and the horizontally polarised component of the backscattered high energy is recorded.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.59-66
• /
• 2005

The main purpose of this paper is to describe a highly efficient common mid-point (CMP) data acquisition method for ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveying, which is intended to widen the application of GPR. The most important innovation to increase the efficiency of CMP data acquisition is continuous monitoring of the GPR antenna positions, using a real-time kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS). Survey time efficiency is improved because the automatic antenna locating system that we propose frees us from the most time-consuming process-deployment of the antenna at specified positions. Numerical experiments predicted that the data density and the CMP fold would be increased by the increased efficiency of data acquisition, which results in improved signal-to-noise ratios in the resulting data. A field experiment confirmed this hypothesis. The proposed method makes GPR surveys using CMP method more practical and popular. Furthermore, the method has the potential to supply detailed groundwater information. This is because we can convert the spatially dense dielectric constant distribution, obtained by using the CMP method we describe, into a dense physical value distribution that is closely related to such groundwater properties as water saturation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.39 no.12
• /
• pp.75-91
• /
• 2023

In this study, we explore the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for the nondestructive survey of subsurface conduits, focusing on the challenges posed by multichannel environments. A key concern is the shadow regions created by conduits, which significantly impact survey results. The shadow regions, which are influenced by conduit position and diameter, hinder signal propagation, thereby making detection within these regions challenging. Using finite-difference time-domain numerical analysis, we examined the characteristics of conduit signals, which typically manifest in hyperbolic patterns. Particularly, we investigated three conduit arrangements: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Automatic gain control was applied to amplify the signals, enabling the analysis of variations in shadow regions and signal characteristics for each arrangement. In the horizontal arrangement, the proximity of the two conduits resulted in the emergence of a new hyperbolic pattern between the existing conduits. In the vertical arrangement, the lower conduit could be detected using hyperbolic signals on either side, but the detection was challenging when the upper conduit diameter exceeded that of the lower conduit. In the diagonal arrangement, signal characteristics varied based on the position of shadow regions relative to the detection range of the equipment. Asymmetrical signal patterns were observed when the shadow regions fell within the detection range, whereas the signals of the two conduits were minimally impacted when the shadow regions were outside the detection range. This study provides vital insights into accurately detecting and characterizing subsurface multichannel conduits using GPR-a significant contribution to the field of subsurface exploration and management.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.113-130
• /
• 2021

Recently, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys have been actively employed to obtain a large amount of data on occurrences such as ground subsidence and road safety. However, considering the cost and time efficiency, more intuitive and accurate interpretation methods are required, as interpreting a whole survey data set is a cost-intensive process. For this purpose, GPR data can be subjected to attribute analysis, which allows quantitative interpretation. Among the seismic attributes that have been widely used in the field of exploration, complex trace analysis and similarity are the most suitable methods for analyzing GPR data. Further, recently proposed attributes such as edge detecting and texture attributes are also effective for GPR data analysis because of the advances in image processing. In this paper, as a reference for research on the attribute analysis of GPR data, we introduce the useful attributes for GPR data and describe their concepts. Further, we present an analysis of the interpretation methods based on the attribute analysis and past cases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2005.04a
• /
• pp.429-432
• /
• 2005

Geophysical investigations, as a non-invasive method, were conducted at the former gas station site contaminated with fuel hydrocarbons. GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) survey was performed to locate buried objects such as USTs (Underground Storage Tanks) and fuel pipes which might serve as a origin of the site contamination. Additional GPR investigation and a resistivity survey were conducted to map water table and to characterize shallow geologic structures of the site. The results of the study have shown that seven USTs including one unknown UST and buried fuel pipes are present, and that the groundwater elevation varies with topography from approximately 1.5 to 3m below the surface and the water table is located in the residual soils above the bedrock in the site. The results also show that the geophysical methods can be a very useful tool for the characterization of the contaminated site.