Characterization of Subsurface Cavities using Gravity and Ground Penetrating Radar

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-276
Author(s):  
Fathi M.S. Abdullah ◽  
Abdullatif A. Al-Shuhail ◽  
Oluseun A. Sanuade
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Filling Materials ◽  
Gravity Measurements ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Subsurface Cavities

Subsurface cavities occur naturally by dissolution of carbonates and evaporites or by human action, such as the construction of tunnels and tombs. They can be filled with air, water, sediments, or a combination. Gravity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods have been used widely to determine the location and size of subsurface cavities. The objective of this study is to present a quantitative approach to estimate the porosity and water saturation of cavity-filling materials from GPR and gravity measurements. The approach uses appropriate rock-physics models of the dielectric permittivity and density of a shallow cavity and estimates the porosity and water saturation inside the cavity by solving the two model equations simultaneously for these two variables. We test the proposed method using synthetic GPR and gravity data sets corresponding to three spherical-cavity models: air-filled, water-filled, and a partially-saturated sand filling. Results show that the method is accurate in retrieving the correct porosity within 0.76% error and water saturation within 2.4% error. We also apply the method on three published case studies over air-filled rectangular cavities. We found that the proposed method estimated the correct porosity and water saturation in one study but failed with the other studies. However, when the procedure was repeated with gravity values calculated from parameters reported in these studies, the proposed method estimated the correct porosity and water saturation accurately.

scholarly journals Forty-three years of absolute gravity observations of the Fennoscandian postglacial rebound in Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Bilker-Koivula ◽  
Jaakko Mäkinen ◽  
Hannu Ruotsalainen ◽  
Jyri Näränen ◽  
Timo Saari
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
Gravity Change ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽  
Absolute Gravity ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Postglacial Rebound ◽  
Land Uplift ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Gravity Measurements ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

AbstractPostglacial rebound in Fennoscandia causes striking trends in gravity measurements of the area. We present time series of absolute gravity data collected between 1976 and 2019 on 12 stations in Finland with different types of instruments. First, we determine the trends at each station and analyse the effect of the instrument types. We estimate, for example, an offset of 6.8 μgal for the JILAg-5 instrument with respect to the FG5-type instruments. Applying the offsets in the trend analysis strengthens the trends being in good agreement with the NKG2016LU_gdot model of gravity change. Trends of seven stations were found robust and were used to analyse the stabilization of the trends in time and to determine the relationship between gravity change rates and land uplift rates as measured with global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) as well as from the NKG2016LU_abs land uplift model. Trends calculated from combined and offset-corrected measurements of JILAg-5- and FG5-type instruments stabilized in 15 to 20 years and at some stations even faster. The trends of FG5-type instrument data alone stabilized generally within 10 years. The ratio between gravity change rates and vertical rates from different data sets yields values between − 0.206 ± 0.017 and − 0.227 ± 0.024 µGal/mm and axis intercept values between 0.248 ± 0.089 and 0.335 ± 0.136 µGal/yr. These values are larger than previous estimates for Fennoscandia.

scholarly journals Integrating Geophysical and Photographic Data to Visualize the Quarried Structures of the Roman Town of Bassianae

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2384
Author(s):  
Roland Filzwieser ◽  
Vujadin Ivanišević ◽  
Geert J. Verhoeven ◽  
Christian Gugl ◽  
Klaus Löcker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Urban Infrastructure ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Buried Structures ◽  
Archaeological Prospection ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Geophysical Prospection ◽  
Strong Agreement

Large parts of the urban layout of the abandoned Roman town of Bassianae (in present-day Serbia) are still discernible on the surface today due to the deliberate and targeted quarrying of the Roman foundations. In 2014, all of the town's intramural (and some extramural) areas were surveyed using aerial photography, ground-penetrating radar, and magnetometry to analyze the site's topography and to map remaining buried structures. The surveys showed a strong agreement between the digital surface model derived from the aerial photographs and the geophysical prospection data. However, many structures could only be detected by one method, underlining the benefits of a complementary archaeological prospection approach using multiple methods. This article presents the results of the extensive surveys and their comprehensive integrative interpretation, discussing Bassianae's ground plan and urban infrastructure. Starting with an overview of this Roman town's research history, we present the details of the triple prospection approach, followed by the processing, integrative analysis, and interpretation of the acquired data sets. Finally, this newly gained information is contrasted with a plan of Roman Bassianae compiled in 1935.

Bone permittivity and its effect on using ground-penetrating radar

Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. H1-H11
Author(s):  
Blair B. Schneider ◽  
Georgios Tsoflias ◽  
Don W. Steeples ◽  
Rolfe Mandel ◽  
Jack Hofman
Keyword(s):  
Dielectric Properties ◽  
Dielectric Property ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Relative Permittivity ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Mixing Models ◽  
Bone Properties ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Bone Minerals ◽  
Ground Penetrating

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a powerful tool that is still being developed for archaeological investigations. We investigated the dielectric properties of mammoth bone and bone from modern bison, cow, deer, and elk as a proxy for applying GPR for detecting prehistoric animal remains. Sample dielectric properties (relative permittivity, loss factor, and loss-tangent values) were measured with an impedance analyzer over frequencies ranging from 10 MHz to 1 GHz. Bone-sample porosity, bulk density, water saturation, and volumetric water content of the specimens were also measured. The measured sample-relative permittivity values were then compared with modeled relative permittivity values using common dielectric-mixing models to determine which parameters control the best-fit predictions of relative permittivity of animal bone. We observe statistically significant dielectric-property differences among different animal fauna, as well as variation as a function of frequency. In addition, we determine that the relative permittivity values of 8–9 for similar minerals, such as apatite, are not suitable as a proxy for predicting animal bone properties. We estimate new relative permittivity values of 3–5 for dry animal bone minerals in the frequency range of 100–1000 MHz using these common dielectric-mixing models. We postulate that differences in bone microstructure contribute to dielectric-property variability.

scholarly journals Grid preparation for magnetic and gravity data using fractal fields

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pilkington ◽  
P. Keating
Keyword(s):  
Potential Field ◽  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Fractal Model ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Spectral Character ◽  
Aeromagnetic Survey ◽  
Fractal Method ◽  
Gravity Measurements ◽  
Interpretive Method

Abstract. Most interpretive methods for potential field (magnetic and gravity) measurements require data in a gridded format. Many are also based on using fast Fourier transforms to improve their computational efficiency. As such, grids need to be full (no undefined values), rectangular and periodic. Since potential field surveys do not usually provide data sets in this form, grids must first be prepared to satisfy these three requirements before any interpretive method can be used. Here, we use a method for grid preparation based on a fractal model for predicting field values where necessary. Using fractal field values ensures that the statistical and spectral character of the measured data is preserved, and that unwanted discontinuities at survey boundaries are minimized. The fractal method compares well with standard extrapolation methods using gridding and maximum entropy filtering. The procedure is demonstrated on a portion of a recently flown aeromagnetic survey over a volcanic terrane in southern British Columbia, Canada.

Forward modeling of ground-penetrating radar data using digitized outcrop images and multiple scenarios of water saturation

2001 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1615-1625 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Kowalsky ◽  
P. Dietrich ◽  
G. Teutsch ◽  
Y. Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Forward Modeling ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Multiple Scenarios

Interpolating wide-aperture ground-penetrating radar beyond aliasing

Geophysics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. H13-H22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saulo S. Martins ◽  
Jandyr M. Travassos
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Inversion Problem ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Isolated Points ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
The Antarctic

Most of the data acquisition in ground-penetrating radar is done along fixed-offset profiles, in which velocity is known only at isolated points in the survey area, at the locations of variable offset gathers such as a common midpoint. We have constructed sparse, heavily aliased, variable offset gathers from several fixed-offset, collinear, profiles. We interpolated those gathers to produce properly sampled counterparts, thus pushing data beyond aliasing. The interpolation methodology estimated nonstationary, adaptive, filter coefficients at all trace locations, including at the missing traces’ corresponding positions, filled with zeroed traces. This is followed by an inversion problem that uses the previously estimated filter coefficients to insert the new, interpolated, traces between the original ones. We extended this two-step strategy to data interpolation by employing a device in which we used filter coefficients from a denser variable offset gather to interpolate the missing traces on a few independently constructed gathers. We applied the methodology on synthetic and real data sets, the latter acquired in the interior of the Antarctic continent. The variable-offset interpolated data opened the door to prestack processing, making feasible the production of a prestack time migrated section and a 2D velocity model for the entire profile. Notwithstanding, we have used a data set obtained in Antarctica; there is no reason the same methodology could not be used somewhere else.

Preliminary use of ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography to study tree roots in pine forests and poplar plantations

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terenzio Zenone ◽  
Gianfranco Morelli ◽  
Maurizio Teobaldelli ◽  
Federico Fischanger ◽  
Marco Matteucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tree Roots ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Shape Distribution ◽  
Geophysical Surveys ◽  
Ground Penetrating

In this study, we assess the possibility of using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) as indirect non-destructive techniques for root detection. Two experimental sites were investigated: a poplar plantation [mean height of plants 25.7 m, diameter at breast height (dbh) 33 cm] and a pinewood forest mainly composed of Pinus pinea L. and Pinus pinaster Ait. (mean height 17 m, dbh 29 cm). GPR measures were taken using antennas of 900 and 1500 MHz applied in square and circular grids. ERT was previously tested along 2-D lines, compared with GPR sections and direct observation of the roots, and then using a complete 3-D acquisition technique. Three-dimensional reconstructions using grids of electrodes centred and evenly spaced around the tree were used in all cases (poplar and pine), and repeated in different periods in the pine forest (April, June and September) to investigate the influence of water saturation on the results obtainable. The investigated roots systems were entirely excavated using AIR-SPADE Series 2000. In order to acquire morphological information on the root system, to be compared with the GPR and ERT, poplar and pine roots were scanned using a portable on ground scanning LIDAR. In test sections analysed around the poplar trees, GPR with a high frequency antenna proved to be able to detect roots with very small diameters and different angles, with the geometry of survey lines ruling the intensity of individual reflectors. The comparison between 3-D images of the extracted roots obtained with a laser scan data point cloud and the GPR profile proved the potential of high density 3-D GPR in mapping the entire system in unsaturated soil, with a preference for sandy and silty terrain, with problems arising when clay is predominant. Clutter produced by gravel and pebbles, mixed with the presence of roots, can also be sources of noise for the GPR signals. The work performed on the pine trees shows that the shape, distribution and volume of roots system, can be coupled to the 3-D electrical resistivity variation of the soil model map. Geophysical surveys can be a useful approach to root investigation in describing both the shape and behaviour of the roots in the subsoil.

A geophysical investigation of the active Hockley Fault System near Houston, Texas

Geophysics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. B177-B185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhab D. Khan ◽  
Robert R. Stewart ◽  
Maisam Otoum ◽  
Li Chang
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Fault Location ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Fault System ◽  
Geophysical Investigation ◽  
Geophysical Surveys ◽  
Ground Penetrating

Sedimentation and deformation toward the Gulf of Mexico Basin cause faulting in the coastal regions. In particular, many active (but non-seismic) faults underlie the Houston metropolitan area. Using geophysical data, we have examined the Hockley Fault System in northwest Harris County. Airborne LiDAR is an effective tool to identify fault scarps and we have used it to identify several new faults and assemble an updated map for the faults in Houston and surrounding areas. Two different LiDAR data sets (from 2001 to 2008) provide time-lapse images and suggest elevation changes across the Hockley Fault System at the rate of 10.9 mm/yr. This rate is further supported by GPS data from a station located on the downthrown side of the Hockley Fault System indicating movement at 13.8 mm/yr. To help illuminate the subsurface character of the faults, we undertook geophysical surveys (ground-penetrating radar, seismic reflection, and gravity) across two strands of the Hockley Fault System. Ground-penetrating radar data show discontinuous events to a depth of 10 m at the main fault location. Seismic data, from a vibroseis survey along a 1-km line perpendicular to the fault strike, indicate faulting to at least 300-m depth. The faults have a dip of about 70°. Gravity data show distinct changes across the fault. However, there are two contrasting Bouguer anomalies depending on the location of the transects and their underlying geology. Our geophysical surveys were challenged by urban features (especially traffic and access). However, the survey results consistently locate the fault and hold significant potential to understand its deformational features as well as assist in associated building zoning.

scholarly journals Combination of ground penetrating radar and seismic surveys of the tailings dam

2021 ◽  
Vol 938 (1) ◽  
pp. 012020
Author(s):  
A Kalashnik ◽  
A Dyakov
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Tailings Dam ◽  
Geophysical Surveys ◽  
In Situ Experiments ◽  
Water Saturated ◽  
Ground Penetrating

Abstract Identification of water-saturated zones in the tailings dams is an actual scientific and practical task in terms of providing, first of all, their mechanical strength and filtration stability. Use of active sounding geophysical study methods allows obtaining sufficiently detailed information about the peculiarities of the internal structure of the tailings dam and the degree of water saturation of the composing soils. The paper presents the results of in-situ experiments on the study of the tailings dam of the mining enterprise by ground penetrating radar (GPR) and seismic methods. A comparative analysis of the conducted studies has allowed clarifying the internal structure and assessing the dam’s condition, paying special attention to the identification of local zones of increased water saturation and filtration. Based on the calculated correlation coefficient of electromagnetic and seismic wave velocity values, it was revealed that synchronization of geophysical surveys allows significantly increasing the reliability of in-situ determinations, as well as obtaining more reliable data. The results of the studies are the basis for predicting the most vulnerable places (zones) of a bulk ground hydraulic facility, as well as the localization of water-saturated areas in the body of the ground structures with greater reliability and performance.

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