Ground Penetrating Radar

GPR system is made up of three main components:

 Control unit
 Antenna
 Power Supply
GSSI GPR equipment can be run with a variety of power supplies ranging from small rechargeable
batteries to vehicle batteries and normal 110/220-volt. Connectors and adapters are available for each
power source type. The unit in the photo above can run from a small internal rechargeable battery or
external power.

GPR Control Unit and Antenna

The control unit contains the electronics

which trigger the pulse of radar energy
that the antenna sends into the ground.
It also has a built-in computer and hard
disk/solid state memory to store data for
examination after fieldwork. Some
systems, such as the GSSI SIR 30, are
controlled by an attached Windows
laptop computer with pre-loaded control
software. This system allows data
processing and interpretation without
having to download radar files into
another computer.

The antenna receives the electrical

pulse produced by the control unit,
amplifies it and transmits it into the
ground or other medium at a particular
frequency. Antenna frequency is one
major factor in depth penetration. The
higher the frequency of the antenna, the
shallower into the ground it will
penetrate. A higher frequency antenna will also ‘see’ smaller targets. Antenna choice is one of the most
important factors in survey design. The following table shows antenna frequency, approximate depth
penetration and appropriate application.
GPR Method

GPR works by sending a tiny pulse of energy into a material and recording the strength and the time
required for the return of any reflected signal. A series of pulses over a single area make up what is called a
scan. Reflections are produced whenever the energy pulse enters into a material with different electrical
conduction properties or dielectric permittivity from the material it left. The strength, or amplitude, of the
reflection is determined by the contrast in the dielectric constants and conductivities of the two materials.
This means that a pulse which moves from dry sand (dielectric of 5) to wet sand (dielectric of 30) will
produce a very strong reflection, while moving from dry sand (5) to limestone (7) will produce a relatively
weak reflection.

While some of the GPR energy pulse is reflected back to the antenna, energy also keeps traveling through
the material until it either dissipates (attenuates) or the GPR control unit has closed its time window. The
rate of signal attenuation varies widely and is dependent on the properties of the material through which the
pulse is passing.
 GPR Method (Continued)

Materials with a high dielectric will slow the radar wave and it will not be able to penetrate as far. Materials
with high conductivity will attenuate the signal rapidly. Water saturation dramatically raises the dielectric of a
material, so a survey area should be carefully inspected for signs of water penetration.

Metals are considered to be a complete reflector and do not allow any amount of signal to pass through.
Materials beneath a metal sheet, fine metal mesh, or pan decking will not be visible.

Radar energy is not emitted from the antenna in a straight line. It is emitted in a cone shape (picture on
left). The two-way travel time for energy at the leading edge of the cone is longer than for energy directly
beneath the antenna. This is because that leading edge of the cone represents the hypotenuse of a right
triangle.

Since it takes longer for that energy to be received, it is recorded farther down in the profile. As the antenna
is moved over a target, the distance between the two decreases until the antenna is over the target and
increases as the antenna is moved away. It is for this reason that a single target will appear in the data as a
hyperbola, or inverted “U.” The target is actually at the peak amplitude of the positive wavelet.
Data Processing

Data is collected in parallel transects and then placed together in the appropriate locations for computer
processing in a specialized software program such as GSSI’s RADAN. The computer then produces a
horizontal surface at a particular depth in the record. This is referred to as a depth slice, which allows
operators to interpret a plan view of the survey area.

In many situations, a GPR operator will simply note the location of a target so that it can be avoided. For
these clients, it may only be necessary to use a simple line scan format in order to mark the approximate
area of the target on the survey surface. Other clients may require detailed subsurface maps and depth to
features.

These situations will require the operator to use GSSI GPR processing software, which applies
mathematical functions to the data in order to remove background interference, migrate hyperbolas,
calculate accurate depth and much more.
LIMITATIONS

The most significant performance limitation of GPR is in high-conductivity materials such as clay
soils and soils that are salt contaminated. Performance is also limited by signal scattering in heterogeneous
conditions (e.g. rocky soils).
Other disadvantages of currently available GPR systems include:

 Interpretation of radargrams is generally non-intuitive to the novice.

 Considerable expertise is necessary to effectively design, conduct, and interpret GPR surveys.

 Relatively high energy consumption can be problematic for extensive field surveys.
Radar is sensitive to changes in material composition, detecting changes requires movement. When
looking through stationary items using surface-penetrating or ground-penetrating radar, the equipment
needs to be moved in order for the radar to examine the specified area by looking for differences in material
composition. While it can identify items such as pipes, voids, and soil, it cannot identify the specific
materials, such as gold and precious gems. It can however, be useful in providing subsurface mapping of
potential gem-bearing pockets, or "vugs." The readings can be confused by moisture in the ground, and
they can't separate gem-bearing pockets from the non-gem-bearing ones. [12]
When determining depth capabilities, the frequency range of the antenna dictates the size of the antenna
and the depth capability. The grid spacing which is scanned is based on the size of the targets that need to
be identified and the results required. Typical grid spacings can be 1 meter, 3 ft, 5 ft, 10 ft, 20 ft for ground
surveys, and for walls and floors 1 inch–1 ft.
The speed at which a radar signal travels is dependent upon the composition of the material being
penetrated. The depth to a target is determined based on the amount of time it takes for the radar signal to
reflect back to the unit’s antenna. Radar signals travel at different velocities through different types of
materials. It is possible to use the depth to a known object to determine a specific velocity and then
calibrate the depth calculations.