Ground-penetrating radar attribute analysis for visualization of subsurface archaeological structures

Abstract

Attribute analysis was originally developed for enhanced data visualization in seismic data interpretation. Recently attribute analysis has been applied to ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data to improve visualization and associated interpretation for archaeological investigations. In this study, we evaluate the application of energy, instantaneous-amplitude, and steepness event attributes, which are traditionally used to highlight changes in the subsurface, to the GPR data acquired at Pan Sao Temple in Chiang Mai City, Thailand. The survey area is located on the eastern side of an old pagoda, the suspected location of a buried Buddha hall. After routine data processing, the energy, instantaneous amplitude, and steepness event attributes were calculated for the GPR sections. Visualization of the GPR attributes provides clearer images of the edge of buried archaeological structures than GPR data with traditional processing. The instantaneous amplitude provides images with the most reflection continuity while the steepness event highlights high-contrast features. GPR attribute analysis of the type used here is applicable to other areas undergoing archaeological investigations.