Invariant properties and rotation transformations of the GPR scattering matrix

Abstract

Abstract We analyze the properties of the scattering matrix associated with the incident and scattered electric fields used in GPR. The elements of the scattering matrix provide information produced by different polarizations of the incident wave field. Rotationally invariant quantities such as trace, determinant and Frobenius norm lead to images that combine the information contained in the four elements of the scattering matrix in a mathematically simple and sound manner. The invariant quantities remove the directional properties implicit in the dipolar field used in GPR allowing the application of standard processing techniques designed for scalar fields, such as those used in seismic data processing. We illustrate the non-directional properties of the invariants using a 3D simulation of the wavefield produced by a point scatterer. The estimation of the azimuth angle of elongated targets is also explored using rotation transformations that maximize alternatively the co-polarized or the cross-polarized responses. The angle estimation is essentially an unstable process, particularly if low amplitudes or noisy data are involved. We apply the Frobenius norm ‖S‖F as a criterion for selection of the best amplitudes to use for a more stable and significant angle estimation. The performance of our formulation was tested with synthetic data produced by a 3D model of an air-filled metal pipe buried in a homogeneous halfspace. The images resulting from the invariants show a clear diffraction hyperbola suitable for a scalar wavefield migration, while the azimuth of the pipe is neatly resolved for amplitudes selected with ‖S‖F ≥ 0.4. A field experiment conducted above an aqueduct pipe illustrates the proposed methods with real data. The images obtained from the invariants are better than those from the individual elements of the scattering matrix. The azimuth estimated using our formulation is in agreement with the probable orientation of the aqueduct. Finally, a field experiment above a buried air-filled barrel shows that combining the information in the way proposed in this work may lead to an improved image of the subsurface target, the cost to pay is the lost of directional information contained in the scattering matrix. In general, we claim that the methods proposed in this work can be useful to analyze the information acquired by multicomponent GPR surveys using standard scalar wavefield algorithms.