Special section on electromagnetic characterization of buried obstacles

Abstract

This Inverse Problems special section on electromagnetic characterization of buried obstacles contains a selection of 14 invited papers, involving 41 authors and 19 research groups worldwide. (Though this section consists of invited papers, the standard refereeing procedures of Inverse Problems have been rigorously observed.) We do not claim to have reached all the high-level researchers in the field, but we believe that we have made a fair attempt. As illustrated by the variety of contributions included, the aim of this special section is to address theoretical and practical inversion problems (and the solutions thereof) that arise in the field of electromagnetic characterization of obstacles (artificial or natural) buried on the Earth or in planetary subsoil. Civil and military engineering, archaeological and environmental issues are typically among those within the scope of the investigation. An example is the characterization of a single (or multiple) obstacle(s) located near the interface or at shallow depths via electromagnetic means operating within relevant frequency bands. However, we also welcomed novel and thought-provoking investigations, even though their direct application to the real world, or even to laboratory-controlled settings, may still be far off. Within this general mathematical and applied framework, the submitted papers focused on a combination of theoretical, computational and experimental developments. They either reviewed the most recent advances in a particular area of research or were an original and specialized contribution.