Cross-borehole Ground Penetrating Radar Research Articles

Underground Cavity Detection through Group Dispersion of a GPR Signal

We present a novel method for underground cavity detection using cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Modeling the soil-cavity system as a filter allows us to estimate the group dispersion of the GPR signal induced by propagation through a cavity. We adopt a hypothesis-testing approach based on the observed group dispersion and propose a method which allows us to detect cavities with high probability. The proposed method is validated on both simulated and real measurements. Geologic clutter that causes conventional methods to fail has negligible impact on the efficacy of the proposed method, and the proposed method may be combined with conventional methods to provide a more robust and effective cavity-detection solution.

Underground Cavity Detection Through Spectral Distortion of a GPR Signal

We present a novel method to detect underground cavities using cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar (GPR). We model the propagation of a GPR signal across a cavity and find that the spectrum of the signal will be distorted in a specific low-pass manner. Comparing the spectra of received signals with the predicted spectrum using a hypothesis-testing approach allows us to detect cavities with high probability. The proposed method is validated on both simulated and real measurements. Our approach generally remains effective even when conventional methods fail; our method can also be combined with conventional methods in order to more successfully distinguish between cavities and geologic clutter.

2.5D crosshole GPR full-waveform inversion with synthetic and measured data

Full-waveform inversion (FWI) of cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data is a technique with the potential to investigate subsurface structures. Typical FWI applications transform 3D measurements into a 2D domain via an asymptotic 3D to 2D data transformation, widely known as a Bleistein filter. Despite the broad use of such a transformation, it requires some assumptions that make it prone to errors. Although the existence of the errors is known, previous studies have failed to quantify the inaccuracies introduced on permittivity and electrical conductivity estimation. Based on a comparison of 3D and 2D modeling, errors could reach up to 30% of the original amplitudes in layered structures with high-contrast zones. These inaccuracies can significantly affect the performance of crosshole GPR FWI in estimating permittivity and especially electrical conductivity. We have addressed these potential inaccuracies by introducing a novel 2.5D crosshole GPR FWI that uses a 3D finite-difference time-domain forward solver (gprMax3D). This allows us to model GPR data in 3D, whereas carrying out FWI in the 2D plane. Synthetic results showed that 2.5D crosshole GPR FWI outperformed 2D FWI by achieving higher resolution and lower average errors for permittivity and conductivity models. The average model errors in the whole domain were reduced by approximately 2% for permittivity and conductivity, whereas zone-specific errors in high-contrast layers were reduced by approximately 20%. We verified our approach using crosshole 2.5D FWI measured data, and the results showed good agreement with previous 2D FWI results and geologic studies. Moreover, we analyzed various approaches and found an adequate trade-off between computational complexity and accuracy of the results, i.e., reducing the computational effort while maintaining the superior performance of our 2.5D FWI scheme.

An Efficient Sampling Method for Cross-Borehole GPR Imaging

This letter reformulates the recently proposed qualitative imaging technique, which is the near-field orthogonality sampling method (NOSM), for 2-D cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR) applications. The NOSM employs the reduced scattered electric field as its indicator function. To derive a relationship between the scattered electric field and the indicator, an integral equation is defined, linking these two quantities to each other. The introduced integral equation is solved analytically for full aperture case. Furthermore, it is shown that the derived integral operator can work for limited aperture scenario. Thus, the NOSM can approximate positions of the targets even with a single-view–multistatic imaging configuration. Feasibility of the proposed method is tested with a specific cross-borehole GPR application, which is the oil shale survey in a limestone. Obtained results show that the proposed technique can distinguish multiple targets with a few numbers of measurements.

Monitoring CO2 gas-phase migration in a shallow sand aquifer using cross-borehole ground penetrating radar

Understanding potential pathways of gaseous CO2 into and through the shallow subsurface from deep geological storage is one of many requirements related to risk assessment of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) site. In this study, a series of field experiments were carried out at a site located in Vrøgum in western Denmark. Up to 45kg of gaseous CO2 was injected into a shallow aquifer approximately 8m below the groundwater table. In the upper 6m, the aquifer consisted of fine Aeolian sand underlain by coarser glacial sand. The migration of the gaseous CO2 was tracked using cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR). A total of six GPR-boreholes were installed around the injection well and in the dominant flow direction of the groundwater. The GPR measurements were collected before, during, and after the CO2-injection. The GPR method proved to be very sensitive to desaturation of the aquifer when gaseous CO2 evolved and the method was thus useful for mapping the migration of the CO2 gas plume. The experimental results demonstrated that the migration of the gas plume was highly irregular. Initially, the gaseous CO2 migrated upwards due to buoyancy effects and subsequently it moved laterally and transversely to the groundwater flow direction. As the injection continued, the main flow direction of the gaseous CO2 shifted and CO2 gas pockets with a gas saturation of up to 0.3 formed below lower-permeable sand layers. CO2 gas was detected in a GPR-panel 5m away from the injection point after 21h. The GPR measurements showed that CO2 gas never penetrated the fine Aeolian sand at 6m depth and that the gas saturation appeared to become constant in the survey area after less than 24h of CO2 injection. The results of the experiments have emphasized that lateral spreading is of significance in case of leakage from a CCS site, and that even small changes in the formation texture can create barriers for the CO2 migration.

SVD Inversion of Zero-Offset Profiling Data Obtained in the Vadose Zone Using Cross-Borehole Radar

An artificial groundwater infiltration experiment was conducted in Nagaoka city in Japan, and time-lapse cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data were collected to monitor the infiltration process in the vadose zone using zero-offset profiling (ZOP) mode. The downward migration of induced water was observed as a variation of GPR travel times, which can be transformed into dielectric constant and further converted to volumetric water content. In this paper, we present an effective approach to extract accurate information about the hydrogeologic process in the vadose zone from ZOP data. This approach is based on a least squares inversion method using singular-value decomposition, in which a finite-difference time-domain forward modeling is used for computing electromagnetic wave fields on 2-D cylindrical coordinates. The inversion approach is validated using a synthetic example and applied to the field data. We can successfully estimate the variation of soil water content during infiltration in the Nagaoka site from the reconstructed dielectric constant models. The inversion results show that the saturation information is useful to assess hydrogeologic properties of the test soil zone.

An analysis of the cross-borehole GPR tomography for imaging the development of the infiltrated fluid plume

To analyse the resolution and accuracy of cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (XBGPR) methods in monitoring the variation due to fluid infiltration in the heterogeneous vadose zone, we built a hypothetical two-dimensional model by using the Sandia-Tech Vadose Zone (STVZ) model for unsaturated-flow modelling. The spatial variation in water content provided by the flow modelling was converted to a dielectric constant and electrical conductivity. We then used these parameters in finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic (EM) forward modelling to simulate the response of cross borehole radar surveys with antenna configurations identical to those of the STVZ site. We inverted the synthetic GPR data by using a damped least-squares method with straight ray-path assumptions. The results from the resolution analysis suggest that attenuation within a clay layer is overestimated near the boreholes but underestimated between the boreholes in the inverted images synthesized by FDTD modelling. Compared to the attenuation images, inverted water-content images are more representative of the input model. The inverted attenuation also shows that artefacts such as 'bull's eye' structures appear in the attenuation images. The reason for the poorer resolution and artefacts in the attenuation images concerns the straight-ray assumptions that we made in the inversion to approximate propagation of the EM waves with additional energy loss when they crossed the velocity boundaries. In addition, the clay layer serves as a waveguide when both the transmitter and receiver located in the clay layer and our current inversion algorithm do not account for the waveguide physics. Thus, it is necessary to properly incorporate physics into the inversion algorithms in order to correctly invert for the attenuation.

Efficient Electromagnetic Imaging of an Artificial Infiltration Process in the Vadose Zone Using Cross-Borehole Radar

Cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been widely used to characterize the shallow subsurface and to monitor hydrogeologic processes. To investigate an infiltration process in the vadose zone, an artificial groundwater infiltration test was conducted in Nagaoka, Japan. Time-lapse cross-borehole GPR data were collected using zero-offset profiling (ZOP) mode. The infiltration process was observed as a variation of GPR traveltimes, which can be transformed into a dielectric constant, and further converted to volumetric water content. A standard ZOP analysis, for which all first arrivals are assumed to be direct waves, results in an underestimation of the dielectric constant because of the existence of critically refracted waves. This letter presents an efficient algorithm using the maximum first-cycle amplitude to approximately determine the traveltime of direct arrival, deriving a dielectric constant model more accurately than the standard ZOP analysis from ZOP data. Tests on synthetic and real field data show that the proposed approach is effective in building accurate water content profile without iterative calculations as in the standard ZOP analysis.

Inverse upscaling of hydraulic parameters during constant flux infiltration using borehole radar

Modeling unsaturated flow in porous media requires constitutive relations that describe the soil water retention and soil hydraulic conductivity as a function of either potential or water content. Often, the hydraulic parameters that describe these relations are directly measured on small soil cores, and many cores are needed to upscale to the entire heterogeneous flow field. An alternative to the forward upscaling method using small samples are inverse upscaling methods that incorporate soft data from geophysical measurements observed directly on the larger flow field. In this paper, we demonstrate that the hydraulic parameters can be obtained from cross borehole ground penetrating radar by measuring the first arrival travel time of electromagnetic waves (represented by raypaths) from stationary antennae during a constant flux infiltration experiment. The formulation and coupling of the hydrological and geophysical models rely on a constant velocity wetting front that causes critical refraction at the edge of the front as it passes by the antennae. During this critical refraction period, the slope of the first arrival data can be used to calculate (1) the wetting velocity and (2) the hydraulic conductivity of the wet (or saturated) soil. If the soil is undersaturated during infiltration, then an estimate of the saturated water content is needed before calculating the saturated hydraulic conductivity. The hydraulic conductivity value is then used in a nonlinear global optimization scheme to estimate the remaining two parameters of a Broadbridge and White soil.

Cross-Well Radar. II: Comparison and Experimental Validation of Modeling Channel Transfer Function

Close agreement between theory and experiment is critical for adequate understanding and implementation of the cross-well radar (otherwise known as cross-borehole ground penetrating radar) technique, mentioned in a previous paper by the authors. Comparison of experimental results to simulation using a half-space dyadic Green's function in the frequency domain requires development of transfer functions to transform the experimental data into a compatible form. A channel transfer function (CTF) was developed to avoid having to model the transmitting and receiving characteristics of the antennas. The CTF considers electromagnetic wave propagation through the intervening media only (soil in this case) and hence corresponds to the simulation results that assume ideal sources and receivers. The CTF is based on assuming the transmitting antenna, soil, and receiving antenna as a cascade of three two-port microwave junctions between the input and output ports of the vector network analyzer used in the experimental measurements. Experimentally determined CTF results are then compared with computational model simulations for cases of relatively dry and saturated sandy soil backgrounds. The results demonstrate a reasonable agreement, supporting both the model and CTF formulation.

Quantifying the influence of static-like errors in least-squares-based inversion and sequential simulation of cross-borehole ground penetrating radar data

Unknown borehole irregularities and small-scale velocity fluctuations near transmitter and receiver antennae positions may cause relatively strong travel time effects on cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR) data. Previous studies have demonstrated that such effects may severely contaminate cross-borehole GPR tomographic images of radar wave velocity if they are not properly accounted for prior to, or during, inversion. In this paper we calculate the travel time effect of cavities in the borehole walls and small-scale velocity anomalies near the antennae positions using a full waveform modeling algorithm. We define covariance matrices for static-like errors which approximately capture the overall correlation properties of these effects. In synthetic tests, we investigate to which extent the resolution of least-squares-based tomographic inversion is affected by the calculated error types under different assumptions made about the statistical properties of the data errors. We find that the effects of the correlated data errors may be significantly suppressed if static-like errors are accounted for during inversion, even though the errors are not strictly static. Furthermore, we demonstrate that when static-like errors are accounted for, model resolution does not decline significantly, even when the expectation to the standard deviation of the data errors is increased above the level of the correlated errors. We implement this approach of accounting for correlated data errors in a sequential simulation algorithm, which we use to solve the inverse tomographic problem in order to obtain multiple realizations of the fine-scale GPR velocity distribution between the boreholes. Synthetic tests show that the assumptions made about the error correlation properties are significant for obtaining reliable images of the fine-scaled velocity distribution between the boreholes, even in cases where the correct prior knowledge about model correlation properties are available. We observe that the static-like data errors may introduce artifacts in the velocity distributions near the borehole walls if they are not properly accounted for during the conditioned simulation process. We apply the sequential simulation algorithm to a real data set from Arrenæs, Denmark and demonstrate that accounting for correlated data errors has a significant effect on the interpretation of the field data. In comparison to the standard approach in which errors are considered to be uncorrelated, higher resolution images with stronger contrasts between high- and low-velocity anomalies are produced when correlation of the data errors are accounted for.

Sensitivity Analysis for Joint Inversion of Ground-Penetrating Radar and Thermal-Hydrological Data from a Large-Scale Underground Heater Test

We describe a joint inversion approach that combines geophysical and thermal-hydrological data for the estimation of (a) thermal-hydrological parameters (such as permeability, porosity, thermal conductivity, and parameters of the capillary pressure and relative permeability functions) that are necessary for predicting the flow of fluids and heat in fractured porous media and (b) parameters of the petrophysical function that relates water saturation, porosity, and temperature to the dielectric constant. The approach incorporates the coupled simulation of nonisothermal multiphase fluid flow and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) travel times within an optimization framework. We discuss application of the approach to a large-scale in situ heater test that was conducted at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to better understand the coupled thermal, hydrological, mechanical, and chemical processes that may occur in the fractured rock mass around a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. We provide a description of the time-lapse geophysical data (i.e., cross-borehole GPR) and thermal-hydrological data (i.e., temperature and water content data) collected before and during the 4-yr heating phase of the test and analyze the sensitivity of the most relevant thermal-hydrological and petrophysical parameters to the available data. To demonstrate feasibility of the approach, and as a first step toward comprehensive inversion of the heater test data, we apply the approach to estimate a single parameter: the permeability of the rock matrix.

The application of ground penetrating radar attenuation tomography in a vadose zone infiltration experiment

Cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (XBGPR) is used in monitoring a long-term vadose zone infiltration experiment at a test site in Socorro, NM in order to examine contaminant transport in the vadose zone. XBGPR attenuation tomography is conducted in order to test the ability of using images of electromagnetic attenuation for hydrogeologic investigations. The results of four pre-infiltration attenuation inversions shows standard deviations below 0.1 Np/m, and demonstrate the consistency of the XBGPR tomography technique for making time-lapse observations. Correlation to the core records indicates that XBGPR attenuation tomograms provide high-resolution images of clay distribution in the vadose zone. Water infiltration at the ground surface was initiated in February 1999 at a constant rate of 2.7 cm/day, and continued at this rate throughout the data collection experiment. Time-lapse attenuation tomograms show that attenuation increases by approximately 0.3 Np/m during the water infiltration, and indicate a snowplow effect may be occurring where salts are dissolved by the water and concentrated at the front of the plume. Seasonal temperature changes may also cause changes in electromagnetic attenuation images, and masking the evidence of water infiltration. Thus caution must be taken when using time-lapse attenuation images to interpret the movement of a water plume during a long-term experiment as temperature changes.

Downhole GPR for high-resolution analysis of material properties near Fairbanks, Alaska

Abstract In August 2000, we used cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements to investigate sites on Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and east of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) permafrost tunnel near Fox, Alaska. The sites are characterized by perennially frozen soils characteristic of much of interior Alaska. The purpose of this investigation was to define variations in GPR signal velocity and attenuation that may be indicative of hydrocarbon contamination and to determine if downhole GPR methods could detect petroleum contaminants. To acquire background information for comparison, we conducted detailed investigations in non-contaminated areas to define general conditions before we profiled at the Fort Wainwright Tank Farm where extensive contamination has been documented. Results showed that cross-borehole GPR is a useful tool for detecting changes in electrical characteristics in permafrost and contaminated environments. Bulk electrical properties (velocity and attenuation) were observed to vary systematically between frozen and unfrozen materials, and produced distinct signal responses to frozen/unfrozen sediments, bedrock and massive ground ice. There is considerable overlap in both velocity and attenuation for soils and rock. Fine-grained silts exhibit higher attenuation (9–10 dB m −1 ) than coarser sand and gravel (1.5–2 dB m −1 ). Bedrock values are intermediate (2–7 dB m −1 ). Unfrozen sediment and rock exhibit velocities between 0.05 m ns −1 and 0.1 m ns −1 and attenuation ranges from 4 dB m −1 to 11 dB m −1 at 100 Mhz while frozen materials are between the velocities of 0.1 m ns −1 and 0.18 m ns −1 and 1.5 dB m −1 and 10 dB m −1 at −0.3 °C. The general trend is for frozen materials to have higher velocities than their unsaturated or saturated counterparts. Preliminary results where petroleum contamination was pervasive show that the attenuation decreases from 6 dB m −1 to 7 dB m −1 in uncontaminated schist to 4 dB m −1 in the hydrocarbon-contaminated schist. Additional measurements are required to determine that the observed decrease in attenuation is primarily related to petroleum contamination.