Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Techniques and Applications

Harry M. Jol
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
Department of Geography
105 Garfield Avenue
Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004

Slide Show!
  1. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) set up on a coastal spit. The GPR antennae are to the left in this photo with a wire connecting the antennae to a laptop computer (on right). The GPR system is being used to obtain a "image" of the subsurface which may be displayed on the computer in real-time.



  2. GPR and backpack operation for more remote locations. Setup includes portable computer linked to the console, which are both powered by 12-volt batteries. Console is linked to antennae via fiber-optic cables.



  3. GPR and wheelbarrow operation for level coastal environments. Setup includes portable computer linked to the console and antennae, both are powered by 12-volt batteries.



  4. Four different antennae frequencies used in coastal research, from left to right they are 200, 100, 50, and 25 MHz.




  5. GPR bottom and sub-surface profiling using ice as a platform.







  6. GPR bottom and sub-surface profiling using a boat as a platform for the antennae.




  7. Robust and portable GPR systems allow access to remote locations via Zodiac boats (northern shore of Lake Athabasca, Canada).




  8. Vibracoring coastal environments to confirm GPR profiling patterns.






  9. Outcrop of the Late Pleistocene Athabasca River braided delta plain at Embarrass airfield, in northern Alberta, Canada.




  10. GPR profile of the Late Pleistocene Athabasca River braided delta plain at Embarrass airfield, in northern Alberta, Canada. Black lines in the profile indicate signals return to the receiver. The top most line is the direct travel of the radar signal through the air to the receiver. The second line indicates the direct surface return. Additional lines (referred to as reflectors) indicate the structure of the subsurface.

  11. Location map showing Long Beach, Washington (USA). Long Beach is within the Columbia River Littoral Cell, which extends from Tillamook Head, OR north to Point Grenville, WA.




  12. Looking north along the Long Beach Peninsula. Note waves breaking and reforming several hundred meters offshore.




  13. Aerial view of the Long Beach, WA study area. This shoreline has a reflective beach with mean wave heights of over 2 meters.




  14. GPR profile of a progradational, wave-influenced, shoreline at a study site within the Columbia River Littoral Cell.




  15. Photo of the Panther Member near Helper, Utah. This has been interpreted as a progradational, wave-influenced, shoreline.




  16. GPR profile of the Panther Member showing a progradational, wave-influenced, shoreline (near Helper, Utah).




  17. Photo showing escarpment of the Slave River Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada.




  18. GPR profile showing the Early Holocene wave-influenced delta deposits exhibiting possible postdepositional slumping.




  19. Photo of the Brigham Fan-Foreset Delta, located near Brigham City, Utah. It was formed during the Prove Level of Lake Bonneville.





  20. GPR profile of the Brigham Fan-Foreset Delta. Note the steeply dipping reflection patterns from the GPR trace.

References

Jol, H.M., D.G. Smith, and R. Meyers. 1996. Digital ground penetrating radar (GPR): An improved and very effective geophysical tool for studying modern coastal barriers. Journal of Coastal Research 12:960-968.

Meyers, R., D.G. Smith, H.M. Jol, and C.R. Peterson. 1996. Evidence for eight great earthquake-subsidence events detected with ground penetrating radar, Willapa Barrier, Washington. Geological Society of America Geology 24:99-102.

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