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Ground Penetrating Radar

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Ground penetrating radar2 (GPR) is an electromagnetic pulse reflection method based on physical principles similar to those of reflection seismics. It is a geophysical technique for shallow investigations with high resolution which has undergone a rapid development during the last two decades (cf. e.g. GPR Conference Proceedings 1994 to 2006). There are several synonyms and acronyms for this method like EMR (electromagnetic reflection), SIR (subsurface interface radar), georadar, subsurface penetrating radar and soil radar. GPR has been used since the 1960s with the term radio echo sounding (RES) for ice thickness measurements on polar ice sheets. The method was first applied by Stern (1929), 1930 in Austria to estimate the thickness of a glacier. GPR has been increasingly accepted for geological, engineering, environmental, and archaeological investigations since the 1980s.

Bernhard Illich: Localization of objects, Delineation of a mineralized fault in consolidated rocks, Investigations of concrete constructions, Examination of masonry structures, and Investigation of residual foundations; Hellfried Petzold: Investigation of a domestic waste site in a refilled open-pit mine; Thomas Richter: Radar tomography to assess the ground below buildings; Dieter Eisenburger: Special Applications and New Developments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Institut für Geophysik, Corrensstraße 24, D-48149, Münster

    Dr. Norbert Blindow

  2. Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Stilleweg 2, D-30655, Hannover

    Dieter Eisenburger

  3. GGU Gesellschaft für Geophysikalische Untersuchungen, Amalienstraße 4, D-76133, Karlsruhe

    Bernhard Illich

  4. LAUBAG Lausitzer Braunkohle AG, Knappenstraße 1, D-01968, Senftenberg

    Dr. Hellfried Petzold

  5. Bo-Ra-Tec GmbH, Damaschkestr. 19a, D-99425, Weimar

    Dr. Thomas Richter

Authors
  1. Dr. Norbert Blindow
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  2. Dieter Eisenburger
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  3. Bernhard Illich
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  4. Dr. Hellfried Petzold
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  5. Dr. Thomas Richter
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Blindow, N., Eisenburger, D., Illich, B., Petzold, H., Richter, T. (2007). Ground Penetrating Radar. In: Environmental Geology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74671-3_10

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