Purchase of Radar Equipment
The Survey Group has five years experience in conducting GPR surveys with hired equipment. In order to enhance our in-house geophysical capabilities, we have recently purchased Sensors & Software PulseEkko P1000 Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) equipment.
GPR provides an image of materials beneath a radar antenna as this is moved across the ground. An image is recorded comprising a pseudo section through the ground formed from reflected radar events. The main applications of GPR have been:
- Geological mapping
- Determining road pavement thickness
- Buried services location
- Inspection of structures (particularly concrete)
The PulseEkko GPR system has full digital control and data acquisition systems and five antennas of different frequencies which have different penetration and resolution capabilities making it ideal for high precision surveys. We also have purchased the latest software for processing the GPR data.
With geological investigations, radar can out perform other geophysical techniques in terms of both quality of results and cost effectiveness. Ideal ground for radar surveys is dry granular soil or crystalline rocks but the technique can also be highly effective in many other materials. However, radar waves are strongly attenuated in clay soils reducing the depth of signal penetration limiting the use of GPR in cohesive soils.
The GPR equipment is already in use on a site in Waterford, Ireland where the equipment is being used to locate buried services below roads across the town. |
