Applications
GPR has many applications in a number of fields. In the Earth sciences it is used to study bedrock, soils, groundwater, and ice. Engineering applications include nondestructive testing (NDT) of structures and pavements, locating buried structures and utility lines, and studying soils and bedrock. In environmental remediation, GPR is used to define landfills, contaminant plumes, and other remediation sites, while in archaeology it is used for mapping archaeological features and cemeteries. GPR is used in law enforcement for locating clandestine graves and buried evidence. Military uses include detection of mines, unexploded ordnance, and tunnels.
Before 1987 the Frankley Reservoir in Birmingham, England UK was leaking 540 litres of drinking water per second. In that year GPR was used successfully to isolate the leaks.
Borehole radars utilizing GPR are used to map the structures from a borehole in underground mining applications. Modern directional borehole radar systems are able to produce three-dimensional images from measurements in a single borehole.
One of the other main applications for ground penetration radars to locate underground utilities, since GPR is able to generate 3D underground images of pipes, power, sewage and water mains. This technology is often referred to as PAT, short for Pipe Avoiding Tool.
GPR is often used on the channel 4 television program Time Team who use the technology to determine a suitable area for examination by means of excavations. In 1992 GPR was used to recover £150,000 in cash that kidnapper Michael Sams received as a ransom for an estate agent he had kidnapped after Sams buried the money in a field.
Read more about this topic: Ground-penetrating Radar