Ultra-Wideband, Fully Polarimetric Ground Penetrating Radar for UXO Discrimination
Abstract
In this project, demonstrations were carried out for the purpose of ascertaining the buried UXO discrimination capabilities of UWB, fully polarimetric ground penetrating radar (GPR). Work concentrated on cued identification or close interrogation by GPR of signal anomaly locations that were identified by other means. The unknown buried objects were sorted into UXO and non-UXO classes and the results scored independently against closely held ground truth. The ultimate purpose of the work was to contribute to a knowledge base that decision makers might exploit to determine when GPR application would be beneficial relative to other discrimination alternatives. Discrimination as used here contrasts with straight detection, the latter being simply identification and location of signal anomalies for further attention. The emphasis in straight detection is on finding as many UXO's as possible, with only secondary concern for false alarm rate. The emphasis in discrimination, as the word is used here, is on correct classification, maximizing correct "dig" decisions while minimizing false alarms. The demos took place between January of 2000 and November of 2001 at four sites: Tyndall AFB; Blossom Pt, MD; Jefferson Proving Ground, Madison, IN; and the former Ft Ord in Monterey, CA. Time requirements at each site are listed in Section 5 below. The one-of-a-kind GPR operated from about 10 MHz to 810 MHz and was fully polarimetric. The implication of fullpolarimetry is that complete amplitude and phase information is obtained for orthogonal direct and cross-channel reception, for any particular antenna orientation. Given this information for any single orientation, one can synthesize the co-polarization and cross-polarization responses for any other polarizations of transmission and reception.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 30, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA608306
Entities
People
- Kevin O’neill
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory