2002 Airborne Geophysical Survey at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Revision 2
Abstract
This report describes the results of a low altitude helicopter geophysical survey performed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory ORNL) and the U.S. Army Engineering Support Center Huntsville (USAESCH) over four selected areas at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland in July 2002. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate improvements to a multi-sensor magnetometer system for ordnance detection. The four sites that were surveyed are designated Active Recovery Field for indirect-fire weapons (ARF), Mine, grenade and direct-fire weapon range (MGD), Dewatering Ponds "non-tidal" historically clear of UXO (DP) and Airfield -- historically clear of UXO (AF). The average rate of coverage for the three suspected target sites was 91 acres/hr (36.6 ha/hr) and the average survey speed was 10.5 m/s. The average distance between the actual locations of the excavated items and the predicted locations from helicopter anomalies was consistently less than 1m for a 2m search radius. Noise levels were higher than we typically observe, with an average value of 1.7nT in the raw data. The Figure of Merit, an estimate of noise remaining after compensation, is also high. High noise levels indicate that the helicopter created more interference than usual, despite being degaussed four months prior to the survey. Similarly, mean altitude during the survey was greater than at most other sites, 2.9 m average over the entire area. The most complete performance results were obtained at the Active Recovery Field (ARF) where ground truth included both seeded items (blind) and intrusive excavations were based on airborne picks (double-blind). The ORAGS-Arrowhead performance in the ARF double-blind test (UXO detection excluding seed items) ranged from 86-98% Pd depending on the search radius (1.0m, 1.5m and 2.0m). This performance was based on analysis of data from the ARF site using the UV or MV prioritization methods (Table 4.4)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA611188
Entities
Organizations
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory