MultichannelGPR: A MATLAB tool for Ground Penetrating Radar data processing

Abstract

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a popular geophysical method for near surface investigations using high-frequency electromagnetic waves for a broad range of applications such as archaeological prospection (e.g. Trinks et al., 2018), hydrology (e.g. Annan, 2005, urban infrastructure detection (e.g. Pajewski et al., 2019), geological mapping (e.g. Buck & Bristow, 2024), permafrost investigations (e.g. Westermann et al., 2010) or soil science (e.g. Gates et al., 2023). Pulsed electromagnetic waves are transmitted from a transmitter antenna, penetrate into the ground and are reflected and transmitted at interfaces until the reflected waves are recorded by a receiving antenna. For mapping, the transmitter and receiver antenna (=one channel) are mostly carried with a constant small offset between them along a profile. For applications requiring high spatial resolution multi-channel equipment is available collecting several parallel profiles with small profile spacing (e.g. 4 cm or 8 cm, depending on the frequency) in one swath.