Characterization of the Karstic Process in an Urban Environment Using GPR Surveys
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 8
Abstract
In this work we present an analysis of the applicability of ground penetrating radar (GPR) to karstic hazard evaluation in urban areas by means of several case studies. The main objective is to characterize the origin of pathologies in buildings and other facilities, and of subsidence processes, and to identify their causative phenomena in the subsoil. This study involves the analysis of resolution, penetration characteristics and noise affecting GPR signals in urban areas. The analyzed case studies are located in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain), where the main hazards are related to mantled karst (solution of evaporites below alluvial deposits). The studied examples show that in areas affected by karst activity with medium to high subsidence rates, interpretation of GPR profiles allows defining collapses, subsidence, surficial repairs (either historical or recent) and underground cavities.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research has been supported by the Geotransfer Research Group from the University of Zaragoza (founded by the Gobierno de Aragón). The authors want to acknowledge comments and suggestion by the editor to the preliminary manuscript version and the suggestions by two anonymous reviewers.
References
Daniels, D. (2004). “Ground penetrating radar.” IEE Radar, Sonar and Navigation Series, 15, 2nd Ed., The Institution of Electrical Engineers, London, 716.
Daniels, D. J. (1996). Surface-penetrating radar, The Institution of Electrical Engineers, London.
Davis, J. L., and Annan, A. P. (1989). “Ground-penetrating radar for high resolution mapping of soil and rock stratigraphy.” Geophys. Prospect., 37(5), 531–551.
Forte, E., Pipan, M., Casabianca, D., Cuia, R. D., and Riva, A. (2012). “Imaging and characterization of a carbonate hydrocarbon reservoir analogue using GPR attributes.” J. Appl. Geophys., 81, 76–87.
Kadioglu, S. (2008). “Photographing layer thicknesses and discontinuities in a marble quarry with 3D GPR visualization.” J. Appl. Geophys., 64(3–4), 109–114.
Kofman, L., Ronen, A., and Frydman, S. (2006). “Detection of model voids by identifying reverberation phenomena in GPR records.” J. Appl. Geophys., 59(4), 284–299.
Lindhorst, S., Betzlera, C., and Hassb, H. C. (2008). “The sedimentary architecture of a Holocene barrier spit (Sylt, German Bight): Swash-bar accretion and storm erosion.” Sediment. Geol., 2061–4, 1–16.
Lorenzo, E. (1996). “Prospección geofísica de alta resolución mediante geo-radar.” Aplicación a obras civiles, Monografías CEDEX, Madrid (in Spanish).
Pardo, G., et al. (2004). “La cuenca del ebro.” Geología de españa, J. A. Vera, IGME-Sociedad Geológica de España, Madrid, 533–543.
Pérez-García, V. (2001). “Radar de subsuelo. Evaluación para aplicaciones en arqueología y en patrimonio histórico-artístico.” Ph.D. thesis, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, 3, 971 (in Spanish).
Pueyo Anchuela, Ó., Casas Sainz, A. M., Pocoví Juan, A., and Soriano, M. A. (2011). “Application of GPR-wave strength correlations as a semi-quantitative approach of internal structural changes in sediments.” J. Appl. Geophys., 75(2), 151–160.
Pueyo Anchuela, Ó., Pocoví Juan, A., Soriano, M. A., and Casas Sainz, A. M. (2009). “Characterization of karst hazards from the perspective of the doline triangle using GPR—Examples from Central Ebro Basin (Spain).” Eng. Geol., 108(3–4), 225–236.
Reynolds, J. M. (1997). An introduction to applied and environmental geophysics, John Wiley, Chichester, England, 796.
Salvany, J. M. (2009). Geología del yacimiento glauberítico de Montes de Torrero (Zaragoza), Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain, 80 (in Spanish).
Soriano, M. A., and Simón, J. L. (2002). “Subsidence rates and urban damages in alluvial dolines of the central Ebro basin (NE Spain).” Environ. Geol., 42(5), 476–484.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 8 • August 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 7, 2013
Accepted: Feb 24, 2014
Published online: May 2, 2014
Published in print: Aug 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Oct 2, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.