An Integrated Application Ground Penetrating Radar and Seismic Refraction for Non-Intrusive Investigation of Geophysical and Geotechnical Targets

This chapter presents a brief synopsis of geophysical exploration methods useful in geotechnical and environmental applications. The treatment is keyed at the baccalaureate level to enable geophysics graduates to apply these methods with minimal supervision. In the seismic method, the background theory is given. Application emphasis is placed on the reversed refraction profile technique which ultimately allows interpretation using the Generalized Reciprocal Method (GRM) first introduced by Palmer in 1986. The latter part of the chapter provides a review of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method used in high resolution geophysical surveys. This method has recently been used extensively to map defects developed on ageing road and pipeline infrastructure in Botswana. The treatment of theory is restricted again to suit the baccalaureate level of geophysics courses at university and many application examples are given. A discussion on acquisition parameters is included to guide the reader through implementation of the method.