The role of radar in geological survey

电子科技大学 格拉斯哥学院 窦书怀-2017200601033
Radar is derived from the abbreviation of radio detection and ranging, which means “radio detection and ranging”, that is, using radio methods to find targets and determine their spatial position. Therefore, radar is also known as “radio positioning.” A radar is an electronic device that uses electromagnetic waves to detect a target. The radar emits electromagnetic waves to illuminate the target and receive its echoes, thereby obtaining information such as the distance from the target to the electromagnetic wave emission point, the rate of change of the distance (radial velocity), the azimuth, and the height.

The birth of radar has brought great influence in the field of geological survey. Among them, the most widely used in the field of geological survey is Ground-penetrating radar. Ground-penetrating radar is a fast and non-destructive geophysical detection technology. It is a set of workflows of exciting, transmitting, transmitting, reflecting, and receiving high-frequency electromagnetic waves. In the 1980s, ground penetrating radar began commercialization. After the 1990s, it was slowly recognized and widely used, and a corresponding amount of scientific research work was also carried out. In the past ten years, the application of ground penetrating radar has reached a heyday. However, it is undeniable that there are still many shortcomings. At the same time, especially the radar data processing process is cumbersome, improper handling will result in a final result map is very different, resulting in the final failure to accurately explain. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a high-tech geophysical method based on the electrical differences of different media, using high-frequency electromagnetic waves to detect the distribution of hidden media and the target. When the transmitting antenna T is in a wide-band, short-pulse manner When electromagnetic waves are emitted underground, when encountering media with different dielectric properties (such as voids and interfaces), some electromagnetic wave energy is reflected (echo), and the receiving antenna receives reflected echoes and records the reflection time.

The arrangement and design of the GPR test should fully consider the purpose of the survey and the geological conditions of the site. The specific factors to be considered include: geological conditions, depth of detection, target geometry, target of detection, matrix material, electromagnetic properties of underground media, noise sources (regardless of Whether it is clutter or system noise) and operational constraints, etc. Before the detection, relevant information should be obtained as much as possible, such as the type of soil on site, conductivity and aquifer depth. Previous GPR test data, drilling records, Site maps and aerial photographs are important references. The following focuses on the resolution, the choice of the antenna center frequency, and the expected depth of detection.
Resolution:
Ground-penetrating radar resolution refers to the ability of the radar region to resolve two objects that are close in space (also defined as the ability of the radar to distinguish pulse signals that are close in time). The resolution determines the minimum resolution of the road radar. The ability of anomalous media and the scope of its application can be divided into vertical resolution and horizontal resolution.
Antenna center frequency selection
The selection of the center frequency of the antenna mainly depends on the depth of the detection, the spatial precision and the research needs. The selection of the center frequency of the portable antenna needs to balance the depth of detection, the resolution and the size of the antenna to meet the needs of the site. Generally speaking, the resolution is met. When the site conditions permit, the antenna center frequency should be reduced as much as possible.
Predicted depth of detection
Obviously, the underground target of G PR detection must be within the range of detection. Therefore, effective prediction depth is an important part to ensure the correct implementation of the detection plan. The detection depth of GPR is mainly caused by conductivity, dielectric relaxation, scattering and geometry. The factors such as the spread, the dynamic range of the radar system, and the attenuation caused by the noise source are determined.

Although ground penetrating radar has been widely used in the fields of hydrology, engineering, environment, etc., since many basic theoretical and technical problems have not been fundamentally solved so far, the true advantages of ground penetrating radar have not been fully utilized. The main problems currently existing include:

1. The depth of detection is shallow, and the contradiction between depth of detection and resolution cannot be overcome. Increasing the depth of detection means sacrificing the resolution of detection;
2. Repeated interference with other clutter is serious, and there has been no good way to eliminate it. Both domestic and foreign radars have this serious problem;
3. The unevenness of the medium has a great influence and cannot be eliminated, resulting in difficulty in obtaining the necessary speed data;
4. The data collection method of single-issue and single-receipt can provide limited amount of information for post-processing and interpretation.

The above problems are fatal defects for ground penetrating radar. Although many geophysicists, electromagnetic experts and geophysical workers have done a lot of research and improvement on radar antenna design, signal processing, underground target imaging, etc., these works are only partial to the existing ground penetrating radar system. The correction, in order to advance the ground-penetrating radar technology, must update the thinking and solve the problem from the fundamental principle.

On the other hand, remote sensing radar technology has also contributed greatly to solving social problems. Remote sensing is a technique that uses a remote sensor to detect the interaction between an object and a specific spectral segment (radiation, reflection, scattering, polarization, etc.) from the air (aircraft, satellite, etc.) to identify features and their properties. It is different from the geophysical method of detecting force fields (gravity, magnetic force) and elastic waves. Remote sensing was developed on the basis of aerial photography. In 1972, the launch of the Landsat (LANDSA T) equipped with multi-spectral scanners (MSS) in the United States was successful, marking the establishment of remote sensing as a new technical discipline. At present, the spectrum segments commonly used in remote sensing are Visible - short-wave infrared (0. 38 ~ 2. 50μm), mid-infrared (3 ~ 5μm), thermal infrared (8 ~ 14μm) and microwave (0. 8 ~ 30cm) spectrum. The development of remote sensing has greatly broadened the horizon and visual ability of human beings. With its macroscopic, comprehensive, multi-scale and multi-level characteristics, it has become a powerful tool for human studies of the Earth’s surface system, and it is also indispensable for geological research and geological exploration. Technical means have played an increasingly important role in geological surveys, mineral exploration, geological environment assessment, geological hazard monitoring and basic geological research. After several decades of development of remote sensing, the launch of various types of Earth observation satellites, the continuous introduction of new types of sensors, the development of small satellite systems, drone systems, and boat-based technologies have promoted the integration and serialization of Earth observation. With the development of internationalization, multi-platform, multi-scale, multi-level, multi-sensor stereoscopic Earth observation systems are gradually taking shape. As the spectral range of the sensor continues to widen, the resolution (space, spectrum, time, radiation) continues to increase, not only greatly improving the observation scale of remote sensing, the ability to distinguish the features and the fineness of recognition. Moreover, some qualitative changes and leap in data processing, information extraction and working methods of remote sensing have been made, and remote sensing technology and applications have been pushed to a new height.

At present, the spatial resolution of civil satellite images has reached centimeter level. The spatial resolution is continuously improved, and the spatial features of the features, including the size, shape, shadow, spatial distribution, texture structure, and spatial relationship with other features, are displayed on the remote sensing image. The spatial characteristics of features are increasingly dominant in feature recognition. The improvement of time resolution refines the time granularity of remote sensing dynamic monitoring, and makes the research of remote sensing change detection to the study of the evolution of ground objects or phenomena. Sequence image analysis methods will gradually become a new research hotspot. The rise and development of hyperspectral technology enables remote sensing to directly identify the type of features, the composition of features, and the composition of the features, and to invert the physical and chemical parameters of the features, based on the acquired and reconstructed pixel spectra, so that remote sensing occurs. The qualitative leap from macro to micro detection makes the remote sensing application gradually get rid of the stage of “seeing literacy” and increasingly relies on the quantitative analysis and understanding of the spectral features of the ground object. The rise and development of technologies such as hyperspectral, high-resolution, thermal infrared multi/hyperspectral, radar interference (InSA R), and lidar (Lidar) have enabled remote sensing geology to follow the surface remote sensing application field and gradually become quantified. development stage.

Radar remote sensing technology plays an extremely important role in the analysis of earthquakes. Remote sensing technology plays an important role in post-earthquake information extraction by virtue of its fast, large-scale and high-precision acquisition of ground information. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which is available 24/7, has become an important source of data for seismic assessment. As remote sensing images develop toward high resolution, the information contained in the data is becoming more and more abundant, which is more conducive to seismic geological disaster investigation.

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) is a technique that uses coherent processing of two SAR complex image data observed in the same area to acquire surface elevation information and deformation information through phase information. Synthetic Aperture Differential Interferometry (D-InSAR) technology is an extension of InSAR technology, using two interference images in the same region, one of which is the interference image before deformation, and the other is the interference image obtained after deformation, and then through the difference Processing to obtain measurement techniques for surface deformation. The D-InSAR geometry is shown in the following figure. Under repeated orbit conditions, S1 is the first transit point of the satellite, the satellite orbit height is H, and S2 is the second transit point of the satellite. The distance B between the two transits becomes the baseline has an angle α with the horizontal direction. In general, the vertical baseline, ie B⊥ = Bcosα, should be less than a critical value to obtain better quality interference results. The distance between the two transits of the satellite and the ground target point is R1 and R2 respectively. If the corresponding target point has a displacement Δd within the two transit time periods, a corresponding displacement Δr will be generated in the direction of the satellite line of sight, and then the electromagnetic wave will be reflected. The phase difference, by calculating the phase difference, can be used to obtain the deformation of the surface during the two-view SAR image.

Compared with optical remote sensing images, which are limited by weather and lighting conditions, radar remote sensing images have the advantages of all-weather, all-day, and unaffected by cloud cover. After the earthquake, it is necessary to master the large-scale disaster information, delineate the extremely earthquake zone, and quickly locate various types of earthquake damage, such as geological disasters, secondary disasters, building damage, etc., because the SAR image is side view. Imaging, when there are changes in the local shape and undulation, pixel displacement such as perspective shrinkage, overlay and radar shadow will occur. Therefore, the primary work of extracting seismic damage information from SAR images is image image geometric correction and registration. The use of SAR images for geological hazard identification mainly uses the amplitude information of SAR images to compare and analyze the images before and after the disaster, so as to extract information such as the location, distribution and area of the disaster. The key technologies include: preprocessing such as SAR image filtering radiation correction, fine registration of images before and after disasters, structural difference images, geocoding and change region extraction. The geometric correction and registration of SAR images is mainly to give accurate spatial coordinate information to SAR images, eliminate geometric distortion caused by SAR slant range imaging and surface undulations, and reproject the SAR images into the specified coordinate system. It facilitates the location of disaster information in SAR images and analyzes and compares with other data.

Through the application of the above two radar technologies, it can be easily found that the radar plays an indelible role in solving social problems.