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The Use of Resistivity to Complement GPR Surveys on Tree Roots in Urban Areas
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 25th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, Sep 2019, Volume 2019, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Urban areas are not usually favourable sites for geophysical surveys. However, GPR has shown promise in different environments, particularly in the mapping of coarse roots. Given its functionality on multiple urban surfaces, speed of data acquisition, and overall suitability for tree root detection, we find that in most scenarios, GPR is the most well-suited geophysical method for tree root detection. GPR is not a panacea, though. It has fundamental limitations when it comes to tree root detection , and given the variability of environmental parameters in urban areas, as well as the numerous sources of noise, the extent to which GPR can detect tree roots (and thinner roots in particular) remains site-specific and not fully clear.
In this case, resistivity surveys and ERT in particular can serve as a complementary or potentially even self-sufficient method of detecting tree roots.
Here, we use four different antennas covering a broad range of central frequencies (250 MHz, 750 MHz, 1.5 GHz, and 4 GHz) to showcase the potential and limitations of GPR in this scenario, as well as a hybrid between a commercial resistivity meter and lab-developed equipment to implement both conventional and non-conventional arrays.