Use of ground-penetrating radar for assessment of potential sinkhole conditions: an example from Ghor al Haditha area, Jordan

Abstract

Sinkholes are near-surface indicators of active karst features at depth, such as cavities, conduits and solutionally enlarged fractures. This study tests the usefulness of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to identify and locate buried sinkholes as a means of interpreting the existence of these subsurface hydraulically-active karst features. GPR survey was made at the Ghor al Haditha area west of the Jordan-DSTF in the Jordan Valley Escarpment at the eastern Dead Sea shoreline. GPR profiles (100 MHz) made along the eastern Dead Sea shoreline showed a trough-like pattern of radar reflections outlining a series of possible filled sinkholes. This feature is about 38 m wide and about 12 m deep. Its width is consistent with the width of the feature obtained from the topographic map of the area. The GPR survey suggests that this feature has been filled with relatively dense and resistive materials. This structure lies almost directly above a major water bearing zone.

The Role of Earth Observation, with a Focus on SAR Interferometry, for Sinkhole Hazard Assessment

“…For the detection and mapping of buried sinkholes and cavities, geophysical methods have been used with reasonable success [25,26]. These methods can be either destructive or non-destructive.…”

“…They are, however, only successful if the excavation site is well chosen, typically by non-destructive methods [22,56]. Non-destructive geophysical methods include the use of seismic reflection [30], micro-gravity surveys [4,27], magnetic surveys [57] electromagnetic (EM) surveys [30,56,58] and ground penetrating radar (GPR) [25,56]. A review of the geophysical methods for the detection of underground cavities has been completed [57].…”

“…A review of the geophysical methods for the detection of underground cavities has been completed [57]. In general, the most commonly used geophysical technique for the detection of underground cavities is GPR which operate by transmitting microwaves into the ground and analysing the returned signal [25,26]. The technique…”

“…In this way, cause-and effect relationships between sinkholes that happened in the past and controlling conditions can be used to perform quantitative risk assessments or probabilistic sinkhole hazard assessment with the aim of identifying high risk areas [12,24] and the production of sinkhole susceptibility maps [15]. To complement these assessments, several approaches have been adopted to identify or confirm the presence of underground cavities in high risk areas which generally relies on geophysical surveys or percussion drilling [25][26][27].…”

High-resolution shear-wave seismic reflection as a tool to image near-surface subrosion structures – a case study in Bad Frankenhausen, Germany

“…Analogue and digital mechanical modeling of the development and the propagation of collapse sinkholes is also a valuable tool (Abdulla and Goodings, 1996;Tharp, 1999;Augarde et al, 2003). Seismic (Steeples et al, 1986;Bolger et al, 1995;Shtivelman et al, 2002;Krawczyk et al, 2012) and groundpenetrating radar (GPR) (Kaspar and Pecen, 1975;Ulriksen, 1982;Forkmann, 1997;Batayneh et al, 2002) can deliver an image of the underground and provide physical attributes. Most of the previous case studies were carried out in rural areas, since geophysical methods based on electric and electromagnetic principles, in particular, are often affected by strong electromagnetic noise and the presence of ferrous materials in urban areas (Bosch and Müller, 2001).…”