Feasibility of tunnel detection under rough ground surfaces using Underground Focusing Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar

Author

Quivira, Fernando ; Fassbender, Kristen ; Martinez-Lorenzo, Jose A. ; Rappaport, Carey M.

Author_Institution

Gordon-CenSSIS, Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA, USA

fYear

2010

fDate

8-10 Nov. 2010

Firstpage

357

Lastpage

362

Abstract

Detecting and imaging the presence of illicit tunnels in any given volume of soil is occasionally possible because the air that fills them is materially quite different from anything else underground. The Underground Focusing Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar (UF-SL-SAR) concept has been suggested for sub-surface tunnel detection due to its ability to scan large areas of terrain in a short amount of time. This paper explores the feasibility of tunnel detection under rough ground surfaces using an algorithmic implementation of the UF-SL-SAR concept. In particular, detectability is investigated as a function of tunnel depth, ground surface roughness and soil type.

Keywords

ground penetrating radar; soil; surface roughness; synthetic aperture radar; tunnels; UF-SL-SAR concept; ground surface roughness; soil type; subsurface tunnel detection; synthetic aperture radar; terrain; tunnel depth; underground focusing spotlight; Clutter; Focusing; Rough surfaces; Soil; Surface roughness; Synthetic aperture radar; Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR); Rough surfaces; Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR); Tunnel detection; Underground Focusing Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar (UF-SL-SAR);

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Technologies for Homeland Security (HST), 2010 IEEE International Conference on

Conference_Location

Waltham, MA

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-6047-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/THS.2010.5654932

Filename

5654932