Towards the Integration of GPR and Magnetic Data for the Study of Urban and Rural Areas

Among Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) methods, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and magnetic surveys are among the most widely used techniques for various applications, including geo-environmental, archaeological, geotechnical, and engineering purposes. Their success is attributed to factors such as cost-efficiency, versatility, and data collection capabilities. Additionally, both methods enable the detection of buried targets through their respective magnetic and electromagnetic properties. Integrating the results from these two methodologies can yield excellent outcomes for an in-depth analysis of the investigated environment and significantly enhance the detection capabilities for anomaly sources.

This study presents preliminary results on the integration of simulated GPR and magnetometric data for a representative scenario. Advanced imaging techniques, including the Depth from Extreme Points (DEXP) method for magnetic data and the microwave tomography approach for GPR data, were applied to produce an initial high-resolution visualization of the simulated target.

Building on these results, an arithmetic integration approach was used to merge the two datasets into a single image, enhancing the interpretation of the anomaly source, including its morphology, position, and depth.

These preliminary results demonstrate the potential of this workflow, based on the arithmetic integration of these datasets, to provide more accurate and detailed subsurface models. This approach paves the way for real-world applications, and further developments aim to refine it for broader geophysical purposes.

Acknowledgments: the project ITINERIS "Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructure Systems" (IR0000032), which funded the research