Applications of GPR data inversion in the mapping of underground biomass through microwave tomography

Abstract

The GPR-Ground Penetrating Radar method has been widely used by researchers for location of underground objects due to its high resolution and quick data acquisition. Until the late 1990 decade tree roots were treated as a noise source and they were discarded as anomalies of interest in radargrams. In the last decade researchers began to use the GPR method as a suitable tool for systematic, non-invasive mapping of underground biomass. To know and quantify this biomass is of interest to biologists and forest engineers, as it is related to the carbon assimilation and storage in the underground. This research project proposes a novel methodology for underground biomass mapping using the GPR data inversion through the microwave tomographic formulation. This inverse problem aims to retrieve an approximation for the shape and spatial distribution of underground scatterers. In this sense, this project will evaluate the microwave tomography as an additional tool for underground biomass mapping and providing a novel contribution for this line of research. This project is proposed as part of the FAPESP grant nº 2015/50488-5. (AU)