Vertical-Radar Profiling For Porosity Estimation in Porous Media st Cape Cod Research Site

As part of OGW BG geophysical monitoring and site characterization research through the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, a study was conducted on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts on the use of vertical- radar profiling for porosity estimation in porous media.

The vertical-radar profile (VRP) method uses surface-to-borehole radar data to derive radar propagation velocities and develop a radar velocity profile as a function of depth. In this experiment, VRP is being used to calculate the velocity over intervals. These velocity calculations can then be used to develop porosity estimations and changes in porosity in the subsurface. Boise State University's Center for Geophysical Investigation of the Shallow Subsurface (CGISS) has developed an innovative method of collecting, picking, inverting, and interpreting VRP data, and these methods are being used in the data processing and interpretation.

During the summer of 2001, VRPs were collected in two boreholes using a 100MHz antenna at the Massachusetts Military Reservation. These data will be used to test the inversion algorithm developed at CGISS. In addition, the inverted VRP results will be compared to porosity estimations calculated through other methods as a means of determining the accuracy and consistency of both the method and the data.

View the online photo gallery from this project.

Support & Collaboration

This research was conducted through the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program by John W. Lane, Jr. (USGS OGW Branch of Geophysics) and Marc Buursink (CGISS, Boise State University) with assistance from OGW BG staff.

For more information:

For more information on this project, please contact John W. Lane, Jr. (Chief, USGS OGW Branch of Geophysics), or call the Branch of Geophysics at (860)487-7402.

For more information about USGS Toxics Substances Hydrology Program research on Cape Cod, see the Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology Research Site web site. [an error occurred while processing this directive]