Migration of ground penetrating radar (GPR) data to image the floor of
lava tubes; TubeX project
Abstract
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is shown to be a successful tool in
detecting tunnels and voids. Lava tubes are tunnel-like features in
volcanic terrains that can be potential safe places for human crews and
equipment on the Moon and Mars. We utilize GPR to detect and map lava
tubes (Valentines cave, Skull cave and Hercules Leg cave) in Lava Beds
National Monument, CA. Our preliminary results show that the ceiling of
the lava tubes are readily detectable by GPR. However, due to the strong
radar velocity contrast between lava and the air-filled tubes, accurate
recovery of the position of the lava tube floor is much more
challenging. Careful migration of the GPR data is required to resolve
the floor signature and create an image with the tube floor restored to
its correct depth. We are developing an optimal workflow for recovering
complete lava tube geometries. We can do this because we have collected
centimeter-scale LiDAR data from the interior of tubes as well as on the
surface along GPR transect lines. Thus we can test the accuracy of GPR
migration methods against the LiDAR-measured tube geometry. We are
testing conventional 2D migration techniques as well as topographic
migration. At selected field sites we have limited 3D ‘grids’ of data.
We expect to compare the results of different migration techniques to
identify optimal methods for this problem. As a part of this project, we
also seek to develop a library of different lava tube geometries and
their corresponding GPR image from their migrated sections. The GPR
image library will encompass a range lava tube geometries, including
tubes of different heights, widths, shapes, and structures (e.g.,
pillars), plus a variety of floor textures (e.g., smooth, ropey, rubble)
and overhead thickness. This library will be an asset for determining
the utility of deploying GPR technology in mapping a tube-rich
environment.