Application of ground penetrating radar in mapping and monitoring landfill sites

The internal structure and the integrity of the containment walls are aspects of landfill site management that need to be continuously monitored. Monitoring currently involves construction of boreholes and chemical analyses of surface samples which are time-consuming and expensive. The applicability of ground penetrating radar (GPR) as an aid to monitoring these processes has been investigated. GPR surveys have successfully resolved the shallow depth soil and geological structure, identified the structure and history of the waste input, defined the water table in three dimensions and identified leachout breakout points in the impermeable lining of the landfill edges. Integration of the results of GPR surveys with data from surface surveys and boreholes could provide landfill operators, environmental agencies and commercial companies with a cost-effective monitoring methodology and a mechanism for enhancing contaminant migration modelling.