Frequency-Domain Reverse-Time Migration of Ground Penetrating Radar Based on Layered Medium Green's Functions

A frequency-domain reverse-time migration (RTM) algorithm based on the layered medium dyadic Green's function (DGF) is proposed for high-resolution and efficient subsurface imaging using ground penetrating radar (GPR). Different from the conventional RTM, which is performed by the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method, both the forward and backward extrapolation wavefields in this frequency-domain RTM are computed by the multiplication between the frequency spectra of the excitation source or the recorded GPR data and the layered medium DGFs. The final image is reconstructed by the direct summation of all the wavefields for all the sampling frequencies in the frequency domain, instead of transforming them back to the time domain and processing them. Two-dimensional (2-D) or 3-D numerical and laboratory experiments show that the proposed frequency-domain RTM algorithm can yield almost the same imaging results as the conventional time domain RTM algorithm but requires less than two orders of magnitude in computational costs. The proposed GPR imaging method is verified to be competent for the fast 3-D imaging of potential larva rocks under the lunar surface, which can provide critical information for the regolith-drilling task of the Chang-E 5 lunar exploration mission of China. Real-time subsurface imaging by RTM could be fulfilled and be widely applied to engineering geophysics, such as urban utility detection, through-wall imaging, and ice monitoring by ground-coupled or air-borne GPR.