Interference Effects of Shallow Buried Targets on a GPR

Landmines, especially anti-personnel mines, are shallowly buried, below the range resolution of a Ground-Penetrating-Radar. Therefore it seems to be impossible to detect these objects. But in these case, interference effects occur and make it possible to detect metallic as well as non-metallic objects. Lab measurements with a VS50 dummy mine in two configurations demonstrate this behavior. They also show that the expected signature from the simulations is visible in the C-Scans. The shallowly buried non-metallic VS50 exhibits a negative contrast compared with the surrounding soil. While the metallic objects show an increased response. This is due to the reflection phase shift at the object. As a result, it is not sufficient to detect only maxima in the area of interest, likewise it is necessary to look for the presence of specific signatures.