Next Generation Geophysical Assessment System

Abstract

Electromagnetic induction has been utilized in the past by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a method of detecting unexploded ordinance. Recently an EMI instrument was built that extended the traditional EMI frequency range from 100 kHz to 15 MHz to aid in the detection of nonmetallic ordinance, landmines, and improvised explosive devices. Extending that research, the iFROST mapper was built to use the same HFEMI technique to characterize arctic soil and subsurface permafrost deposits. This paper details the original iFROST mapper software and hardware systems as well as a new HFEMI device that improves on the original iFROST mapper design.