{"title":"Investigation of hydrogeological structures in carbonate rock with ground penetrating radar","authors":"Anna Rieß, Peter Dietrich","doi":"10.1007/s12665-025-12162-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Carbonate rock aquifers are an important resource in the face of water scarcity. However, groundwater recharge processes are not fully understood in the heterogeneous matrix and fracture system. The shallow epikarst zone is important for drainage, transport and storage and needs to be investigated. Geophysical techniques are promising, particularly ground penetrating radar (GPR) due to its sensitivity to water saturation. To test the potential of GPR, hydrogeological structures were investigated in the Lower Muschelkalk of the Rüdersdorf limestone quarry near Berlin, Germany. A survey field was monitored under three different moisture conditions and the experiments included densely spaced zero offset GPR and common midpoint (CMP) profiles. The analysis focused on EM wave velocities as a proxy for water saturation, which were used for a relative comparison of the results from different methods. The more generic CMP results were significantly higher than the velocities from diffraction hyperbolas, which only represent the very local position. Structural observations from picked reflectors throughout the monitoring contributed to the interpretation. While the matrix appears to be unaffected by water variability, preferential flow paths can be identified. Diffraction hyperbolas may occur at fractured porous zones that preferentially store water and drain towards the bedding planes. Their spatial characteristics suggest that they may be precursors of potential sinkholes. The survey shows how GPR can help to understand hydrological processes in carbonate rock and locate relevant structures for further investigation. The collected dataset provides opportunities for further analysis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":542,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Earth Sciences","volume":"84 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12665-025-12162-y.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Earth Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-025-12162-y","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Carbonate rock aquifers are an important resource in the face of water scarcity. However, groundwater recharge processes are not fully understood in the heterogeneous matrix and fracture system. The shallow epikarst zone is important for drainage, transport and storage and needs to be investigated. Geophysical techniques are promising, particularly ground penetrating radar (GPR) due to its sensitivity to water saturation. To test the potential of GPR, hydrogeological structures were investigated in the Lower Muschelkalk of the Rüdersdorf limestone quarry near Berlin, Germany. A survey field was monitored under three different moisture conditions and the experiments included densely spaced zero offset GPR and common midpoint (CMP) profiles. The analysis focused on EM wave velocities as a proxy for water saturation, which were used for a relative comparison of the results from different methods. The more generic CMP results were significantly higher than the velocities from diffraction hyperbolas, which only represent the very local position. Structural observations from picked reflectors throughout the monitoring contributed to the interpretation. While the matrix appears to be unaffected by water variability, preferential flow paths can be identified. Diffraction hyperbolas may occur at fractured porous zones that preferentially store water and drain towards the bedding planes. Their spatial characteristics suggest that they may be precursors of potential sinkholes. The survey shows how GPR can help to understand hydrological processes in carbonate rock and locate relevant structures for further investigation. The collected dataset provides opportunities for further analysis.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Earth Sciences is an international multidisciplinary journal concerned with all aspects of interaction between humans, natural resources, ecosystems, special climates or unique geographic zones, and the earth:
Water and soil contamination caused by waste management and disposal practices
Environmental problems associated with transportation by land, air, or water
Geological processes that may impact biosystems or humans
Man-made or naturally occurring geological or hydrological hazards
Environmental problems associated with the recovery of materials from the earth
Environmental problems caused by extraction of minerals, coal, and ores, as well as oil and gas, water and alternative energy sources
Environmental impacts of exploration and recultivation – Environmental impacts of hazardous materials
Management of environmental data and information in data banks and information systems
Dissemination of knowledge on techniques, methods, approaches and experiences to improve and remediate the environment
In pursuit of these topics, the geoscientific disciplines are invited to contribute their knowledge and experience. Major disciplines include: hydrogeology, hydrochemistry, geochemistry, geophysics, engineering geology, remediation science, natural resources management, environmental climatology and biota, environmental geography, soil science and geomicrobiology.