Full three-dimensional imaging via ground penetrating radar: assessment in controlled conditions and on field for archaeological prospecting

This paper deals with an advanced microwave tomographic approach capable of providing full 3D images of buried targets from scattered field data gathered by means of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems. The approach is based on an approximated model of the scattering phenomenon and it is capable of accounting for the vectorial nature of the interactions occurring between electromagnetic waves and probed materials. Moreover, the Truncated Singular Value Decomposition inversion scheme is exploited to solve the involved linear inverse scattering problem in a stable and accurate way. The advantages offered by the full 3D inversion algorithm with respect to a commonly adopted strategy, which produces 3D images by interpolating 2D reconstructions, are assessed against GPR data gathered in laboratory controlled conditions. Moreover, to provide an example of the full 3D imaging capabilities in on field conditions, we report on a GPR measurement campaign carried out at Grotte dell’Angelo, Pertosa, (SA), Southern Italy, one of the most famous sites of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano geopark.