istory of georadars GROT

History of creation of the most compact and powerfull to date radio-locators for subsurface sounding GROT begins from 1987 year when the problem of electromagnetic sounding of subsurface structures of planet Mars by device moved by tractor has been set. Severe requirements to weight, dimensions and power consumption typical for all space devices compeled experts of different organizations, and first of all IZMIRAN, to select method non-traditional for classical radiolocation by creation of extra wide-band monopulse radio-locator. (1)

At the same time in IZMIRAN some works started to apply this idea to practical use in municipal engineering and so on. A device for subsurface sounding has been developed. (2)

Taking into consideration available elementary units, characteristic properties of building of extra wide-band monopulse radio-locators have been mainly investigated in 1997. Successful environmental tests have been conducted. Main results of of this stage has been discussed on the meeting of Russian Academy of Sciences and published (3). From this time active progress in using of radio-locators of subsurface sounding developed and manufactured by ZAO Timer as trademarks "Grot-10" and "Grot-11" to practical engeneering and geological examinations started. At the same time their construction has been improved constantly. Constructive features of these locators has been published on the first All-Russian scientific conference "Extra wide-band signals in radio-location, communications and acoustics" (CPCA 2003) (4) and protected by patent belonged to ZAO Timer.

The most typical works done with devices of Grot series can be found in composite work "Problems of subsurface sounding" released by publishing house "Radiotechnika" in 2005 (5,7).

Big changes has been made in software that can control radio-locator and process experimental data (some aspects are published in (6). New program GrotData specialized to our georadars allows to perform different data processing and manipulate with local changes in parameters (for example, humidity) of sub-surface areas, provide 3D visualization.

Field experience of last 10 years necessitates smaller weight of the device and transfer to new element base. In 2005 development of basic construction of new model series of radiolocator for subsurface sounding "Grot-12" has been finished. New model has been developed and manufactured by experts of ZAO Timer for survey works in big depths. Its characteristic difference from the nearest analog Grot-11 in control directly from computer and real-time data processing and visualization. Also power consumption was decreesed. At present GROT-12 is equipped with scale of time delays up to 10240 ns.

Since 2003 ZAO Timer makes simultaneous environmental tests of radio-locators of subsurface sounding and optoelectronic devices which allow to build image of earth surface in ultra-violet, visible, infra-red and SHF ranges. It can be claimed that at least for some mediums and objects (burial places, archeological objects, minefields, soils polluted by mineral oils) such combined explorations allow essentially to increase reliability of detection and efficiency of work during exloration by methods of subsurface sounding.

Publications:

1. Balikhin M.A.,Cattermole P.J.,Gaidanskii V.I., Jenkins P.J.,Kingsley S.P., Lachlan-Cope T.A., Natanson A.M., Quegan S., Reznikov A.E. and Wolliscroft L.J.C.
A mobile lander-borne radar to invectigate the subsurface of the planet Mars. COSPAR 27-th Planetary Meeting of the committee on Space Res.