Applicability of Ground Penetrating Radar for Soil Profile Studies – An Investigation in Piedmont Plain in Parts of Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh

Soil profile studies especially identification of different soil layers is a vital component in soil survey. The present study was undertaken to assess the applicability of ground penetrating radar (GPR), a widely adopted geophysical technique and instrument for soil profile studies under different landforms (piedmont and alluvial plain) located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. GPR survey was conducted using dual frequency antennas (200 and 600 Mhz) at specific locations corresponding to landforms of piedmont and alluvial plain along transect. The radargrams generated by standard processing of ground scan data showed widely varying patterns in both the landforms, corresponding to the variations in soil layer distribution. From the radargrams generated, a clear distinction could be made between the soils of piedmont as well as alluvial plain. The radargram of alluvial plain showed very smooth transition between soil layers whereas in case of piedmont plain, the profile appears to be discontinuous as well as irregular. The soils of alluvial plain showed clear/distinct soil layer distribution till nearly 75cm depth in contrast to the piedmont soils which exhibited parabola patterns in radargram indicating the presence of stones/boulders within very short depth from the surface. The results regarding identification of contrasting soil layers using GPR were validated and found to be in agreement with standard soil profile information of the sampling sites in different landforms. GPR being a non-destructive technique could help in acquiring large number of such observations in much lesser time providing vital information for land use planning as well as soil mapping activities.