Masterclass: Geophysics and GPR
Added 2021-04-23 08:39:56 +0000 UTCIn the second half of Time Team's original run, Jimmy Adcock quickly became an integral part of the team, bringing his considerable GPR knowhow (and legendary pranks) to John Gater's geophys arsenal.
On screen, Jimmy might easily have been mistaken for a gardener, busily 'mowing the lawn' out of focus in the background. In fact, he was surveying the landscape using state-of-the-art GPR instruments, mapping hidden features beneath our feet in incredible 3D detail.
Time and again, his results provided invaluable insights, revealing complex structures beneath the ground, swiftly confirmed by the archaeologists in the trenches.
But what exactly is GPR and how does it work? We've asked Jimmy to shed some light on the subject for us. Drawing upon examples from Binchester, Radcot, Caerwent and Brancaster, Jimmy delivers an expert masterclass, exclusively for you!
As he suggests, please leave any questions for Jimmy in the comments, and we'll see if he can answer a selection for us.
Comments
I have to say, that was really well explained Jimmy, thank you for that.
Robert Boudreau
2022-05-01 00:12:18 +0000 UTCLoved it. Awesome,more please Jimmy, can't wait to see what you guys can do in the new episodes. Thanks.
2021-05-27 18:47:07 +0000 UTCFantastic explanation. I was fascinated to see, in the '3D' image, the wall lines coming out of the varying 'wiggly' lines during processing; that must be pretty exciting when you have no idea if you will get anything.
Mark Lund
2021-05-20 13:08:57 +0000 UTCJust caught up: excellent presentation. Brancaster... ye gods! REALLY looking forward to what you'll do with the coming villa...!
Susie Stockton-Link
2021-05-12 21:38:03 +0000 UTCThanks for the summary ! How deep can typical radar systems penetrate? Are there any new technologies that geophysicists are hoping will one day become available for use (e.g. muon tomography)?
2021-05-10 03:19:44 +0000 UTCI’ve always looked at your radar plots and could only see what looked like a blurry barcode after a heavy rainstorm! Your presentation has opened my eyes and now it all makes perfect sense. Thank you for a highly informative 20mins.
2021-05-07 12:45:47 +0000 UTCExcellent masterclass. Thanks so much Jimmy and Time Team. I am looking forward to being able to watch more of these with the new TT.
Zoe Propper
2021-05-01 09:44:54 +0000 UTCThis is wonderful information Mariah. There is so much here. I'll read what you have sent. The info you provided here should give me a good understanding of the field and what I would be getting into if I move forward. Thanks so much for replying to my comment.
Terri
2021-04-30 18:16:22 +0000 UTCAnd in your general area there are a couple of different GPR-using geophysics groups that could have region specific advice for training programs, etc. Such as: https://www.spectrum-geophysics.com/ ... https://www.southwestgeophysics.com ... there also appears to be some different places that rent GPR equipment even, so that might be useful, though I have no idea how affordable that is.
Mariah
2021-04-29 21:30:03 +0000 UTCyou may already know this well, and it isn't a specific program or anything (sorry!) but here's a few different resources I've come across on GPR - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279869961_An_introduction_to_ground_penetrating_radar_GPR ... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7037787/ ... https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/ground-penetrating-radar ... https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/ref/?cid=nrcs142p2_053623
Mariah
2021-04-29 21:26:35 +0000 UTCReally great masterclass! Thank you very much Jimmy. I loved seeing the data processing and explanation of the advantages of each way of looking at it, with real-site examples. The one part I don't quite understand yet is how the multi-sensor instruments distinguish between signals the Rx (receivers) are supposed to be getting from their specific Tx (transmitters) ... I'm also curious to see if there's any overlap in research into electron microscopy techniques and GPR... maybe a longshot due to the many differences. But discussion of resolution tradeoffs, what made for a "bad sample" and so on felt familiar.
Mariah
2021-04-29 20:47:20 +0000 UTCWonderful! I thought I understood but the extra detail of how it works is so helpful! Hope to see you again soon. Keep on trucking! Thanks Jimmy!
2021-04-29 10:46:30 +0000 UTCJimmy, this is really fascinating. It is like digging for treasure using your technological resources! I am very interested in entering this field to assist with historical/archeological research, restoration and preservation. Do you know what is the best way to study GIS-GPR? I've seen online classes and youtube demonstrations but I would like a proper education and eventually a career. I live in Los Angeles. Do you have any advice?
Terri
2021-04-25 14:57:02 +0000 UTCGive this man a job presenting as well as geophysics.... I understood everything without having to "think" about it. A very rare skill.
David Soulsby
2021-04-24 12:27:51 +0000 UTCGood work Jimmy 😀
Mark Haworth
2021-04-24 06:52:23 +0000 UTC
