The determination of the interior of a dike body with L-band radiometry
Résumé
L-band radiometry is a technology that is able to provide physical information of the (sub) surface and the last forty years this unique feature has lead to numerous research studies. These studies were primarily focused on soil moisture retrieval from natural environments. However, the capacity to provide us information about the interior of non natural environments, like man made constructions has so far been overlooked. This study aims on the potential use of L-band radiometry in the field of civil engineering and the main objective is to analyse its ability to determine the interior of a dike body. In the summer of 2009 a compact L-band radiometer was mounted on a buggy. The radiometer observed dikes in both vertical and horizontal polarization with an accuracy of about 1 Kelvin. The measurements were made from different dike bodies along the coastline of the province Zeeland (NL). Dielectric properties of the dike materials were determined in IMS laboratory in the L-band frequency range and a coherent model was set up to study the results. The analysis revealed that L-band observations over dike bodies can give us important information on the safety conditions of a dike. Based on the observations done, we think that L-band radiometry might have potential to be used as an important instrument in civil engineering. Not only for dikes, but also for road inspections or the investigation of other man made constructions.