Georadar Application for Site Characterization of a Waste Disposal on Quartzite Soil

Abstract
Poorly managed disposal of solid waste on permeable soil may have serious environmental concerns which can greatly benefit from quick site investigation using non-invasive and cost-effective methods. Therefore, the present research examines the efficiency and agility of ground penetrating radar (GPR) in dumpsite characterization. A case study was conducted on the Alto Paraíso de Goiás dumpsite (Brazil), where the natural ground is composed of coarse-grained quartzite soil. The GPR data were acquired with 200 MHz shielded antennas, at a sampling interval of 0.05 m, covering the dumpsite and its adjoining. A commonly adopted processing workflow, and as a result, four predominant reflection patterns and a discontinuous surface were identified and interpreted in terms of site stratigraphy, contaminant pathways, and plume geometry. The GPR interpretation was enhanced by incorporating the lithological information from nearby monitoring wells. The study shows the potential of applying the GPR method as an effective geophysical characterization tool for waste disposal sites on quartzite.