Integrated application of high-resolution shallow geophysics: aerial thermography and Ground Penetrating Radar on a spring barrier system

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and airborne thermography have been used for the location of buried spring barrier ponds and for the investigation of the shallow subsoil. Thermography has been selected for its ability to cover a wide area in a short time, the GPR has been chosen for the ability to distinguish, in great detail the presence of permeable layers composing the subsoil. Very positive results have been obtained by the use of the thermography in summer and wintertime to locate the “inverse” thermal anomalies determined by the presence of shallow groundwater; the subsequent GPR survey permitted us to identify a series of sand and gravel interbeddings responsible for the formation of the spring system.