US 11,940,580 B2
Heterogeneous subsurface imaging systems and methods
Stephen Brown, Montpelier, VT (US); Thomas Szabo, Newburyport, MA (US); Daniel R. Burns, North Falmouth, MA (US); and Michael Fehler, Boston, MA (US)
Assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US); and The Trustees of Boston University, Boston, MA (US)
Filed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US); and The Trustees of Boston University, Boston, MA (US)
Filed on Oct. 10, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/598,442.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/744,826, filed on Oct. 12, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0116881 A1, Apr. 16, 2020
Int. Cl. G01V 1/28 (2006.01); G01V 3/08 (2006.01); G01V 3/12 (2006.01); G01V 3/36 (2006.01)
CPC G01V 1/284 (2013.01) [G01V 3/083 (2013.01); G01V 3/12 (2013.01); G01V 3/36 (2013.01); G01V 2003/084 (2013.01); G01V 2003/085 (2013.01); G01V 2003/086 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for determining a subsurface feature, comprising:
transmitting a surface penetrating radar (SPR) signal at a ground surface;
receiving a response signal that includes elastic waves of a lower frequency acoustic source that interact with the SPR signal;
rapidly processing the response signal including the SPR signal modified by the interaction with the elastic waves; and
determining a physical characteristic of the subsurface feature from the response signal, wherein the elastic waves are produced by at least one vibrating source that insonifies subsurface features, and wherein the method further comprises performing a rapid imaging of a dynamic scattered wave field generated by the insonification, wherein the elastic waves include an induced low frequency continuous elastic wave propagating away from a focus region measured using the SPR signal so that at various phases of a low frequency modulation, pulsed waves are sent into the ground surface and back-scattered signals are received and used to create a time sequence of images formed by the SPR signal.