GPR and microwave tomography for the assessment of hollowed tree trunks

Tosti, Fabio, Soldovieri, Francesco, Catapano, Ilaria, Giannakis, Iraklis, Gennarelli, Gianluca, Lantini, Livia, Ludeno, Giovanni and Alani, Amir M. (2020) GPR and microwave tomography for the assessment of hollowed tree trunks. In: EGU General Assembly 2020; 04 - 08 May 2020, Vienna, Austria (Held online). (Unpublished)

Official URL: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20841

Abstract

The danger related to the structural stability of hollowed trees is a matter of wide discussion among the scientific community. Hollow cores in trees can extend to more than 50% of the total diameter 1 and, while the presence of a hollow tree might appear dramatic in terms of public safety, it is not always a cause of concern. It is known that hollow trees can form in many years or even decades 2 and, although the heartwood is effectively dead, the tree can continue to form sapwood on the exterior of the trunk to create a cylinder. However, robustness and structural support provided by this cylinder to the trunk and canopy above depend on the ratio of healthy to diseased tissue. In this context, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has proven to be an effective non-invasive tool, capable of generating information about the inner structure of tree trunks in terms of existence, location, and geometry of defects 3, 4. Nevertheless, it had been observed that the currently available and known GPR-related processing and data interpretation methods and tools are able to provide only limited information on the tree inner structure. In this study, we present a microwave tomographic approach for improved GPR data processing with the aim of detecting and characterising the geometry of hollowed trees. Tests were performed at Gunnesbury Park, London, UK. In particular, a number of 15 circular measurements were collected around the tree using the Aladdin 2 GHz hand-held antenna system manufactured by IDS GeoRadar (Part of Hexagon), covering a height of 140 cm. The tree was eventually felled and three sections were cut for validation purposes. Results presented in this abstract are part of a major research project that the authors have undertaken for the last three years.

Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20841
Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Event Title:	EGU General Assembly 2020
Organising Body:	European Geosciences Union
Additional Information:	This work was supported by following trusts, charities, organisations and individuals : Lord Faringdon Charitable Trust, The Schroder Foundation, Cazenove Charitable Trust, Ernest Cook Trust, Sir Henry Keswick, Ian Bond, P.F. Charitable Trust, Prospect Investment Management Limited, The Adrian Swire Charitable Trust, The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust, The Sackler Trust, The Tanlaw Foundation, and The Wyfold Charitable Trust. This paper is dedicated to the memory of our colleague and friend Jonathan West, one of the original supporters of this research project.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR); Microwave Tomography; Tree Health Assessment; Hollowed Tree Trunks
Research Area:	Research Areas > Civil engineering Research Areas > Electrical and electronic engineering
Faculty, School or Research Centre:	Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing
Related Records:	UWL Repository record
Date Deposited:	23 Jan 2023 10:32
Last Modified:	23 Jan 2023 10:44
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20841
URI:	https://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/id/eprint/52263

Actions (Repository Editors)

Item Control Page