> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR

GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 1

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Survey of

Ground penetrating
Formerly radarSand
Mined Coastal (GPR) survey of
in Central
Vietnam:
formerly mined A Rapid, Non-Invasive
coastal MethodVietnam:
sand in central for
Investigating
a rapid, the Extent
non-invasive and Impact
method of Mined
for investigating
Areas
the extent and impact of mined areas
Yingsin Lee, Chris Gouramanis, Adam D. Switzer, Charles S. Bristow, Janneli Lea. A. Soria, Dat Tien
Pham, Doan Dinh Lam, Hoang Dinh Que


Abstract— Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) offers a non-
invasive, high-resolution subsurface imaging method that can be
used to investigate and characterise the sedimentary features and I. INTRODUCTION
depositional history of various coastal deposits. GPR utilises the
electromagnetic wave properties in the megahertz frequency
range and can generate 2D and 3D images of the subsurface to
identify coastal depositional features to a depth in excess of 20m.
T HE concept of applying radio waves to image the
subsurface dates from the 1920s with the use of radio
echo sounders to profile ice thickness in the polar regions
In this study we use a series of GPR surveys to identify the depth (e.g. [1]). Although the instrumentation varies, all Ground
and physical characteristics of an infilled site formerly subject to
Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems use a burst of
sand mining for heavy mineral sands. We outline a fast non-
invasive technique that allows large areas of coastal dunes to be
electromagnetic energy, which is radiated from a transmitter
imaged for the purposes of delineating past land uses. The at frequencies ranging from 10 MHz to over 1 GHz,
technique is likely to be particularly applicable to developing depending on the transmitting antenna. The energy
coasts where the historical record is incomplete or fragmentary propagates through the ground and reflects off geological
or there has been a history of poorly constrained or illegal sand interfaces, returning to the surface to be detected by a
mining. receiving antenna [2;3]. As the emitted energy travels
through the subsurface at rates approaching the speed of
Index Terms— Ground penetrating radar, coastal dunes, sand light, each transmission/reflection/detection sequence
mining, mine rehabilitation, Vietnam requires less than a second [4]. A two-dimensional ‘slice’ of
the subsurface is acquired as the transmitter/receiver is
moved along the survey profile and the lateral and vertical
variations in geological interfaces are revealed. Basic
processing (e.g. signal-enhancing stacking) may be
Manuscript received March 13, 2013. This research is supported by the performed at each station in a fraction of a second and
National Research Foundation Singapore under its Singapore NRF Fellowship
scheme (National Research Fellow Award No. NRF-RF2010-04) and facilitates interpretation of the GPR signal.
administered by Earth Observatory of Singapore and the National Research
Foundation Singapore and the Singapore Ministry of Education under the
GPR works if there are dielectric differences in the
Research Centres of Excellence initiative. subsurface media. In earth-science and environmental
Yingsin Lee was with the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang applications, these differences cause reflections that are
Technological University, 639798, Singapore. primarily a function of the electrical conductivity of the
Chris Gouramanis is with the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang
Technological University, 639798, Singapore (corresponding author phone:
soil/rock matrix and pore fluids. The penetration range of
+65 6592 2609; fax: +65 67901585; e-mail: cgouramanis@ntu.edu.sg). GPR is primarily governed by the electrical conductivity of
Adam D. Switzer is with the Earth Observatory of Singapore and the the ground, the transmitting frequency and the transmitted
Division of Earth Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, power [5]. GPR systems that utilise lower frequencies allow
Singapore.
Charles S. Bristow is with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences,
deeper penetration of the sediment, but return low resolution
Birkbeck College, University of London, WC1E 7HX, UK. images, and higher frequency systems produce detailed
Janneli Lea. A. Soria is with the Division of Earth Sciences, Nanyang images, but with limited penetration. Optimal penetration is
Technological University, 639798, Singapore. achieved in electrically-resistive soils, such as, sands and
Dat Tien Pham is with the Division of Earth Sciences, Nanyang
Technological University, 639798, Singapore.
gravels, whereas saturated clays generally limit penetration
Doan Dinh Lam is with the Vietname Academy of Science and to decimeters. Saline ground and pore waters result in signal
Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. 18, Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giav, HaNoi, attenuation [6].
Vietnam.
Hoang Dinh Que is with Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Hanoi, Field experiments have found that GPR functions effectively
Vietnam. in materials, such as gravel, sand, limestone and peat, which

DOI: 10.5176/2335-6774_1.1.2 11 © 2013 GSTF

> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 2

have a high electrical resistivity [4;7]. Of interest in this mm) and maximum (612 mm) monthly rainfall occurring in
study, is that quartz sands found in coastal environments March and October, respectively[14]. The high rainfall regime
have high resistivity, and thus, have good GPR penetration and clean sandy sediments makes this region an ideal location
(>10m) [4;;8;9;10;11]. The utility of GPR in these to apply GPR techniques.
environments is augmented when the coastal environment is A GPR profile (Line 7) was collected from the modern Chan
subject to high rainfall regimes that flush salt water from the May shoreline and extended southward for 588 meters starting
sediments. at 16°18’53.3”N and 107°59’20.7”E. The location of this
GPR images of structures like cross-stratification, prograding study is in the modern, but now removed, sandy dune system
beds and bounding surfaces in dunes can be imaged at high which onlaps a large sequence of older beach ridges (Figure
1b). This profile passed from the modern prograding shoreface
resolution with reflection characteristics, termed radar facies.
through a vegetated backshore environment and over an
These radar facies can be used to characterise sedimentary
extensively rehabilitated sand-mined area (Figure 1). At the
environments [3;2;10;12]. The relatively high resolution
time the GPR profile was carried out (November 2011), small
imaging of sedimentary features along with the relative ease trees had been planted to rehabilitate the site. On a subsequent
and speed that GPR can be used, mean large areas of the visit (January 2013), many of these trees had died.
coastal landscape can be characterised rapidly.
Unfortunately, many coastal environments are currently
subject or have been subjected to both legal and illegal sand III. DATA AND METHODOLOGY
mining processes [13]. In many countries, these practices are
not regulated and so little information exists concerning the The GPR profile was obtained using the Sensors and
area and volume mined, the minerals removed and the Software® PulseEKKO PRO radar system using the 250MHz
material subsequently used to rehabilitate the area. antennas. This system utilises an odometer attached to the
transmitter and receiver to consistently collect data at 10 cm
In central Vietnam, sand mining practices can have one of increments along the line following the methodology outlined
two purposes, for: in [5;15]. The transmitter and receiver are 38cm apart, the
time window for data collection was set at 300ns and the data
1. the construction industry, e.g. cement for houses, as obtained from each pulse was stacked 16 times.
loose sediment for fish/shrimp pond walls, road
foundations and land reclamation, and The GPR profiles were processed using the EKKO View2
software®. Automatic Gain Control was applied using a
2. heavy mineral mining; maximum gain of 200 and then topographically corrected
and little information or documentation is supplied to local using the differential elevation data from dGPS data collected
governing authorities concerning the nature of the mining at 10m increments along the profile combined with the
calculated sediment velocity (0.06m/ns) derived from curve-
activities and the rehabilitation of mined areas.
matching hyperbola velocity estimation. The differential
In this example, we use GPR to image an infilled site elevation data from the dGPS was corrected to real height by
formerly subject to sand mining for heavy mineral sands. We referencing the dGPS heights to local benchmarks with known
also outline a fast non-invasive technique that allows large elevation. These corrected dGPS heights were used as the
areas of coastal sands to be imaged for the purposes of topographic correction and applied to the GPR profile [5;16].
delineating past land uses. In particular, we focus on how to A sediment sample from the sand-mined area along the GPR
identify previously mined areas and discerning mining radar profile, and a sample from the unmined area were collected
facies from typical coastal radar facies produced by normal and visually inspected for heavy mineral concentrations.
coastal and environmental processes. The technique is likely Microscopic photos of these two samples were taken using
to be particularly applicable along developing coasts where Leica L2 binocular microscope (Figure 5).
the historical record (historical maps or satellite images or
historical written records) is incomplete or fragmentary or IV. RESULTS
there has been a history of poorly constrained or illegal sand The processed GPR profile of Line07 is shown in Figure 2.
mining. Five topographic features are evident:
II. STUDY SITE 1. the modern beachface displaying a shallow rise from
the modern high tide mark to the tree line from 0 to
The study site is located near the sandy coastline of the
75 m (Figure 2b),
northward facing Chan May embayment, approximately 35
2. a relatively flat, vegetated back beach from 75 to 178
km north-northwest of Danang, central Vietnam (Figure 1a).
m (Figure 2d),
Danang, and by extension the Chan May region, has a tropical
3. two small rises on either side of the gravel road from
climate with average maximum daytime temperatures ranging
178 to 200 m (Figure 2c,d - note that the powerlines
from 24.8 to 34.3ºC in January and July, respectively. The
on the northern side of the road do not affect the GPR
minimum nighttime temperatures range from 18.5 to 25.5ºC in
profile generated by the shielded antennas),
January and June/August, respectively. Annual average
rainfall at Danang is ~2500mm, with average minimum (22.4

12 © 2013 GSTF
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 3

(Locally known as
East Sea)

Land reclaimed
region (Figure 6)

Figure 1. Study site in Chan May embayment, approximately 35 km north-northwest of Danang, central Vietnam. A
GPR profile (Line07) was collected from modern shoreline to a trangressive dune across a sand-mined area. Section 7-1
and 7-2 shown are figure 2 and 3 respectively, distinguishing the difference between prograding beach radar facies and
sand-mined radar facies.
4. a relatively flat featureless plain where sand-mine Two detailed sections of this profile are shown highlighting
rehabilitation and replantation has occurred from 200 the different radar facies along parts of this line. Section 7-1
to 530 m (Figure 2f) (Figure 3), extending from 125m to 150m along the profile, is
5. a 6 m high modern transgressive dune from 530 to dominated by one main radar facies consisting of uniformly-
588 m (Figure 2g,h). dipping (apparent seaward dip of 6 to 7° (Figure 3)), long,
parallel reflectors, interpreted as a prograding beach facies.
With the exception of the modern beachface environment, the
This radar facies is apparent from just below the ground
GPR achieved a maximum penetration depth of 3 to 4 metres.
surface (approximately 1.4 m depth) and extends to the total
On the beachface GPR penetration ranges from <0.5 m at the
depth of the radar profile. Above this prograding beach facies
high tide mark to 2 m at the tree line due to salt groundwater
is
intrusion causing the electromagnetic signal to attenuate.

13 © 2013 GSTF
4

© 2013 GSTF
NUMBER
of Geological Sciences
IDENTIFICATION No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) <
(DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1

14
YOUR
GSTF
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH PAPER
International Journal

Figure 2. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) profile of Line07, extending north to south from the modern beach, vegetated backshore environment, rehabilitated sand-
mined area and transgressive dune in the Chan May embayment, central Vietnam (Figure 1). The line is 588m long and is cut into four sequential slices for viewing
ease (a,c,e and g). The red boxes in a and e show the location of the GPR profiles presented in Figures 3 and 4 that highlight the radar facies recorded in this profile (see
text). The arrows in a,c,e and g are the approximate position from where the photos (b,d,f and g) were taken. Note that the red line in the photos shows the location of
the GPR profile. Photo b (facing south) is of the modern beach environment extending to the tree line at the start of the vegetated back-beach environment. Photo d
(facing north) shows the transition from sand-mined area in the foreground to the back-beach environment in the background; the middle shows powerlines to the north
of a gravel road that is perpendicular to the GPR profile. Note that the trees in the background of this phot are the same as the trees in Photo b. Photo f (facing west)
shows the rehabilitated sand-mined region with small shrubs, many of which have since died . Photo g (facing south) shows the transition from sand-mined area to the
~6m high transgressive dune at the end of the profile. Heights are measured in meters above high tide mark (m aHTM).
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 5

Figure 3. Detailed image of Section 7-1 from GPR profile Line07 with an upper panel showing
the post-processed GPR profile and lower panel showing the environmental interpretations
derived from the GPR reflectors. Pink zones show uniformly dipping reflectors, interpretated as
a prograding beach facies, and the orange section is interpreted as reworked sediment and
vegetated foredune.
a thin veneer (1 to 1.5m thick) of shallow, discontinuous, modern scroll bars and buried channel structures
seaward-dipping reflectors that are flat or concave upward. from elsewhere in the Chan May embayment
These first two reflector types are interpreted to be formed by (Gouramanis unpublished data); or,
foreslope accretion during dune growth in conjunction with 3. a washover deposit.
vegetation growth as the coastline progrades. The third
Interpretation 1 or 2 above seem the most likely explanation as
reflector type is interpreted to be scour and fill structures (e.g.
GPR profiles of storm washover deposits recorded from other
the water filled depression in Fig. 2d). Both of these radar
parts of the Chan May embayment show reflectors with a
facies were originally described from a prograding beach
much steeper dip and are constrained longitudinally to only a
sequence from Norfolk, England [11].
few meters (Gouramanis unpublished data), much less than the
Section 7-2 (Figure 4), extends from 300 to 354m along the 10 to 15m observed for this facies.
profile in an area that has been mined for heavy minerals
Overlying this transgressive aeolian or scroll bar radar facies
(Figure 1; Figure 5), has three main radar facies with distinct
at a depth of -0.2 to -1m is a continuation of the shallow,
boundaries. The oldest radar facies recognized occurs between
seaward dipping (apparent dip of 4 to 5°), strong and
300 to 312m and at a depth of -1 to -2m and consists of long
continuous reflectors that characterize the prograding beach
and continuous reflectors dipping (apparent dip of 14 to 18°)
radar facies.
landward that we interpret to be either a:
1. transgressive aeolian dune cross bedding similar to Between 308 and 312m in Section 7-2 (Figure 4), is a distinct
the dune that now exists further inland (Figure 2); termination in both of the landward-dipping reflector facies
2. scroll bars associated with a buried tidal or river and the seaward-dipping prograding beach radar facies caused
channel system that are similar to GPR profiles of by the removal of these sediments during sand mining.

15 © 2013 GSTF
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 6

Figure 4. Detailed image of Section 7-2 from GPR profile Line07 with an upper panel showing the post-processed GPR
profile and lower panel showing the environmental interpretations derived from the GPR reflections. The three main radar
facies recognized in this section are 1. either a transgressive dune, channel scour or washover deposit (green) underlying 2. a
prograding beach facies (pink), and, 3. the sand-mined facies (blue). The base of the sand-mined region is evident where the
reflections of radar facies 1 and 2 are truncated (yellow solid line), but becomes ambiguous below these truncated reflections
(yellow dashed line). Note also two regions of stacked hyperbolae which are indicative of objects buried when the sand-mined
region was infilled with sediment.
Landward of this termination are a series of landward-dipping reflectors within the sand-mined GPR profile may result from
reflectors continuous with the clearly younger radar facies differences in water content, grain size, mineralogy and
overlying the prograding beach radar facies. These reflectors compaction following mine rehabilitation [5].
dip steeply close to the termination, but become shallower up-
sequence and landward. This is indicative of sediment V. DISCUSSION
slumping downslope and is inferred to be the result of Reference [5] and [15] urge caution in interpreting GPR
sediment infill following heavy mineral extraction. Between profiles, claiming that radar facies of different sedimentary
328 and 348m, at a depth of -0.5 to -2m, are a series of strong structures and environments can give similar radar signatures.
concave-upward reflectors that are overlain by reflection-free Here we extend this cautionary note to include a requisite
packages. The concave up reflections are interpreted as scars understanding of the historical anthropogenic signatures that
from an excavator or bucket dredge and the overlying are frequently superimposed upon sedimentary environments.
reflection-free packages are interpreted as apparently The characteristics of the prograding beach radar facies
structureless, possibly fluidised sands from backfill beneath collected from the Chan May embayment (Figure 3) are
the watertable. Above about -0.5m in the remainder of the similar to other prograding beach radar facies from Guichen
profile are a series of short, discontinuous, convoluted, Bay, South Australia [17], Batemans Bay, eastern Australia
horizontal, randomly dipping or wavy reflectors that are [18] and the Kujukuri strand plain, eastern Japan [19].
clearly the effect of sediment infill during land rehabilitation However, prior knowledge that the site examined from the
following the completion of mining activities. Chan May embayment has been minimally affected
Outcrop examination of the unmined prograding beach facies anthropogenically reinforces this interpretation. Conversely,
(not shown) shows rich concentrations of heavy minerals the strong concave-upward reflectors in Figure 4, could easily
(Figure 5a) parallel to the gently dipping beds. This suggests be interpreted as a shallow subsurface buried river channel
that the gently dipping reflectors of the prograding beach structure, similar to those interpreted in Niobrara River,
facies are probably caused by variation in the dielectric Nebraska, USA [20], Maple Creek, Guyana [21] and eastern
properties of the heavy minerals and the quartz sand. The Japan [19], or inlet channels, such as those recognized in
sand-mined facies does not have gently-dipping reflectors due Massachusetts [22]. The prior knowledge of the mining
to the disturbance of the beds during mining as well as practices in the Chan May region, in conjunction with the
extraction of the heavy minerals (Figure 5b). Thus the cross-cutting relationship of the radar facies produced by sand

16 © 2013 GSTF
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 7

Figure 5. Microscopic view of (a) sand prior to heavy mineral extraction which collected from unmined area, and (b)
sand after heavy mineral extraction from mined area (Figure 1). The removal of heavy minerals is clearly evident. Field
of view is 2.6 mm.

Figure 6. GPR profile of Line02 extending north-east to south-west along a football field in Lang Co, approximately 15
km south-east of the Chan May GPR profile. This profile demonstrates the very noisy GPR reflections (many
hyperbolae of varying curvature) in areas where variously-sized objects have been buried during land reclamation
activities. This can be used as an analogy to the fill evident in the sand-mined region of the Chan May embayment
where sand was used to infill and rehabilitate the sand-mined region.
mining on the older radar facies, definitively defines the material is similar to the material extracted, that is, the sand
processes that generated this facies. removed was reused as mine fill. Where less scrupulous mine-
filling practices occur and junk or trash is used to fill in the
As well as being a tool to identify areas that have been subject
depression and a veneer of sand overlain, GPR can be used to
to sand mining, the extent of the sand mining operation and
rapidly identify such practices. In these cases, the GPR
volume of sediments removed can be estimated if multiple
profiles will be much noisier, with many hyperbolae of
parallel and perpendicular profiles are generated. This could
differing curvature throughout the mined area. These
give a three dimensional estimate of the volume of sediment
hyperbolae are generated from a difference in size of the
removed. Although not a true reflection of the mined volume,
buried object and a difference in the resistivity of the buried
this can give valuable minimum estimates, especially in areas
objects (23). An example of this practice is evident from a
where illegal mining or where mining records are poorly
land reclamation GPR profile of an area 15 km southeast of
documented. This is of particular importance in evaluating the
the Chan May GPR profile (Figure 6) which clearly shows
success of rehabilitation practices. Unfortunately this cannot
heterogeneous materials used as land fill. Saline water has
be applied to regions where modern dunes have been
penetrated the land reclamation zone, similar to that
excavated for construction sand as it is impossible to
demonstrated in the leachate detection and mapping example
reconstruct the former dune profile.
in [24], whereas there does not appear to be any saline water
GPR examination of rehabilitated sand-mined areas can also intrusion in the Chan May sand-mined area.
indicate what materials were used to refill the mine. In the
Chan May example presented here, it is clear that the infilling

17 © 2013 GSTF
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 8

Although GPR has been used extensively as a tool in mineral Wales as determined by OSL dating of quartz”, Quaternary Science
Reviews, vol. 20(5-9), pp.701-704, 2001.
exploration, its use in sand-mining operations is not well
documented in the literature [25, 26]. In central Java, [4] Bristow, C.S. and Jol, H.M., “An introduction to ground penetrating
Indonesia, [27] used 100 MHz GPR antennas to map the radar(GPR) in sediments”, Geological Society Special Publication, vol.
211, pp.1-7, 2003.
contacts between surficial fine sediments, intermediate iron
mineral sands and lower bedrock units in a coastal [5] Jol, H.M. and Bristow, C.S., “GPR in sediments:Advice on data
collection, basic processing and interpretation, a good practise guide”,
environment. Geological Society Special Publication, vol. 211, pp.9-27, 2003.
Similarly, GPR has also been largely neglected as a tool in [6] Davis, J.L., and Annan, A.P., “ Ground penetrating radar for high
mine rehabilitation condition assessment. The exception to resolution mapping of soil and rock stratigraphy”, Geophysical
this are the studies of [28] and [29], who successfully used Prospecting, vol. 37, pp.531-551, 1989.
GPR to map the depth to spoil in shallow rehabilitated coal [7] Leatherman, S.P., “Coastal geomorphological applications of ground
mining deposits in Mpumalanga, South Africa. These studies penetrating radar”, Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 3(3), pp.397-399,
1987.
demonstrated that it was faster and more cost-effective to use
GPR than conventional invasive techniques, such as augering. [8] Van Heteren S., FitzGerald D. M., Barber D. C., Kelley J. T., Belknap
D. F. (1996) Volumetric analysis of a New England barrier system using
ground-penetrating-radar and coring techniques. Journal of Geology
104:471–483.
VI. CONCLUSIONS [9] Van Heteren S., FitzGerald D. M., McKinlay P. A., Buynevich I. V.
(1998) Radar facies of paraglacial barrier systems: coastal New England,
Our study has shown that ground penetrating radar can be a USA. Sedimentology 45:181–200.
rapid, non-invasive and cost-effective method used for
delineating past-land uses in coastal environments and this [10] Bristow, C.S., Bailet, S.D. and Lancaster, N., “The sedimentary structure
of linear sand dunes”, Nature, vol. 406, pp. 56-59, 2000.
tool is especially useful for those developing coasts that do not
have historical maps or satellite images or historical written [11] Bristow, C.S., Chroston, P.N. and Bailey, S.D., “The structure and
development of foredunes on a locally prograding coast: insights from
records. Many legal and illegal sand-mining activities and ground penetrating radar surveys, Norfolk, UK”, Sedimentology, vol.
their subsequent rehabilitation have occurred along the 47, pp.923-944, 2000.
coastlines of many countries. These activities have caused a [12] Clemmensen, L.B., Pye, K., Murray, A. amd Heinemeier, J.,
great deal of damage to the coastal environment resulting in “Sedimentology, stratigraphy and landscape evolution of a Holocene
coastal erosion and biodiversity loss through monoculture coastal dune system, Lodbjerg, NW Jutland, Denmark”, Sedimentology,
plantations [30]. Thus, for those coasts that have been vol. 48, pp.3-27, 2001.
environmentally affected by sand-mining practices, knowing [13] “Coastal Care: Sand mining database” Available:
the historical record of a coast is important for future planning. http://coastalcare.org/sand-mining-database/
[14] World Meteorological Organization World., Weather Information
Our study further recognises that similar radar facies can be Service, Available: http://worldweather.wmo.int/082/c00656.htm
created by different sedimentary environments both natural
and anthropogenic. Thus, prior knowledge of the history of a [15] Bristow, C.S., Groung penetrating radar in Aeolian dune sands, In Jol,
H.M. (Eds), Ground penetrating radar: theory and applications, 141-176,
region is important in the interpretation of GPR profiles and Elsevier Science, 2009.
can improve the interpretation of the radar facies.
[16] Cassidy, N.J., Ground penetrating radar data processing, modelling and
To complement our examination of the rehabilitation of analysis. In Jol, H.M. (Eds), Ground penetrating radar: theory and
applications, 141-176, Elsevier Science, 2009.
shallow sand-mined regions in the Chan May embayment of
central Vietnam, we aim to investigate the heavy mineral [17] Bristow, C.S. and Pucillo, K., “Quantifying rates of coastal progradation
properties of the sediments from regions yet to be mined. from sediment volume using GPR and OSL:the Holocene fill of Guichen
Bay, southeast South Australia”, Sedimentology, vol. 53, pp.769-788,
Trenching of the rehabilitated area in the vicinity of Section 2 2006.
will also enhance our understanding of anthropogenic
[18] Switzer, A.D., Sloss, C.R. and Bristow, C.S., “Geomorphic evidence for
sedimentary structures and allow the refinement of GPR radar mid-late Holocene higher sea level from southeastern Australia”,
facies in rehabilitated regions. Quaternary International, vol.221(1-2), pp.13-22, 2010.
[19] Tamura, T., Murakami, F., Nanayama, F., Watanabe, K. and Saito, Y.,
(1) Acknowledgment “Ground-penetrating radar profiles of Holocene raised-beach deposits in
the Kujukuri strand plain, Pacific coast of eastern Japan”, Marine
This article forms EOS Contribution No: 50, and a Geology, vol. 248(1-2), pp.11-27, 2008.
contribution to IGCP588.
[20] Bristow, C.S., Skelly, R.L., and Ethridge, F.G., “Crevasse splays from
the rapidly aggrading, sand bed, braided Niobrara River, Nebraska:effect
(2) References of base level rise”, Sedimentology, vol. 46, pp.1029-1047, 1999.
[1] Stern, W., “Principles, methods and results of electrodynamic thickness [21] Hickin, A.S., Bobrowsky, P.T., Paulen, R.C. and Best, M., “Imaging
measurement of glacier ice” Zeitschrift fur Gletscherkunde, vol. 18, fluvial architecture within a paleovalley fill using ground penetrating
pp.24, 1930. radar, Maple Creek, Guyana”, The Geological Society of America
Special Papers, vol. 432, pp.133-153, 2007.
[2] Bristow, C.S., Pugh, J. and Goodall, T., “Internal structure of aeolian
dunes in Abu Dhabi determined using ground penetrating radar”, [22] Buyvenich, I.V., Jol, H.M. and FitzGerald, D.M., Coastal environment.
Sedimentology, vol. 43(6), pp.995-1003, 1996. In Jol, H.M. (Eds), Ground penetrating radar theory and applications,
299-322, Elsevier Science, 2009.
[3] Bailey, S.D., Wintle, A.G., Duller, G.A.T. and Bristow C.S., “Sand
deposition during the last millennium at Aberffraw, Anglesey, North

18 © 2013 GSTF
> REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR
GSTF PAPER
International IDENTIFICATION
Journal NUMBER
of Geological Sciences (DOUBLE-CLICK
(JGS)Vol.1 No.1, April 2013 HERE TO EDIT) < 9

[23] Neal, A., “Ground-penetrating radar and its use in sedimentology:

principles, problems and progress.” Earth-Science Reviews, vol. 66, pp.
261-330, 2004.
[24] Davis, J.L. and Annan, A.P., “Ground-penetrating radar for high-
resolution mapping of soil and rock stratigraphy.”, Geophysical
Prospecting, vol.37, pp.531-551, 1989.
[25] Francke, J., “A review of selected ground penetrating radar applications
to mineral resource evaluations”, Journal of Applied Geophysics, vol.
81, pp.29-37, 2012.
[26] Franke, J. “Applications of GPR in Mineral Resource Evaluations”,
IEEE Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar,
pp.5, 2009.
[27] Bijaksana,S., Rusyanti, I., Taib, M.I.T., Pasasa, L.A., and Andreas, A.
S., “The Use of GPR in Delineating an Iron Sand Boundary and the
Determination of Its Electromagnetic Wave Velocity: A Case Study in
Jepara, Central Java”, Proceedings ITB Journal of Engineering Science,
vol.37, pp.77-90, 2005.
[28] Paterson, D.G. and Laker, M.C., “Using ground penetrating radar ro
investigate spoil laters in rehabilitated minesoils”, South African Journal
of Plant and Soil, vol.16, pp.131-134, 1999.
[29] Paterson, D.G., “Mapping rehabilitated coal mine soils in south Africa
using GPR”, Eighth International Conference on Ground Penetrating
Radar, vol.4084, pp.298-302, 2000.
[30] Mensah, J.V., “Causes and effects of coastal sand mining in Ghana”,
Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, vol. 18(1), pp.69-88, 2002.

Lee Ying Sin is from Johor, Malaysia. In 2009 she completed her bachelor
degree studies in applied geology at Curtin University, Sarawak. In June 2010
she joined Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological
University as a research assistant, where she performed particle size analysis
and learnt Ground-Penetrating Radar. This has helped to establish storm and
tsunami histories for different areas. She is also compiling a database of
typhoons in southeast China since 1951, using historical records. She
currently works with Quantum Geoservices.

19 © 2013 GSTF