SliceView Users Guide
SliceView Users Guide
SliceView Users Guide
SliceView Module
User’s Guide
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SliceView User’s Guide Warranty Information
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SliceView User’s Guide Warranty Information
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SliceView User’s Guide Warranty Information
General
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or the software product license.
Governing Law
In the event of any conflict between any provision in this license agreement and limited warranty and any
applicable provincial legislation, the applicable provincial legislation takes precedence over the
contravening provision. This agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of
the Province of Ontario, Canada.
Serviceability
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jurisdiction, the remaining terms shall remain in full effect.
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the parties relating to the subject matter of this agreement.
Should you have any questions concerning this agreement, please contact in writing:
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SliceView User’s Guide Warranty Information
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SliceView User’s Guide
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1
2 Opening SliceView-Grid.......................................................................................... 3
2.1 Active Window 5
2.2 Depth Slice View 6
2.3 GPR Line View 8
2.4 Opening a New Window 10
3 Toolbar ................................................................................................................... 11
4 Status Bar .............................................................................................................. 15
4.1 GPS on the Status Bar 15
4.2 Exporting Status Bar Information 16
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SliceView User’s Guide
6 Opening SliceView-Lines...................................................................................... 87
6.1 SliceView-Lines Settings 90
6.1.1 Name 90
6.1.2 List Affected Lines 91
6.1.3 Process 91
6.1.3.1 Velocity .........................................................................................................91
6.1.3.2 Processes ......................................................................................................91
6.1.3.3 Gain .............................................................................................................93
6.1.3.4 Slice .............................................................................................................93
6.1.3.5 Interpolation..................................................................................................94
6.2 Viewing Depth Slices in MapView 97
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SliceView User’s Guide Introduction
1 Introduction
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data is often presented as two-dimensional cross-sections of
the subsurface. Interpreting data from GPR line cross-sectional images can be confusing and
labor intensive.
In areas where GPR data has been collected over an area, either by collecting the data in an
organized XY grid or by walking back and forth and covering the area in a semi-random path,
processing and displaying the data as a series of map images, called depth slices, is a very
intuitive way of interpreting data.
The SliceView module generates depth slices that provide highly detailed subsurface
information that can enhance GPR data interpretation and presentation. Displaying GPR
responses as depth slices allows users to see the spatial correlation of targets, making
interpretation easier as they can differentiate real targets from targets of no interest. For
example, responses from utilities tend to produce linear targets while local targets, such as
rocks, appear as point targets. This type of display can greatly enhance the interpretation of
large data volumes.
The SliceView module consists of two parts, SliceView-Grid and SliceView-Lines that process
the GPR data depending on how it was collected.
Use SliceView-Grid to generate depth slices from GPR data collected in an XY grid. Here is a
plot of grid data displayed in the MapView window of EKKO_Project:
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SliceView User’s Guide Introduction
Use SliceView-Lines to generate depth slices from GPR data collected in a semi-random path to
cover the area. The data must have GPS or some other method to position the line(s) in 2D
space. Here are two examples plotted in the MapView window in EKKO_Project:
Data collected in a semi-random path to cover the area of interest is processed using SliceView-Lines
• Displays grid data collected with GPS depth slices on Google Earth
• Exports grid data to 3D data files and 3D visualization software (available from Sensors &
Software)
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
2 Opening SliceView-Grid
SliceView is an optional module of the EKKO_Project software. To access SliceView-Grid, you
must first open EKKO_Project.
SliceView-Grid only works with project files containing grids.
To open EKKO_Project, click Start > All Programs > Sensors & Software GPR >
EKKO_Project.
The Getting Started dialog box automatically opens to assist you to select a grid.
In the Open dialog box, navigate to and then select a grid or project file.
Note: If you are opening a project only gpz files are listed, if you are adding a grid to a
project file, only .gfp files are listed.
Click Open.
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
Note: GFP files can contain more than one grid survey but SliceView can only process one
grid from a GFP file. If the GFP file contains more than one grid, you must select one grid
survey from the list.
In Project Explorer, select a grid.
Menu bar
Toolbar
Status
bar
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
The following conceptual grid image displays the relationship between depth slice images and X
and Y GPR line images.
The first time SliceView opens a grid, it processes the grid data using default settings that are
appropriate for most data sets. See Data Processing to see the settings and edit them if
necessary.
Use the following table as a guide to working with the SliceView-Grid window:
Item Description
Menu bar Most SliceView-Grid operations can be performed through the menu
bar.
To learn more, see the menu bar.
Toolbar Most SliceView-Grid operations can be performed through the toolbar.
To learn more, see the toolbar.
Depth Slice View The Depth Slice window displays the current depth slice images.
To learn more, see Depth Slice View.
GPR Line view The GPR Line View displays the current GPR line image.
To learn more, see GPR Line View.
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
To make changes in a particular window, first ensure it is the active window. The active window
is also checked in menu bar window list. Often, trying to edit a window immediately makes it the
active window.
Scale
Depth Slice
Image
Fiducials/
Flags
Collected
Lines
Depth Slice
Legend
GPR Line
Cursor line
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
The Plan View window title banner lists the current depth or time range used to generate
the slice image. The optional Depth Slice Legend on the upper right also lists the depth
or time range of the current slice image as well as other information.
• PCD Slice: for Conquest grid data, the Power Cable Detector (PCD) slice can be
displayed by selecting the button on the Toolbar.
Axes scales corresponding to the X and Y positions appear on the left and top of the depth slice
image respectively.
To learn more about working in Depth Slices, see the Menu bar or Toolbar sections.
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
Position
Axis
Depth Time
Axis Axis
Slice
Cursor
Lines
Scale
GPR Line
Grid
Legend
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
For Conquest grid data, the Power Cable Detector (PCD) response is displayed below the grid
line.
To learn more about working with the GPR Line images, see the Menu bar or Toolbar sections.
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Grid
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SliceView User’s Guide Toolbar
3 Toolbar
Most SliceView-Grid operations can be performed through the toolbar. If the Toolbar is not
visible, in the Menu Bar, click View > Toolbar.
To display a brief description of a toolbar button, hold your cursor over the button for at least
one second.
Item Description
To open the Data Processing dialog box, click the Data Processing icon.
Data Processing To learn more, see Data Processing.
To calculate a velocity value using hyperbola fitting, click the Hyperbola Velocity
Calibration icon.
Hyperbola Velocity To learn more, see Hyperbola Velocity Calibration.
Calibration
1. Click the Save Image As icon to save the image in the Active Window to a
graphics image file.
Save Image As…
2. Open the Save File dialog box.
3. Select the folder to save the image to.
4. Enter the File name.
5. Select the Save as type option (jpg, bmp, gif, png, tiff),
6. Click Save.
To save the image in the Active Window and attach it to the project file.
Save View When the GPR Summary Report is selected in EKKO_Project, the user can
select from the images attached to project to appear in the report.
To learn more, see GPR Summary Report in the EKKO_Project manual.
To save the image in the Active Window to the clipboard, click the Copy current
image to clipboard icon.
Copy current image
to clipboard
Click the Print icon to print the image in the Active Window.
Print
To open the Settings dialog box, click the Display Settings icon.
Display Settings To learn more, see Slice Settings or GPR Line Settings.
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SliceView User’s Guide Toolbar
Item Description
1. To decrease how sensitive the image is to small signal variations, select
the image you want to change.
Decrease
2. Click the Decrease Sensitivity icon.
Sensitivity
Sensitivity decreases by 5% each time you click the icon. The sensitivity
range is 0 to 100%. The default is 100% (most sensitive).
To learn more, see Sensitivity.
1. To increase how sensitive the image is to small signal variations, select
the image you want to change.
Increase Sensitivity
2. Click the Increase Sensitivity icon.
Sensitivity increases by 5% each time you click the icon. The sensitivity
range is 0 to 100%. The default is 100% (most sensitive).
To learn more, see Sensitivity.
1. To decrease contrast, select the image you want to change.
2. Click the Decrease Contrast icon.
Decrease Contrast
Contrast decreases by 5% each time you click the icon. The contrast range
is 0 to 100%. The default is 100%.
To learn more, see Contrast.
1. To increase contrast, select the image you want to change.
Increase Contrast 2. Click the Increase Contrast icon.
Contrast increases by 5% each time you click the icon. The contrast range
is 0 to 100%. The default is 100%.
To learn more, see Contrast.
Decrease Gain If the Gain value is a numbered level, this button is enabled:
1. To decrease gain, select the window (depth slice or GPR line) you want to
change.
2. Click the Decrease Gain icon.
The gain level value will decrease by 1, stopping at 1.
To learn more about gaining the GPR Line, see Gain.
To learn more about gaining depth slices, see Amplitude Equalization Gain.
Increase Gain If the Gain value is a numbered level, this button is enabled:
1. To increase gain, select the window (depth slice or GPR line) you want to
change.
2. Click the Increase Gain icon.
The gain level value will increase by 1, stopping at 12.
To learn more about gaining the GPR Line, see Gain.
To learn more about gaining depth slices, see Amplitude Equalization Gain.
Gain Value Use dropdown to select Auto, User or a Numbered Gain Level for the currently
active window (either GPR line or Depth Slice window).
To learn more, see Gain.
To learn more about gaining the GPR Line, see Gain.
To learn more about gaining depth slices, see Amplitude Equalization Gain.
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SliceView User’s Guide Toolbar
Item Description
To display the Power Cable Detector (PCD) image for Conquest data.
PCD
To display data lines in the depth slice view window that correspond to all the
data lines collected during the grid survey, click the Toggle Collected Lines
Toggle Collected
icon.
Lines
To display grid lines that correspond to the major position labels in the depth
slice view window, click the Toggle Scale Grid Lines icon.
Toggle Scale Grid
Lines
To display a legend in either the Depth Slice View or GPR Line View window,
click the Toggle Legend Viewing icon.
Toggle Legend
Viewing
Fiducial markers are added at significant positions during data collection.
To display or hide fiducial markers, click the Display FID Text icon.
Display FID Text
To learn more, see Show Fiducials.
Click the Zoom Out icon to display more of the image, making it smaller and
possibly less detailed.
Zoom Out
To display a more detailed view of a smaller area of the image, click the Zoom
In icon.
Zoom In
To zoom in on a specific area of the selected window, Select Zoom Area.
1. Click the Select Zoom Area icon.
Select Zoom Area
2. Click in the image and drag the cursor to the dimensions you want to
magnify.
A box will be superimposed on the image as you drag it.
3. Release the mouse to zoom in on the selected area.
To return the grid to full size, click the Fit to Window icon.
Fit to Window
To drag and drop data images around a zoomed-in image, click the Pan View
icon.
Pan View
To learn more, see Pan.
To scroll up through the image one depth slice per click until you reach the
highest depth slice, click the Move Slice Up icon.
Move Slice Up
If a GPR line window is open, the slice cursor lines (Figure 4) on GPR line
image move up to match the slice image.
Moving through slice images provides insight into the depth of various features
in the 3D volume.
To learn more, see Navigation.
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SliceView User’s Guide Toolbar
Item Description
To scroll down through the image one depth slice per click until you reach the
lowest depth slice, click the Move Slice Down icon.
Move Slice Down
If a GPR Line window is open, the slice cursor lines on the GPR line image
move down to match the slice image.
Moving through slice images provides insight into the depth of various features
in the 3D volume.
To learn more, see Navigation.
With a GPR Line pane open, click the Line Left icon to move left one Y GPR
Line image at a time.
Line Left
To use this feature, Y-lines will have been collected and included to generate a
depth slice image.
To learn more, see Navigation.
With a GPR Line pane open, click the Line Right icon to move right one Y GPR
Line image at a time.
Line Right
To use this feature, Y-lines will have been collected and included to generate a
depth slice image.
To learn more, see Navigation.
With a GPR Line pane open, click the Line Up icon to move up one X GPR Line
image at a time.
Line Up
To use this feature, X-lines will have been collected and included to generate a
depth slice image
To learn more, see Navigation.
With a GPR Line pane open, click the Line Down icon to move down one X
GPR Line image at a time.
Line Down
To use this feature, X-lines will have been collected and included to generate a
depth slice image.
To learn more, see Navigation.
To display all open windows so they are tiled horizontally, click the Horizontally
Tile Windows icon. All panes are resized so they are all visible and accessible.
Horizontally Tile
Windows To learn more, see Tile Horizontally.
To display all open windows so they are tiled vertically, click the Vertically Tile
Windows icon. All panes are resized so they are all visible and accessible.
Vertically Tile
To learn more, see Tile Vertically.
Windows
To measure the velocity from a hyperbola in the grid data set, click the Measure
Distance on Image icon.
Measure Distance
on Image
Click the Help icon to open the SliceView-Grid Help file.
Help
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SliceView User’s Guide Status Bar
4 Status Bar
To display the status bar, on the bottom of the screen, click View > Status Bar.
Hold the mouse cursor over toolbar buttons to display screen tips on the status bar.
The right side of the status bar displays information about the position of the mouse cursor:
The GPS information format is defined by the GPS Format; this could be Latitude-Longitude (in
decimal degrees or degrees-minutes-seconds) or UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) or both.
Note: there may be a difference between GPS positions on GPR Lines displayed in the
SliceView-Grid and LineView software.
In LineView, which displays individual GPR lines, the GPS position is based by interpolating
the GPS positions saved to the GPS file during data collection.
In SliceView-Grid, which displays multiple GPR lines combined into a grid, GPS positions
are determined by using the defined Local-Global Coordinate Relationship and grid line
positions.
Therefore, the GPS positions for any individual line in the grid displayed in SliceView-Grid
will differ slightly from the GPS file collected with that line and used in LineView.
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SliceView User’s Guide Status Bar
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
5 Menu Bar
The SliceView-Grid menu bar contains links to a number of features that help you to navigate
through, and work with, SliceView-Grid.
5.1 File
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
5.1.1.1 3D
Click File > Export Data > 3D to export grid survey data to an HDF or CSV file for processing
and visualization with third-party software such as Golden Software’s Voxler (available from
Sensors & Software).
Data is exported as the 3D location of each point within the grid (X, Y, Z) and the average signal
strength at that point (amplitude). The X and Y voxel dimensions are controlled by the Slice
Resolution value, while the Z voxel dimension is controlled by the Thickness value.
Increasing slice resolution and reducing depth slice thickness before generating the 3D file may
produce better 3D image resolution.
The default processing for depth slices and 3D files reveal linear targets such as utilities, rebar,
foundations, and point targets (archaeological artefacts and human remains). With some types
of data, default processing may not be appropriate for the 3D data display. For example, to
display geological data in 3D, turn off the migration and enveloping processes (DME
Processing).
To preserve flat-lying layers in the data, turn off Background Subtraction.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
The following image displays 3D geological data in Voxler that was processed in SliceView-Grid
without Migration or Envelope processing:
Geological data that has not received envelope processing is best displayed when slice
thickness is set finer than the default thickness; ideally the same as the temporal sampling
interval. This is typically about 1/5 of the default slice thickness value.
5.1.1.2 3D HDF
HDF files are a binary format that can be viewed in software such as Voxler (available from
Sensors & Software).
a. To export 3D data to HDF, in the menu bar click File > Export Data > 3D.
b. In the Save As dialog box, in the Save as type drop-down list click Voxler HDF file.
c. Select the folder you want to save this data to.
d. Click Save.
When a grid survey is exported to HDF, the HDF file is named the same as the GFP file,
with the grid name appended to the name, for example GPRData-Grid.HDF.
5.1.1.3 3D CSV
CSV files can be imported into many programs; Microsoft Excel for example.
a. To export 3D data to a CSV file, in the menu bar click File > Export Data > 3D.
In the Save As dialog box, in the Save as type drop-down list click XYZ-Amplitude Pairs.
Select the folder you want to save this data to.
Click Save.
The header line indicates the X, Y, Z and depth columns with the half-width of the voxel (or cell)
in that direction. The header line also lists the total number of samples in the CSV file.
The CSV file lists depth or time depending on the Slice Units setting.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
5.1.1.3.1 Depth
The CSV file format is X Y Z depth amplitude where amplitude values represent the average
signal strength in the thickness of the depth slice.
The Z values (column three) represent elevation values with the surface at elevation zero (0.0)
and the values are negative. The depth values (column four) are the same as the Z values, but
positive.
X ± 0.0250m Y ± 0.0250m Z ± 0.00250m Depth ± 0.0025m Amplitude A/D
0.025 0.025 -0.003 0.003 2801
0.025 0.075 -0.003 0.003 4432
0.025 0.125 -0.003 0.003 4195
0.025 0.175 -0.003 0.003 3826
0.025 0.225 -0.003 0.003 3315
0.025 0.275 -0.003 0.003 2465
0.025 0.325 -0.003 0.003 2698
5.1.1.3.2 Time
The CSV file Time format is X Y Z Time Amplitude.
The Z values (column three) are time values with the surface at time zero (0.0) so the values
are negative; Time values (column four) are the same, but the values are positive.
X ± 0.0250m Y ± 0.0250m Z ± 0.0500m Time ± 0.0500ns Amplitude A/D
0.025 0.025 -0.05 0.05 384
0.025 0.075 -0.05 0.05 633
0.025 0.125 -0.05 0.05 495
0.025 0.175 -0.05 0.05 581
0.025 0.225 -0.05 0.05 476
0.025 0.275 -0.05 0.05 342
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
In the Export slice dialog box, in the Save as type drop-down list click Google Earth KMZ.
The file defaults to the file and current folder name, but you can rename the file before
saving it.
The Places pane enables slice display, line collection, and fiducial markers.
The .kmz file is listed in the Fly to tab Places pane, Temporary Places file. When exiting,
Google Earth prompts you to save the .kmz file to My Places.
The Google Earth default view displays Collected Lines and Fiducial Markers on the data
image.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Collected Lines
Collected Lines are listed in the Places pane, Temporary Places file. To enable or disable this
feature, select or deselect the Collected Lines checkbox.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Fiducial Markers
Fiducial Markers are listed in the Places pane, Temporary Places file.
To enable or disable this feature, select or deselect the Fiducials checkbox.
To display individual Fiducial Markers, click the plus sign (+) beside the Fiducial option.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Depth Slices
Depth Slices are listed in the Places pane, Temporary Places file.
• To display the list of slices, click the plus sign (+) beside the kmz file name.
• To select a different depth slice image, in the Depth Slice list, click a slice.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
The file name defaults to the file and current folder name, but you can rename the file before
saving it.
The following table displays an example of .GRD file:
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
5.1.3 Exit
Click Exit to close SliceView-Grid and return to EKKO_Project.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
5.2 View
To open the View menu, in the menu bar click View.
Use the following table as a guide to working with the View menu:
Item Description
Export Image Click Export Image to send a depth slice or GPR line view to the clipboard,
save it as a graphics image file, or send it to a printer.
To learn more, see Export Image.
Settings Click Settings to adjust the GPR line and slice image color palette, line, scale
and cursor colors, contrast, and sensitivity values.
To learn more, see Slice Settings or GPR Line Settings.
Sensitivity Increase Click Sensitivity Increase to make the image more sensitive by five percent
increments.
To learn more, see Sensitivity.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Item Description
Sensitivity Decrease To make the image less sensitive by five percent increments, click Sensitivity
Decrease.
To learn more, see Sensitivity.
Contrast Increase To increase contrast by five percent increments, click Contrast Increase.
To learn more, see Contrast.
Contrast Decrease To decrease contrast by five percent increments, click Contrast Decrease.
To learn more, see Contrast.
Zoom To increase or decrease the size of the depth slice or GPR line image, click
Zoom.
To learn more, see Zoom.
Pan To move images within a zoomed-in display, click Pan.
To learn more, see Pan.
Show Collected To superimpose lines onto the Depth Slice image to display where a grid’s data
Lines lines were collected, click Show Collected Lines.
Use this feature when a partial grid or partial lines were collected in a survey to
avoid having to interpret a target in an area where no data was collected.
To learn more, see Show Collected Lines.
Show Scale To display scales around the image, click View > Show Scale.
For Depth Slice images, X and Y position scales are displayed across the top
and left side of the image respectively.
To view the Depth Slice scale, see the Depth Slice View image.
For GPR Lines, a depth scale is displayed on the left side of the image. A time
scale is displayed on the right side of the image and a position scale is
displayed across the top of the image.
To view the GPR Line scale, see the GPR Line View image.
Show Scale Grid To superimpose a grid of dashed lines onto the depth slice or GPR line image,
click View > Show Scale Grid.
To learn more, see Show Scale Grid.
Show Legend To display a legend with the depth slice (Figure 2) or GPR Line (Figure 3)
image, click View > Show Legend.
The Depth Slice Legend, displayed to the right of the slice image, contains
depth slice information including the slice range, resolution, velocity, data
collection date, data analysis date, and settings including data processing, color
palette, sensitivity, and contrast. For Conquest grid data it also displays the
maximum PCD level in the grid.
To view the Depth Slice Legend, see the Depth Slice View image.
The GPR Line Legend, displayed below the GPR line image, contains GPR line
information including the line name, velocity, data processing, gain, color
palette, contrast, and sensitivity. For Conquest grid data it displays the
maximum PCD level in the Conquest grid line.
To view the GPR Line Legend, see the GPR Line View image.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Item Description
Show Slice To display the depth slice image, click View > Show Slice.
Show Slice displays only the position of collected lines without the slice image.
This option defaults to on.
Show To display flags/fiducials (Figure 2), click View > Show Flags/Fiducials.
Flags/Fiducials Flags/Fiducials are markers and/or comments added during data acquisition at
specific trace positions along the line.
To learn more, see Show Flags/Fiducials.
Show Flag/Fiducial To display text associated with the fiducials, click View > Show Flag/Fiducial
Text Text.
If the grid survey data does not contain any fiducials, this option is greyed out.
Skip Traces If the data file contains positions where traces were skipped during data
collection, display this information on the GPR Line image by clicking View >
Show/Hide > Skipped Traces.
Skipped traces appear as colored rectangles on the bottom of the GPR line.
Font Use the Font option to define the font you want to use for the position, depth and
time axes, and the text in the legends.
Changing font type and size can increase the available screen area to display
data images on and improve the readability of printed images or graphics image
files.
Toolbar To display the toolbar below the menu bar, click View > Toolbar (Figure 1).
Status Bar To display the status bar along the bottom of the SliceView-Grid window, click
View > Status Bar (Figure 1).
GPS Format To open the Configure GPS Format dialog box, click View > GPS Format.
To learn more, see GPS Format.
Use the following table as a guide to working with the Export Image menu:
Item Description
Copy to Clipboard Click Copy to Clipboard to copy the depth slice or GPR Line image in the
active window to the clipboard for pasting into other documents.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Item Description
Save as File To save an electronic copy of the image in the active window:
1. Click Save as File.
2. In the Save File dialog box, navigate to the folder you want to save the
image in.
3. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.
4. In the Save as type drop-down list, select the graphics format file type.
5. Click Save.
Save all Slices To save an electronic copy of all depth slice images in the active window:
1. Click Save All.
2. In the Save File dialog box, navigate to the folder you want to save the
image in.
3. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.
4. In the Save as type drop-down list, select the graphics format file type.
5. Click Save.
Print To print a hard copy of the image click Print.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
5.2.2 Settings
The Settings option allows you to change how GPR line and depth slice images are displayed
through color palettes, line, scale and cursor colors, contrast, and sensitivity values.
You can access the Settings option from the menu bar or the toolbar.
Use the following table as a guide to working with the Slice Settings dialog box:
Item Description
Slice Click Slice to open the Depth Slice Settings dialog box.
GPR Line To open the GPR Line Settings dialog box, click GPR Line.
To learn more, see GPR Line Settings.
Mixed, X, Y Select Mixed, X, or Y as a grid data collection method option.
To learn more, see Lines in Depth Image Slice.
Color Palette To change the depth slice image color, click the Color Palette drop-down
list.
To learn more, see Slice Color Palette.
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SliceView User’s Guide Menu Bar
Item Description
Sensitivity Move the Sensitivity slider to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the
image to small signal variations.
Alternatively, enter a percentage number into the Sensitivity text box.
To learn more, see Sensitivity.
Contrast Move the Contrast slider to increase or decrease the contrast of the image
to small signal variations.
Alternatively, enter a percentage number into the Contrast text box.
To learn more, see Contrast.
Cursor To change the color of the grid line indicating the position, within the grid, of
the current GPR Line displayed in the GPR Line window, click Cursor.
To learn more, see Cursor Color.
Lines To change the color of lines corresponding to the GPR lines collected
during the grid survey, click Lines.
To learn more, see Lines Color.
Scale To change the color of the scale grid lines, click Scale.
To learn more, see Scale Color.
Defaults Click Defaults to revert the settings to their default values.
Preview To display the effects of the slice setting change before applying them, click
Preview.
OK Click OK to apply your changes.
Cancel Click Cancel to close the Settings dialog box; all changes will be lost.
Auto Preview Select Auto Preview to see the effect of changes made to the settings,
including Sensitivity, Contrast and the Color Palette.
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In the Slice Settings dialog box, click the X option to generate a depth slice using only X data
lines in the grid.
The GPR Line view display only X-direction lines:
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Y Grids
Y-grids are areas covered by a series of parallel lines in the Y direction:
In the Slice Settings dialog box, click the Y option to generate a depth slice image using only Y
data lines in the grid. The GPR Line view displays only Y data lines.
Click the X or Y lines option to emphasize targets perpendicular to the line direction. In the
following image, rebar are running in two directions, but the rebar parallel to the X lines have
been eliminated:
Click the Y lines only option to display rebar perpendicular to the Y lines and eliminate the
parallel rebar parallel.
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Mixed Grids
Mixed grid areas are covered by lines in both the X and Y directions
In the Slice Settings dialog box, click Mixed to generate depth slice images based on both X
and Y lines.
The GPR Line view displays an X line or a Y line
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5.2.2.1.3 Sensitivity
The Sensitivity settings control how sensitive an image is to small signal variations. Sensitivity
values range from 0 to 100%, least sensitive to most sensitive (default 100%).
Before changing a sensitivity value, make sure that the depth slice image you want to change is
in the active window.
To adjust sensitivity move the slide left to decrease sensitivity and right to increase sensitivity:
You can also adjust sensitivity from the menu bar and toolbar:
Increase Sensitivity
• To increase sensitivity by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Sensitivity
Increase.
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Decrease Sensitivity
Decreasing sensitivity widens the color palette around the zero signal level, removing weaker
signals in the image so only the strongest signals are visible.
• To decrease sensitivity by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Sensitivity
Decrease.
5.2.2.1.4 Contrast
The Contrast setting enables you to control how much of the image area is at the extremes of
the color palette. Contrast ranges from 0 to 100%, less contrast to more contrast (default 0% -
no added contrast).
Before changing contrast values, make sure the depth slice image you want to change is the
active window.
Contrast Increase
• To increase contrast by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Contrast Increase.
• To increase contrast by 5% increments, in the Toolbar, click increase contrast icon.
• To increase contrast by 10% increments, press Shift while clicking the menu or toolbar.
• To increase contrast by 10% increments, press Ctrl while clicking the menu or toolbar.
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Contrast Decrease
• To decrease contrast by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Contrast Decrease.
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Scale Grid
Slice Cursor
Lines
a. To change the line color, in the Settings dialog box, click Cursor.
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In the Color dialog box, select a color that provides high cursor line visibility on the depth slices
and GPR Lines.
Click OK.
The GPR Line Cursor Line in the depth slice view is not visible if the Show Collected Lines
option has been turned off.
GPR line
Cursor Line
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Scale
Scale
The Show Scale Grid option only applies to the image in the active window.
a. To change Scale Color, in the Settings dialog box, click Scale.
b. In the Color dialog box, select a line color that is visible on the image.
c. Click OK.
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Use the following table as a guide to working with the GPR Line Settings dialog box:
Item Description
GPR Processing To select the type of processing to apply to the current active GPR line
image, click the GPR Processing drop-down list.
To learn more, see GPR Processing.
Color Palette To change the GPR Line color, click the Color Palette drop-down.
To learn more, see Color Palette.
Sensitivity Move the Sensitivity slider to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the
image to small signal variations.
Alternatively, enter a percentage number into the Sensitivity text box.
To learn more, see Sensitivity.
Contrast Move the Contrast slider to increase or decrease the contrast of the image
to small signal variations.
Alternatively, enter a percentage number into the Contrast text box.
To learn more, see Contrast.
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Item Description
Cursor To change the color of the depth lines superimposed on the GPR Line view
indicating the depth range of the depth slice displayed in the Depth Slice
view, click Cursor.
To learn more, see Cursor Color.
Scale Click Scale to change the color of the scale grid lines.
To learn more, see Scale Color.
Depth Limit Depth Limit enables you to change the maximum depth displayed on GPR
line images.
To learn more, see Depth Limit.
Gain Gain "amplifies” the strength of the GPR data signals in the GPR line
images.
To learn more, see Gain.
Defaults Click Defaults to revert the settings to their default values.
Preview To display the effects of the slice setting change before applying them, click
Preview.
OK Click OK to apply your changes.
Cancel Click Cancel to close the Settings dialog box; all changes will be lost.
AutoPreview To see the effect of changes made to the settings, including Sensitivity,
Contrast and the Color Palette, select Auto Preview.
• The recommended and default GPR Processing option is Dewow + Bgr. Subtraction +
Gain.
• To display the GPR Lines with the same processing as the depth slices, click Depth
Slice Processing.
Contrast, Sensitivity and Gain are locked to the GPR Line settings dialog and cannot be
changed in the Slice Settings dialog.
To learn more, see Data Processing.
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5.2.2.2.3 Sensitivity
The Sensitivity settings control how sensitive an image is to small signal variations. Sensitivity
values range from 0 to 100%, least sensitive to most sensitive (default 100%).
Before changing a sensitivity value, make sure that the GPR line image you want to change is in
the active window.
To adjust sensitivity move the slide left to decrease sensitivity and right to increase sensitivity:
You can also adjust sensitivity from the menu bar and toolbar:
Increase Sensitivity
• To increase sensitivity by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Sensitivity
Increase.
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Decrease Sensitivity
Decreasing sensitivity widens the color palette around the zero signal level, removing weaker
signals in the image so only the strongest signals are visible.
• To decrease sensitivity by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Sensitivity
Decrease.
5.2.2.2.4 Contrast
The Contrast setting enables you to control how much of the image area is at the extremes of
the color palette. Contrast ranges from 0 to 100%, less contrast to more contrast (default 0% -
no added contrast).
Before changing contrast values, make sure the GPR Line image you want to change is the
active window.
Contrast Increase
• To increase contrast by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Contrast Increase.
• To increase contrast by 5% increments, in the toolbar, click increase contrast icon.
• To increase contrast by 10% increments, press Shift while clicking the menu or toolbar.
• To increase contrast by 10% increments, press Ctrl while clicking the menu or toolbar.
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Contrast Decrease
• To decrease contrast by 5% increments, in the Menu bar, click View > Contrast Decrease.
• To decrease contrast by 5% increments, in the toolbar, click the decrease contrast icon.
• To decrease contrast by 10% increments, press Shift while clicking the menu or toolbar.
• To decrease contrast by 10% increments, press Ctrl while clicking the menu or toolbar.
As contrast increases, more data is displayed at the extreme value of the color palette. Contrast
helps make weak targets more visible in the image.
GPR Line Images
GPR line signals vary from extreme negative values to extreme positive values with zero in the
middle. As contrast increases, the colors associated with the high positive and negative signal
levels at the ends of the color palette widen resulting in the weaker signals appearing stronger
in the image.
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Scale Grid
Slice Cursor
Lines
a. To change the line color, in the Settings dialog box, click Cursor.
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In the Color dialog box, select a color that provides high cursor line visibility on the depth slices
and GPR Lines.
Click OK.
The GPR Line Cursor Line in the depth slice view is not visible if the Show Collected Lines
option has been turned off.
GPR line
Cursor Line
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Scale
Scale
The Show Scale Grid option only applies to the image in the active window.
b. To change Scale Color, in the Settings dialog box, click Scale.
c. In the Color dialog box, select a line color that is visible on the image.
d. Click OK.
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• Max: Displays the full depth range of GPR line data (default setting).
• User: Select User to enter the maximum depth value to display in the GPR line image in the
ft. text box.
• Slice Depth Limit: Select Slice Depth Image to enter a multiplication factor for the Slice
Depth Limit.
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For example, a multiplication factor of two sets the GPR Line depth limit to twice the current
slice depth limit. A multiplication factor of 0.5 zooms the slice depth limit to only show the
shallow data in the GPR Line view.
Setting the Depth Limit to a value larger than the maximum GPR line depth displays the full
depth and time axes of the GPR line, but data below the maximum depth will be blank.
Note: Use Depth Limit only to display GPR Lines. If the depth limit setting is less than the
maximum depth, it does not limit the GPR Line data used for generating depth slices.
Depth slices deeper than the depth limit are still visible, but the slice cursor lines on the GPR
line that define the thickness of the depth slice fall off the bottom of the GPR line as you scroll
down through the depth slices.
To learn how to limit the maximum data depth to generate depth slices, see the Slice Depth
Limit.
5.2.2.2.8 Gain
Gain enables you amplify the strength of the GPR data signals in the GPR line images (similar
to adjusting the volume knob on a radio). Gain is only applied to the GPR line image display;
changing gain has no effect on depth slice images.
a. To add Gain to GPR Processing, in the Settings dialog box, select the Gain checkbox.
Level uses 12 pre-defined settings for Start Gain, Attenuation and Maximum Gain (see
details below) that increase from a low gain at 1 to a high gain value at 12. Typically one of
these 12 settings applies a suitable gain to the GPR line. If not, select a gain level that is
close and then switch to a User and modify the gain parameters (see below) until the gain is
the best.
The gain level is changed in this dialog but can also be changed using the Gain Level
dropdown list and the Gain Level increase or decrease buttons on the Toolbar. Note that
the gain is applied to the data in the currently selected window, either the GPR line or the
Depth Slice window.
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This makes it easy to quickly scroll through several pre-set gain levels and find one that
makes the GPR line look the best.
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The following image displays a GPR line image with the gain function shape and parameters on
the right.
In most cases, Start Value is 1 to 3, Attenuation (a), which controls steepness, is 0.5 to 50,
and Maximum Gain, which cuts off the exponential rise, is 20 to 1000. To avoid over-gaining
data, start with low attenuation and maximum gain values and increase as necessary.
Attenuation
Attenuation values define the steepness value of the gain. Lower values result in a more
gradual slope, while higher values produce steeper slopes. The ramp rises from the Start Gain
value up to the Maximum Gain value.
A low attenuation value produces a clear GPR line image High attenuation values overgain data producing an unclear
image
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a. To select an attenuation value, in the Gain pane, click the User option.
In the Attenuation drop-down list, click a value between 0.0 and 50.0.
You can enter another value into the text box.
Attenuation values apply gain to the GPR lines in the same way that the Amplitude Equalization
Gain value applies gain to the slices. When you find an attenuation value the produces clear
GPR line images that are not over-gained, you can apply the same gain value to User
Amplitude Equalization to produce quality depth slice images.
5.2.3 Zoom
Use Zoom to increase or decrease the size of the depth slice or GPR line image in the active
window.
To access Zoom, in the menu bar, click View > Zoom.
Option Description
Fit to Window To zoom to the full grid size, click View > Zoom > Fit to Window.
Select Area 1. To zoom in to a specific area of the slice or GPR line, click View > Zoom >
Select Area.
2. Draw a box around the area you want to zoom in on.
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After zooming into an image, scroll bars appear on the bottom and right edge of the image.
Use the scroll bars to move around the image and view different areas. The scroll bar narrows
each time the image is zoomed-in to indicate that a smaller percentage of the full image range is
displayed.
A zoomed-in image still displays X and Y scales. The image may show more data than defined
by the box because the additional data will be added to the right or bottom of the image so it
always retains the correct aspect ratio.
5.2.4 Pan
Click Pan to move images around a zoomed-in image; in Pan Mode the cursor displays a hand
icon ( ). You can click and drag data images to a new location. As the image is dragged, a
dashed box outlining the current viewed image is formed. The image will move to the location of
this dashed box.
To exit Pan mode, click View > Pan.
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If your older GPR system does not write fiducials to the GFP file created during grid data
collection, use the GFP_Edit utility program to import fiducials separately into the GFP file.
If the grid contains Flags/Fiducials on any data lines, they are automatically displayed on the
image in the Depth Slice View when Show Collected Lines is enabled. The flags/fiducials
appear as small squares on the line.
To turn flags/fiducials on or off, click View > Display Flags/Fiducials.
The following image displays flag/fiducial markers as little squares on the depth slice view
image.
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5.2.8.1.1 Latitude/Longitude
b. Select the Latitude/Longitude checkbox to enable the Latitude/Longitude pane.
a. Select to display Latitude/Longitude in Degrees Minutes Seconds (D M” S”) or Decimal
Degrees.
b. In the Show Hemisphere Location at drop-down list, select one of the following
options:
• Do not show
• Positive/Negative
Displayed as a plus (+) sign when latitude is in the Northern hemisphere or
Longitude is in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Displayed as a minus (-) sign when latitude is in the Southern hemisphere or
Longitude is in the Western Hemisphere.
• Letter
For latitude, “N” for North or “S” for South. For Longitude, “E” for East or “W” for
West.
• Word
For latitude, “North” or “South”. For Longitude, “East” or “West”
The current GPS output is displayed in the Sample GPS Output field.
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5.2.8.1.2 UTM
c. Select the UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) checkbox to enable the UTM pane.
From the Using Reference Ellipsoid dropdown list, select an option. The default is
WGS-84.
• Click the Show UTM Letter Designator option to display the letter designator.
• Click the UTM Zone Number option to display the zone number.
The current GPS output is displayed in the Sample GPS Output field.
Click OK.
5.3 Navigation
• Click Slice Up ( ) to scroll up through the depth slice image by single depth slice
increments.
• Click Slice Down ( ) to scroll down through the depth slice image by single depth slice
increments.
When the highest or lowest depth slice is reached, the depth slice image does not change.
If the GPR Line View is open, as you move through the slices in the depth slice view, the slice
cursor lines on the GPR line image move up or down corresponding to the depth slice image.
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These buttons are active when selecting an X line for Hyperbola Velocity Calibration.
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5.4 Tool
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Slices produced in SliceView-Grid display GPR signal amplitude versus XY position. Amplitude
value is the average amplitude value over the depth or time thickness. Data processing
processes such as Dewow, Migration, Background Subtraction, and Envelope affect the original
amplitude.
5.4.1.1.1 Outer
Select this option to apply Outer data position limits to a grid when you want the longest lines in
the X and/or Y direction to define the size of the grid, so the depth slice generated is the largest
possible and uses all the available data in the grid.
GPR lines that are shorter than the longest lines are padded with zero data so all lines are the
same length.
For example, if all the lines are 10m long except one in the X direction that is 10.5m and another
in the Y direction that is 10.2m long, the grid size plotted in the depth slice will be 10.5 x 10.2m.
5.4.1.1.2 Clipped
It is common to collect GPR lines that are longer than the grid dimensions; this allows operators
to overshoot the end of the grid without having to try and stop the line exactly at the end
position. Each GPR line is typically a slightly different length.
Select the Clipped data position limit to crop the grid using the first and last lines in X and Y
directions; GPR lines that extend outside the defined grid are cut off. .
Clipped data limit is not available if you have only X-lines or Y-lines, (no Y-lines to clip the X-
lines and vice versa).
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5.4.1.1.3 Inner
Select the Inner data position limit for the grid when the shortest lines in the X and/or Y direction
define the size of the grid so the grid contains solid data with no zero data padding. Use this
option when one or more GPR lines exceed the desired size of the grid and you want to
truncate those lines and display a grid with no zero data padding.
For example, if all the lines are 10m long, except one in the X direction that is 10.5m long, and
another in the Y direction that is 10.2m long, the grid size plotted in the depth slice will be 10 x
10m.
5.4.1.1.4 User
Select the User data position limit when you can define the minimum X, maximum X, minimum
Y, and maximum Y positions for the grid. GPR lines are truncated and/or padded with zero data
to fit the defined grid size.
5.4.1.2 Units
Distance and depth units displayed on the axes around the depth slice and GPR line images
can be displayed in meters or feet.
Use this feature to convert and display the units default used during grid data collection from
meters (m) to feet (ft.).
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Before Total Background Subtraction After Total Background Subtraction has been applied
This filter is most effective when the air wave and/or ground wave events are fairly constant
throughout the grid of GPR lines. If the surface varies in composition or water content, the
ground wave event will vary in amplitude and time; using total background subtraction may not
remove the events satisfactorily on all GPR lines. In this case, using a Local Background
Subtraction filter may be more effective.
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To determine an appropriate window width for the local background subtraction filter, scroll
through the GPR lines in your grid and determine the length of the shortest flat-lying reflection
that you want removed from the data. Start with a value of 1 meter (3 feet) and modify up or
down as necessary to improve the depth slice images.
Caution: Be careful when using short distances for Local Background Subtraction as these
can result in the removal of a significant amount of data.
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0.16ft (116x117 samples) 0.20ft (93x94 samples) 0.50ft (37x37 samples) 1.0ft (19x19 samples)
Depth slices with a very small sample size are very detailed but take longer to process.
Slice Resolution defaults to an appropriate value based on the step size (the distance between
traces during data collection) and the screen resolution. Slice resolution can be changed but not
made finer (smaller) than the smallest step size in the data. A coarser (larger) resolution value
results in faster data processing.
The Depth Slice View Legend displays the current slice resolution value and the total number of
samples in the X and Y directions. To change the slice resolution value, enter a new value or
use one of the four resolution values from the drop-down list (low, medium, high, and max).
Changes in slice resolution have the most effect on large grid data sets. It is a good practice to
set slice resolution to a coarse value at first and then make sure that the depth slices generated
are what you expect before proceeding with a finer sample size that takes longer to process.
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Raw data line containing the low frequency wow The same data line after Dewow removes the low frequency
component - before Dewow wow component
Wow is removed from the data by running a high pass average filter on each trace. A window
with a width the same as that of one pulse width at the nominal frequency is set on the trace.
The average value of all the points in this window is calculated and subtracted from the central
point. The window is then moved along the trace by one point and the process is repeated.
While any filter produces unwanted artifacts in the data to which it is applied, Dewow has been
optimized after many experiments over many years to reach a satisfactory compromise filter.
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The Dewow process is highly recommended when data processing GPR lines and depth slices.
Migration
Targets in the subsurface often generate hyperbolic responses on a GPR line. A hyperbola is
the result of the wide beam-width inherent in most GPR systems.
The target is located at the apex, or top of, the hyperbola. Migration focuses the energy spread
over the hyperbolic shape back to the apex of the hyperbola— the actual location of the object.
This is an essential and highly recommended part of the data processing when generating
depth slices. Migration allows linear targets viewed on depth slice images to appear as linear
objects rather than hyperbolic shapes that make interpretation difficult.
Migration requires an accurate Signal Velocity value. If the velocity value is too low or too high,
hyperbolic reflectors will not be focussed back to a point and the target will have fuzzy edges in
the depth slice.
Migration defaults to on and is highly recommended for most grid data sets, but the user can
turn the migration process off by unchecking the checkbox.
There are two types of migration available in SliceView: F-K Migration and Kirchhoff Migration.
The F–K migration applies a synthetic aperture image reconstruction process to the GPR line.
The GPR data are Fourier-transformed into plane waves at a monochromatic frequency. The
waves are then processed individually to superimpose the energy at source point. This
transformation was devise by R.H. Stolt (Geophysics, Vol 43 1978, p 23-48) and is often called
Stolt migration.
The Kirchhoff migration processes the data in its original space and travel time form and is
more intuitive. The Kirchhoff migration sums along a hyperbolic trajectory for a given velocity
and places that energy at the apex of the hyperbola. This concept is readily understood from
examining GPR records with localized point targets. The point target response results in energy
lying on hyperbolic trajectory in space-time cross sections. The Kirchhoff summation approach
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essentially takes all the energy along a given hyperbola, sums it up and places it at the apex of
the hyperbola which is the location of the source.
There are two parameters available for the Kirchhoff Migration:
Width: Window width used for summing along the hyperbolic trajectory. Default value is
calculated based on the GPR line parameters and used during the migration processing.
If not using the default, the value is in feet or meters, depending on the units the GPR line was
collected in.
Target Type: Type of target being imaged to optimize the gain for amplitude normalization. The
options are: 0=All Targets, 1=Point Targets, 2=Rod/Cylinder-targets, and 3=Planar Targets.
The default is 0=All Targets.
Envelope
Enveloping a trace converts it from a signal with both positive and negative components to a
signal with all positives. The process removes the oscillatory nature of the radar wavelet and
shows the data in its true resolution.
In the following graphic, the top image shows the original trace made up of positive and
negative components. The middle image shows enveloping process turning negative
components into positive. The bottom image shows a smooth wavelet outline.
Original trace
Trace undergoing
Enveloping
Final Trace
At a single time or depth value, the amplitude value will be similar to the raw amplitude value but
is always positive. Average enveloped amplitude is calculated by averaging the amplitude
values over a depth or time thickness.
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The following graphic shows how the enveloping process replaces the negative signal
amplitudes in the raw data with positive values
Raw data with positive and negative values Raw data with positive values
Enveloping is highly recommended when displaying depth slices. Depth slices are generated by
averaging all amplitude values in the thickness range. If enveloping is not done, the positive and
negative amplitudes would cancel each other out, resulting in slice images with values close to
zero.
If enveloping is turned off, the data retains the negative amplitude values and the color palette
becomes bipolar, which means that the colors display positive, negative, or zero amplitude data
values.
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The default thickness value is based on the antenna frequency used for the grid survey. In
general, as antenna frequency decreases and wavelength increases, the default depth slice
thickness is increased.
The default value in feet is (1000/frequency) / 12.
The default value in meters is (1000/frequency) * 0.025.
Frequency is in MHz. For example, the default thickness for 250 MHz data is 0.33 feet or 0.10
meters.
Events with a large depth extent will be seen over several depth slices. In this case it may be
possible to increase the thickness of the depth slice and still see the target. Be careful not to
make the slice thickness too large, as the averaging process will reduce the amplitude of even
very strong reflectors if they are averaged over too large a thickness interval.
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The Interpolation Limit defines the maximum distance (in meters or feet) that data will be
interpolated. If the distance between two GPR lines exceeds this limit, a gap of zero data will be
left between them. The following image displays a depth slice image from a Y line data grid
showing a gap with zero data where the line separation exceeded the Interpolation Limit.
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This value defaults according to the data set and can usually be left as Auto. The default setting
is 1.5 times the average survey line separation.
The User setting allows you to define the interpolation distance.
Level uses 12 pre-defined settings for Start Gain, Attenuation and Maximum Gain (see
details below) that increase from a low gain at 1 to a high gain value at 12. Typically, one of
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these 12 settings applies a suitable gain to the GPR line. If not, select a gain level that is close
and then switch to a User and modify the gain parameters (see below) until the gain is the best.
The gain level is changed in this dialog but can also be changed using the Gain Level dropdown
list and the Gain Level increase or decrease buttons on the Toolbar.
This makes it easy to quickly scroll through several pre-set gain levels and find one that makes
the GPR depth slices look the best.
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The User Amplitude Equalization Gain requires three parameters: Attenuation, Start Gain, and
Maximum Gain.
The strongest GPR signals come from shallow targets while deeper targets have weaker signal
strength.
The gain applied to GPR data increases with increasing depth.
The following images display applying Amplitude Equalization Gain to grid data. The gain at the
shallowest depth slice is set by the Start Gain. The gain increases for deeper slices set by
attenuation. If the attenuation value is low, the gain increases slowly with depth. If the
attenuation value is high, the gain increases quickly with depth. Gain increases until it reaches
the max gain value which is the highest gain applied to the deepest slices.
The Amplitude Equalization Gain setting is only applied to the depth slice image display.
Changing the gain setting has no effect on GPR line images.
The current Amplitude Equalization Gain value is displayed in the SliceView-Grid Legend.
To turn off Amplitude Equalization Gain, de-select the Amplitude Equalization Gain checkbox.
Turning off Amplitude Equalization Gain generates slice images using the raw data amplitudes
with no gain applied. It is not advisable to compare the signal amplitudes of targets in different
slices.
To set the Amplitude Equalization Gain parameters manually, select the User option.
To set the Amplitude Equalization Gain parameters automatically, select Auto. Auto mode uses
the average decay curve of the GPR signal strength over time to calculate appropriate gain
parameter values for Attenuation, Maximum Gain, and Start Gain. If the resulting depth slices
are not over-gained or under-gained, using Auto Amplitude Equalization Gain is acceptable.
However, Auto does not always gain data properly, especially if the data has strong, high
amplitude signals deep in the section. This may result in the attenuation value being too high,
resulting in over-gained data and depth slices with too many high amplitude signals which can
be confusing for data interpretation. When this occurs with your data, use Auto to set the initial
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values for the gain parameters and then switch the gain to User and experiment using different
values.
Attenuation
The Attenuation value defines the steepness of the gain function. Lower values result in a more
gradual slope, while higher values produce steeper slopes. The value slope begins at the Start
Gain value and increases up to the Maximum Gain value.
Low attenuation values are typically used, but higher values may improve the imaging of deeper
targets. Use the lowest value possible because data can be over-gained making it more difficult
to understand.
The following images show how Amplitude Equalization applies a gain to the weaker signals at
depth. If the Auto value is too low or too high, select the User option and experiment with
different values that generate images with a good balance of colors.
Auto value too low Good color balance Auto value too high
Typical attenuation values fall between 0.0 and 20.0, but you can enter any values by selecting
the User option and then entering the value into the text box.
The Amplitude Equalization Gain value applies gain to slices in the same way that Attenuation
applies gain to GPR lines. Once you find an attenuation value that produces clear GPR lines
images that aren’t over-gained, you can use it as the attenuation value to produce quality depth
slice images.
Start Gain
Start Gain is the gain value at zero depth at the top of the GPR line. Typical Start Gain values
are 0 or 1; 1 is the default value.
Maximum Gain
Maximum Gain is the highest multiplication factor for the GPR line data. The slope defined by
the attenuation stops increasing once it has reached the maximum gain value. Typically values
for the Maximum Gain are between 20 and 1000 with 500 being the default value.
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Auto automatically sets the PCD scale to the maximum value found in the Conquest grid data.
This value is displayed in the Slice Legend (see table in View).
User allows the user to manually set the maximum PCD scale value. This is useful for
increasing or decreasing the strength of the response in the PCD slice. This option is also
useful to set a single maximum value when displaying PCD slices from multiple Conquest grids
in MapView.
5.4.1.6 Defaults
Click Defaults to return the Data Processing settings to their default values.
5.4.1.7 Preview
Click Preview to display the effect of changes made to the Data Processing Settings before
implementing those changes.
5.4.1.8 OK
Click OK to close the dialog box and implement any changes made to the Data Processing
settings processing the grid survey data and generating slice images. Depending on the
changes, processing time may change.
5.4.1.9 Cancel
Click Cancel to close the Data Processing dialog box ignoring any changes.
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If necessary, you can change the value to make the hyperbola more visible.
After the hyperbola has been positioned at the apex of the hyperbola in the GPR line image,
match the shape of the hyperbola.
To change the shape of the hyperbola, click the diamond shaped handle on the ends of the
hyperbola tails and then drag it to the position that best matches the shape of the image
hyperbola.
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Once the hyperbolas are matched, click Hyperbola Velocity Calibration again to exit velocity
calibration mode.
If the velocity value has changed, in the message box click Yes to accept the new velocity
value, or No to discard the changes.
When you accept a new velocity, the grid data is automatically processed using the new
velocity. The depth slice images and depth axis in the GPR line window will automatically
update.
During the hyperbola velocity calibration, the Status Bar along the bottom of the SliceView-Grid
window displays information including the velocity, depth, and time of the hyperbola. As the
hyperbola shape changes, the velocity and depth also change. The depth value is always for
the apex (top) of the superimposed hyperbola.
For example, if the reflection from the bottom of concrete is visible in the GPR line image, and
the depth of the concrete is known, the apex of the hyperbola can be positioned on that
reflection and the velocity changed until the depth value displayed on the bottom of the window
matches the known depth.
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5.4.2.3 Measure
Use the measure tool to measure the straight-line distance between any two points on a depth
slice or GPR line image.
a. To access the Measure tool, in the menu bar, click Tool > Measure.
To measure the distance between two points, click the start position.
Drag and drop the cursor at the end position.
The distance between the two points (in the current units) is displayed on the Status Bar at
the bottom of the screen.
It is important to understand that measurements made on GPR lines are based on the velocity
so an accurate velocity is critical for an accurate measurement.
To exit from the Measure tool, click Toggle Measure Tool.
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5.5 Window
5.5.1 New Plan View Window
In the menu bar, click Window > New Window to open another instance (window) of the
current Depth Slice View window.
This is useful when looking at different slice views at the same time.
Windows display a green number on the left side of the title banner to indicate which data set
they belong to. For example, all the windows associated with the first GFP file opened will have
a number 1 in the banner, and all windows associated with the second GFP file opened will
have a number 2 in the banner, and so on.
When multiple plan view windows open, only one can be active at one time. However, changing
some variables, such as data processing parameters, velocity, slice thickness, and color palette,
change the value for all plan view window instances. Other variables, such as Show Collected
Lines, Show Scale, Show Scale Grid, Show Legend, and Show Slice only apply to the active
window.
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5.5.3 Cascade
Click Window > Cascade to open windows to cascade on the screen, that is, the front section
is completely visible and the title lines from the other sections are visible and accessible.
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A checkmarks indicates the active window. To change the active window, in the list, click
another window.
5.6 Help
5.6.1 Contents
Click Help > Contents to open the SliceView User’s Guide.
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6 Opening SliceView-Lines
SliceView is an optional module of the EKKO_Project software. To access SliceView-Lines, you
must first open EKKO_Project.
SliceView-Lines is only accessible when the project (gpz) file contains lines with 2D positioning,
either through GPS or by manually adding Line Positioning to the GPR lines (see the Line
Positioning routine in the EKKO_Project manual).
a. To open EKKO_Project, click Start > All Programs > Sensors & Software GPR >
EKKO_Project.
The Getting Started dialog box automatically opens to assist you to select a project file
containing the line(s) to process into depth slices.
In the Open dialog box, navigate to and then select GPR lines, a folder containing GPR lines or
project file.
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SliceView User’s Guide Opening SliceView-Lines
Note: If you are opening a project only gpz files are listed. If you are adding lines to a
project file, only .hd files are listed.
In Project Explorer, select a GPR line or check one or more lines to process into depth slices.
a. In the EKKO_Project menu bar, click SliceView-Lines from the dropdown menu on
the side of the SliceView button on the toolbar.
c. To process a single line, right-click on the line in the Project Explorer window and
click SliceView-Lines.
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6.1.1 Name
Name is the name of the Line Slice generated. This name is displayed in the Layer View
window and can be checked to display the line slice data image in MapView or unchecked to
hide it.
The SliceView-Lines dialog always opens with a new default name. Use the dropdown list to
select previously processed Line Slice name; useful when reprocessing a Line Slice with
modified settings.
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6.1.3 Process
There are several processes that are usually applied to the GPR Lines before generating the
depth slice. These are listed in the Process box at the top of the dialog.
When Auto is selected, the default settings for all the processes are applied before generating
the depth slice.
When Advanced is selected, the user can decide which processes to include and modify the
parameters for that process.
In general, it is best to run in Auto mode, so all the recommended processes are included in
generating the depth slice.
6.1.3.1 Velocity
An accurate velocity is necessary for generating the clearest depth slice images and
accurately determining the depth of an object from the GPR line images.
The default velocity is 0.10 m/ns or 0.328 ft/ns but, if possible, the user should open the GPR
line or lines in the LineView module and measure the velocity by using the hyperbola-fitting
method (see the LineView manual). If processing more than one line and the velocity varies
between lines, the average velocity is used.
6.1.3.2 Processes
If Advanced is selected, the process checkboxes are enabled for the user to modify the
processing applied to GPR line(s) before depth slices are generated.
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6.1.3.3 Gain
Gain applies a gain to depth slice data to compensate for weaker signals at depth. Use this
feature to compare the relative signal strengths of targets in different depth slices.
Select Auto, Level or Advanced. These options are explained in Amplitude Equalization Gain.
Note that Auto may not provide enough gain for depth slices. If your depth slices are not
showing the full range of the color palette (see below), change the Gain from Auto to Level and
reprocess the depth slices with a gain level from 1 to 12, increasing the Level and reprocessing
the depth slices until there is a full range of colors visible in the depth slices.
6.1.3.4 Slice
The Slice settings include the Color Palette the depth slices are displayed with, the Slice
Thickness, the percent of Overlap between slices and the Maximum Slice Depth. If the Slice
settings are set to Auto, default values are used. Selecting Advanced allows the user to
modify the settings.
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Use the dropdown to select the Color Palette. For more information, see Slice Color
Palette.
6.1.3.5 Interpolation
After the GPR line data are processed, it is interpolated based on the Neighborhood Radius
and the Pixel Width values. From the dropdown, the options are Low, Medium, High and
Advanced.
The values for the Neighborhood Radius and Pixel Width are based on low, medium and
high settings for the recommended line spacing for grid data collected with the antenna
frequency. The lower the frequency (and the longer the GPR antenna), the higher the
values for the Neighborhood Radius and Pixel width (see table below).
If the Interpolation is set to Advanced, the user can set the values for the Neighborhood
Radius and Pixel Width.
Neighborhood Radius
The GPR signal amplitudes are interpolated over an area defined by the Neighborhood
Radius.
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To generate a continuous depth slice with few or no gaps, the Neighborhood Radius should
be set to the ½ the average distance between lines. Use the Measure tool in EKKO_Project
to measure this distance (see the EKKO_Project manual).
If the Neighbourhood Radius is less than the ½ the actual line spacing, the depth slices will
have gaps in them. In the example below, the actual line spacing is about 0.5 to 1.2m and
the Neighborhood Radius is 0.25m (diameter is 0.5m), so some areas of the depth slice
show gaps up to 0.7m wide (1.2m actual – 0.5m interpolation = 0.7m).
Beware of setting the radius too high; this interpolates the data over a larger area which
reduces amplitudes, spreads responses over a larger area and may give a false sense of
where data were actually collected.
Pixel Width
Pixel Width is the physical size of the smallest pixel of data in the depth slice.
Smaller pixel widths will produce higher resolution depth slices but will take longer to
generate.
In general, the Pixel Width should be about 1/4 to 1/10th the Neighborhood Radius; the
default value is 1/5th.
Beware of making too small a pixel size as it may create a false sense of data resolution.
For example, if the data traces are actually spaced 0.25 meter apart, it does not make a lot
of sense to set a pixel size of 0.01 metres.
The following table shows the default values for Neighborhood Radius and Pixel Width
based on the antenna frequency and the level of interpolation (Low, Medium, High).
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For example, here is the same depth slice from the same GPR line plotted using Interpolation
settings of low, medium and high:
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After the depth slices are generated they are displayed as a layer in the MapView window.
Note that the checkboxes in the Layer View window control what is displayed in MapView so if
you do not see the depth slice, it may be because the Line Slices checkbox is not checked.
It is possible to display more than one Line Slice at the same time. The most recently generated image is
on top.
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Selecting Settings opens the SliceView-Lines dialog to allow the Line Slice settings for that Line
Slice to be modified.
Selecting Delete deletes the Line Slice image.
For more details about Layer View, see the EKKO_Project manual.
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SliceView User’s Guide GFP_Edit
Appendix A GFP_Edit
Use GFP_Edit to edit a grid or change the relationship between project and global coordinates.
To edit a grid, export it from EKKO_Project, and then edit it with GFP_Edit. Once editing is
complete, import the edited grid back into the project.
Before you can edit a grid, install GFP_Edit on your computer.
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SliceView User’s Guide GFP_Edit
Click OK.
Edit the grid in GFP_Edit.
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SliceView User’s Guide GFP_Edit
To Import the gfp file as a new grid to EKKO_Project, in EKKO_Project, click Add Grid.
In the Open dialog box, select the edited gfp file.
Click Open.
The new grid is displayed in Project Explorer
Right-click the new grid.
In the drop-down list click SliceView.
The new grid is displayed in SliceView-Grid.
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Appendix B Glossary
Term or Phrase Definition
3D View Displaying depth or time slices and selected cross sections through a volume.
Enables 3D visualization of grid survey data.
Amplitude Depth / Equalizing the average amplitudes in all depth/time slices so that equivalent
Time Equalization features in slices from different depths/times appear to have the similar
amplitude in the generated image.
Attribute Characteristic derived from original data. For example, the average amplitude of
the dominant frequency between two times or depths.
Color Palette The color palette or color table that converts a data attribute like amplitude into
color in the creation of depth or time slice images and section views.
GPR line Image When profiling data is displayed as a computer generated image, showing
signal amplitude varying in time or depth versus position along the line. Often
shortened to GPR line or section.
Cross Section Multiplication factor used to set the maximum depth displayed on the GPR line
Maximum Slice view. Maximum depth displayed is this factor multiplied by the Max Depth Limit
Depth Multiplier specified in the slice processing. Shortened to Max Slice Depth Multiplier,
Depth Gain Depth Gain: is a display gain applied that varies with depth along a trace.
Depth or Depth- Profiling data is displayed as a GPR line with the vertical depth scale. Often
Section Image: shortened to depth-section or section.
Depth Slice Describes a data attribute derived from data between two depths - top of depth
slice and bottom of depth slice. Most often a grid survey has the depth range
from 0 to the maximum depth subdivided into a number of depth slices of equal
thicknesses.
Depth Slice Image Describes a depth slice when the slice attribute is displayed as a computer
generated image. Normally be shortened to depth slice.
Gain When displaying cross sections formed from traces, a display control is often
needed to allow strong responses from shallow targets to be viewed at the same
time as weaker responses from deep targets. Gain is applied to weak signals to
make them larger.
GFP File An XML format computer file which provides information on multiple files of data
and enables a Sensors & Software program to automatically read and process
the data to final form.
Grid Describes a square or rectilinear set of straight lines covering an area. Acquiring
data on a grid means acquiring data along each line forming the grid. Acquiring
data on a grid is a pre-requisite for creating depth or time slice images.
Conventional notation is to use a Cartesian coordinate system with X and Y
axes.
Grid Resolution Describes the XY spatial resolution attained in a grid and is controlled by the
largest line or trace spacing.
Grid Size Describes the real extent of a grid (e.g. 5m x 10m, 20ft x 50ft.).
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