Airborne, Multi-Sensor, Wide-Area Assessment of Ordnance-Contaminated Sites
MR-200416
Background
Munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) contamination is a high priority problem for the Department of Defense (DoD). Recent DoD estimates of MEC contamination across approximately 1,400 DoD sites indicate that 10 million acres are suspected of containing MEC. Because many sites are large in size (greater than 10,000 acres), the investigation and remediation of these sites could cost billions of dollars. However, on many of these sites only a small percentage of the site may in fact contain MEC contamination. Therefore, determining applicable technologies to define the contaminated areas requiring further investigation and munitions response actions could provide significant cost savings. Therefore, the Defense Science Board (DSB) has recommended further investigation and use of wide area assessment (WAA) technologies to address the potential these technologies offer in terms of determining the actual extent of MEC contamination on DoD sites. In response, ESTCP designed a WAA pilot program that consisted of demonstrations at multiple sites to validate the application of a number of technologies as a comprehensive approach to WAA.
Objectives of the Demonstration
The objective of this project was to demonstrate Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), orthophotography, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to determine the spatial distribution of uncontaminated areas versus concentrated contamination and to plan ground remediation efforts accordingly as part of the ESTCP WAA pilot program.
Demonstration Results
WAA technology demonstrations for this project were conducted at Pueblo Precision Bombing Range #2, Colorado and Borrego Military Wash, California (LiDAR and orthophotography only). LiDAR and orthophotography were successful in detecting craters, aiming circles, and other large munitions-related features constructed from earthen berms. Overall, target features were best-defined in the LiDAR data compared to the orthophotography data. SAR showed the capability of detecting relatively large metallic items on the surface of the ground and unshielded by foliage but with a high false alarm rate. Detection was less reliable on items with volumes of less than a few liters. HSI proved unable to detect metallic fragments on the ground and was less successful at detecting munitions-related features than had been hoped. It did prove successful in reducing SAR false alarms due to vegetation.
Implementation Issues
The primary benefit of WAA technology is in rapid characterization of large open areas. LiDAR and orthophotography provide a valuable layer of evidence that can both support and add to initial knowledge about a site.
SAR is most applicable to sites with fairly large munitions or munitions scrap on the ground surface. SAR readily detects vertical vegetation, such as trees and bushes, which results in a large number of false alarms. In addition, SAR needs to be used in conjunction with a suite of WAA sensors for target and clutter discrimination to reduce the false alarm rate.
HSI requires significant post-processing of the raw data to produce useful outputs. In addition, the large number of spectral bands recorded results in extremely large data sets, and this can limit the spatial resolution that is practical.
Project Documents
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jack Foley Ph.D.
Sky Research, Inc.
Phone: 541-552-5141
Fax: 720-293-9666
Project Documents
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.