The effectiveness of geophysical techniques in detecting a range of buried metallic weapons at various depths and orientations

Authors: Richardson, T. and Cheetham, P.N.

Volume: 384

Pages: 253-266

DOI: 10.1144/SP384.18

Abstract:

The use of weapons in violent crime in the UK is well attested by crime statistics. It has been demonstrated by previous experimental studies that geophysical techniques have the potential for use in the search and detection of buried metallic weapons. Previous research has focused on only one weapon type, or the depths at which weapons can be detected, while this study also considers weapon orientation. This study employs magnetometry (fluxgate gradiometry), Slingram electromagnetic (both phases in both horizontal magnetic dipole (HMD) and vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) orientations) and ground-penetrating radar (500 and 800 MHz) methods to investigate the detectability of a wide variety of weapon types when buried in the ground in different orientations and depths. This study demonstrates that there were limitations for each instrument employed resulting from the orientation of the weapon in the ground, with none of the techniques in this work being able to detect all of the weapons in all orientations. A second limitation was the inability of all these instruments to detect smaller weapons. This study shows that a combination of techniques is required to increase the chances of successful detection. Blind searching trials in a range of environments are now required to quantify the level of successful detection that can be achieved in practice. The influence of metal composition of the weapons also needs to be further investigated. © The Geological Society of London 2013.

Source: Scopus