ground penetrating radar applied geoenvironmental protection at mar-mina area near burg el-arab city, egypt

Mar-Mina area is located at the northern border of the Western Desert between Latitudes 30o 49’ 39’’ N and 30o 51’ 27’’ N and between Longitudes 29o 39’ 9’’ E and 29o 41’ 24’’ E. The whole historical site covers an area of about 980 acresaround which two large agricultural zones are located in the northeast and southwest respectively.The rise of water table has implemented sever disastrous effects on the limestone walls and encountered structures, swamps and lakes are formed inside and all around the site.The main purpose of the present investigation is to study theapplicability of non-destructive geophysical techniques to solve particular environmental problems in the area. Accordingly, the investigations involved 2D ground penetrating radar, 1D and 2D electrical resistivity methodsdesigned to cover two district areas; (i) around the ring road bounding a safe area, and (ii) within the limits of the historical Mar-Mina Church. Eleven 2D GPR profiles were conducted at the western part of Mar-Minaarea and nine profiles within the limits of the historical site. A 250 megahertz (MHz) monostatic shielded antenna was used for the entire data gathering. Thetime window used during GPR data acquisition is about 180 ns. Calculation of factors affecting the interpretation, such as, velocity of electromagnetic waves, absorption coefficient, dielectric constant, vertical resolution and horizontal resolution were