The use of GPR for the detection of non-homogeneities in the Reno River embankments (North-Eastern Italy).

The use of non-invasive techniques in the monitoring of man-made river embankments is of primary importance for the safety of the embankment itself. Recently, a noticeable attention for this topic has been addressed to many geophysical methods. The GPR method respect to the others gives the possibility to investigate spread areas in a relative short time; in the study of river embankments, it allows to detect anomalies that can be thoroughly studied later on. The hydraulic safety of the Reno River, one of the main rivers in North-Eastern Italy, is of primary importance for the Emilia-Romagna regional administration. In the last decades, several hydro-meteorological events caused structural failures of the embankments of the Reno River and its tributaries. The GPR capability has been tested in several test areas, along more than 15 km on artificial embankments for several issues: detection of river embankment stratigraphy, study of the development of cavities produced by animals, localization of unknown pipelines and repaired areas. Preliminary results show that GPR is a suitable technique for the detection of anomalies like levels of construction, recently repaired areas, hidden objects, important shallow stratigraphic horizons