Detection and removal of antipersonnel and antitank landmines is a great challenge and a worldwide enviromental and humanitarian problem. Sensors tuned on the spectroscopic signature of the chemicals released from mines are a potential solution. Enviromental factors (temperature, relative humidity, rainfall precipitation, wind, sun irradiation, pressure, etc.) as well as soil characteristics (water content, compaction, porosity, chemical composition, particle size distribution, topography, vegetation, etc), have a direct impact on the fate and transport of the chemicals released from landmines. Chemicals such as TNT, DNT and their degradation products, are semi-volatile, and somewhat soluble in water. Also, they may adsorb strongly to soil particles, and are susceptible to degradation by microorganisms, light, or chemical agents. Here we show an experimental procedure to quantify the effect of the above variables on the spectroscopic signature. A number of soil tanks under controlled conditions are used to study the effect of temperature, water content, relative humidity and light radiation.

Date Published: 10 June 2005
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 5794, Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets X, (10 June 2005);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5794:
Detection and Remediation Technologies for Mines and Minelike Targets X
Russell S. Harmon; J. Thomas Broach; John H. Holloway Jr., Editor(s)