Abstract—Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that has been developed for shallow subsurface investigation and efficiently used broad area focusing in hydrogeology study. It provides non-destructive and rapid way of obtaining continuous high resolution profiles which are based on the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Conductivity and dielectric properties are two important parameters in GPR method. As in sediment, water saturation primarily causes changes in dielectric properties and therefore, this method is best applied in estimation of depth to water table. Six parallel 2-dimensional GPR lines were executed in Seri Iskandar, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia with the aim of detecting the depth of water table and analyzing the environment of depositing sediments. Results are presented in 3-dimensional cube for better interpretation and explanation. Based on results obtained, it successfully detected the saturated zone, which suggested as water table with depth of >15-20m. Layer of reclaimed sand detected at depth <3m with nonuniform sand sedimentation and dipping layer detected at depth <10m. Wet zone is detected at depth of <10-15m. Index Terms—Depositing sediments, electromagnetic, ground penetrating radar, water table. I. INTRODUCTION Ground penetrating radar, (GPR) is one of the near surface geophysical methods that involve the transmission of high frequency radar pulses from a surface antenna into the ground. It provides detailed information about the subsurface which is site-dependent and the quality of the results is dependent on the target, geologic environment, subsurface features and other factors that affect the contrast of the target to surrounding medium. It has been demonstrated that GPR is a useful sensor for shallow subsurface investigation and proven to be promising tool for subsurface characterization in the field of environmental and engineering. This is due to dielectric properties and conductivity governing GPR wave propagation are strongly correlated to basic physical properties such as water content and soil salinity. GPR method is efficiently used in a broad area focusing generally in hydrogeology study. The presence of small amount of water will dominate the behaviour of the dielectric permittivity of porous media in a multi-fluid system. The dielectric permittivity generally increases along the moisture content from the ground surface to the saturated zone [1]. In sedimentary environments, the porosity the affect the dissemination of electromagnetic waves is not equal to the total porosity but it is define as the effective porosity in which Manuscript received August 9, 2012; revised November 19, 2012. The authors are with the Geophysics Section, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia (e-mail: nurazwinismail@yahoo.com; rosli@usm.my; mmnordiana@gmail.com; teh.saufia@gmail.com) the fluid flows freely [2]. GPR survey was performed in Seri Iskandar, Tronoh, Perak using 100MHz shielded antenna to identify depth of water table and stratigraphy of sediments deposition. Tronoh was a small tin mining town located about 30km south of Perak capital city, Ipoh, Malaysia. There are lots of manmade lakes found which are believed to occur due to tin mining industry since 20th century. II. METHODOLOGY A. Basic Principle Ground penetrating radar is a method that is commonly used for environmental, engineering, hydrogeological, and other shallow subsurface investigations [3]. It has been used for several years as a non-destructive method for locating subsurface anomalies. It uses the principle of scattering electromagnetic wave (EM) to locate target or interfaces buried within visually opaque substances or earth material [4]. An electromagnetic wave is transmitted into the ground and reflected based on different dielectric properties of subsurface materials (Fig. 1). Reflected waves are received at the surface according to a general principle; the higher the frequency, the better the resolution and the shallower the depth of penetration [5]. Fig. 1. EM wave propagation depends on dielectric and conductivity properties of material [6]. The recorded signal is registered as amplitude and polarity versus two way travel time. The electromagnetic wave propagates in air with the speed of light, 0.3 m/ns. Generally, in other medium such as ground, velocity of EM wave is reduced due to relative dielectric permittivity (ε r ), magnetic permeability (μ r ), and electrical conductivity (σ). Velocity of electromagnetic wave in a host material is given by (1) A Study of Water Table and Subsurface Using 3-Dimensional Ground Penetrating Radar Ismail N. Azwin, S. Rosli, Muztaza M. Nordiana, and A. H. A. Teh Saufia, Member, IACSIT International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 3, No. 6, December 2012 579 DOI: 10.7763/IJESD.2012.V3.289