Capabilities of seismic and georadar 2D/3D imaging of shallow subsurface of transport route using the Seismobile system Zenon Pilecki a, ⁎, Zbigniew Isakow b , Rafał Czarny b , Elżbieta Pilecka c , Paulina Harba a , Maciej Barnaś a a The Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Wybickiego 7, 31-261 Cracow, Poland b The Institute of Innovative Technologies EMAG, Leopolda 31, 40-189 Katowice, Poland c Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland abstract article info Article history: Received 16 January 2017 Received in revised form 22 May 2017 Accepted 25 May 2017 Available online 26 May 2017 In this work, the capabilities of the Seismobile system for shallow subsurface imaging of transport routes, such as roads, railways, and airport runways, in different geological conditions were presented. The Seismobile system combines the advantages of seismic profiling using landstreamer and georadar (GPR) profiling. It consists of up to four seismic measuring lines and carriage with a suspended GPR antenna. Shallow subsurface recognition may be achieved to a maximum width of 10.5 m for a distance of 3.5 m between the measurement lines. GPR measurement is performed in the axis of the construction. Seismobile allows the measurement time, labour and costs to be reduced due to easy technique of its installation, remote data transmission from geophones to accompanying measuring modules, automated location of the system based on GPS and a highly automated method of seismic wave excitation. In this paper, the results of field tests carried out in different geological conditions were presented. The method- ologies of acquisition, processing and interpretation of seismic and GPR measurements were broadly described. Seismograms and its spectrum registered by Seismobile system were compared to the ones registered by Geode seismograph of Geometrix. Seismic data processing and interpretation software allows for the obtaining of 2D/3D models of P- and S-wave velocities. Combined seismic and GPR results achieved sufficient imaging of shallow subsurface to a depth of over a dozen metres. The obtained geophysical information correlated with geological information from the boreholes with good quality. The results of performed tests proved the efficiency of the Seismobile system in seismic and GPR imaging of a shallow subsurface of transport routes under compound conditions. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Seismobile system Landstreamer Transport route Seismic 2D/3D imaging GPR 2D/3D imaging Shallow subsurface 1. Introduction For the purpose of designing new transport routes and renewing existing ones, we generally analyse geological-engineering conditions of shallow subsurface to identify various weak zones. Such zones cause deformations within the geological medium and consequently deformations of route construction, including its surface. Regarding roads, the most visible effects of weakening the ground are defor- mations of road surfaces as various local subsidence, and cracks (e.g. Thom, 2014). In mining areas, there are also different forms of discontinuous deformations as sinkholes, flexures, cracks, and faults (e.g. Pilecki, 2014). Among weak zones in the shallow subsurface of transport routes requiring recognition, we have to consider high varia- tions in physical properties of the medium, zones of irregular ground- water flows (including leaching zones), a change of the ground water level caused by draining or irrigation works, the occurrence of organic grounds and quick-sands, landslide zones, complicated tectonics, the occurrence of voids and fracture zones formed as a result of mining, as well as karst areas. Geophysical methods have proven an effective tool in imaging of shallow subsurface of transport routes/tunnels and drawing conclusions about mechanisms responsible for its deformations (e.g. Saarenketo and Scullion, 2000; Hugenschmidt, 2000; Inazaki, 2004; Miller, 2006; Benedetto and Pensa, 2006; Pilecki, 2009; Krawczyk et al., 2012; Benedetto et al., 2015, Malehmir et al., 2016). A vast number of publica- tions have been written on this research task. In that respect, even a Highway Geophysics session was established during the Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems of EEGS in 2016. Among geophysical methods, the most applicable for the purpose of designing new transport routes and renewing existing ones, are GPR, seismics and electrical resistivity methods. With regard to the advantages and limitations of geophysical methods, it is better to use two methods based on various physical properties of the medium. Journal of Applied Geophysics 143 (2017) 31–41 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: pilecki@meeri.pl (Z. Pilecki). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2017.05.016 0926-9851/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Applied Geophysics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jappgeo