Chapter 5

The Application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) at Machu Picchu,

Peru (C101-1)

Romulo Mucho Mamani · Victor Carlotto Caillaux · Walter Pari Pinto · Martin Jhonathan Oviedo · Marten Douma · Mel Best
Peter Bobrowsky*

Abstract. A ground penetrating radar survey was conducted in the describe the background theory, applications and inter-
spring of 2005 at the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, Peru by pretations of a ground penetrating radar study conducted
INGEMMET and the Geological Survey of Canada. The aim of the
study was to evaluate the nature and characteristics of the shallow
in June 2005. Results of the other shallow geophysical tech-
surficial sediments and uppermost bedrock at the citadel. Results niques applied during the past few years will be presented
of the survey permit a high level of resolution indicating that the elsewhere.
surficial deposits consist of two separate unconsolidated facies. The
uppermost part of the bedrock surface was also captured during
the survey imaging. There is no evidence to support the presence
of an extensive north-south trending fracture, fault or failure plane
5.2 Setting
crossing the citadel.
The Inca archaeological site of Machu Picchu is located
Keywords. Machu Picchu, shallow geophysics, ground penetrating approximately 100 km north of the city of Cusco, Peru
radar, landslide hazard (Fig. 5.1). Perched at an elevation nearly 2 500 m a.s.l.,
Machu Picchu rests on a saddle ridge stretching between
two prominent peaks: Machu Picchu to the south and
5.1 Introduction Huayna Picchu to the north. The Rio Vilcanota, a head-
water stream of the Amazon River, winds its way around
The famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Machu the site on the east, north and west sides some 500 m be-
Picchu, Peru was the royal estate for the Inca ruler low. The unique and steep high relief topography in the
Pachacuti, who occupied the site with several hundred
other individuals from about a.d. 1450 to a.d. 1562
(Wright and Valencia Zegarra 2000). Discovered early in
the last century, the site is now host to some 1 million tour-
ists per year. Moderate modern construction directly ad-
jacent to the site and extensive urbanization at the nearby
town of Aguas Calientes has drawn international atten-
tion following a series of shallow translational landslides,
rock falls and debris torrents in the area. The impact of
the failures includes 11 fatalities in 2004 and economic
concerns involving the closing of the only access road to
the site (Hiram Bingham Road in 1996).
The additional potential threat for large-scale landslide
events affecting the archaeological site itself prompted
INGEMMET to initiate an evaluation of the sub-surface
conditions in the area. INGEMMET in cooperation with the
Geological Survey of Canada began a multi-year multi-pa-
rameter shallow geophysical assessment program at Machu
Picchu in 2003. The data collected will be used to enhance
other data on structural geology, engineering properties
and geomorphology of the area as collected by collabo-
rative international scientific and engineering teams.
The purpose of this paper is to provide comments on
the results obtained from the application of one shallow
geophysical method applied at Machu Picchu. We briefly Fig. 5.1. Location map of Machu Picchu, Peru study area
56 Romulo Mucho Mamani · Victor Carlotto Caillaux · Walter Pari Pinto · Martin Jhonathan Oviedo · Marten Douma · Mel Best · Peter Bobrowsky
region is underlain by part of the Vilcabamba Batholith a
white to gray colored granitic complex dated by Rb/Sr to
about 246 ±10 Ma (Carlotto et al. 1999). This granitic com-
plex is cut by several large faults and is characterized by
an extensive jointing pattern. Both faults and joints are
thought to be the primary contributors to the slope insta-
bility in the area.
5.3 Background Theory
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems are uniquely
suited for shallow subsurface investigations of archaeo-
logical sites (Sternberg and McGill 1995; Leckebusch 2000;
Carrara et al. 2001; Goodman et al. 1995, 2004) and land-
slide areas (Hack 2000; Bichler et al. 2004). GPR systems
are capable of generating high-resolution images of the
shallow subsurface. GPR depth penetration is controlled
by the conductivity of the near-surface material. Depth
penetration of 30 m or more is possible in resistive ground
whereas in conductive ground the GPR signal is attenu-
ated within the first meter or so.
A GPR system consists of transmitting and receiving
antennas and associated electronics (Fig. 5.2). The trans-
Fig. 5.2. This figure shows the sensors and software 200 MHz trans-
mitter and receiver antenna assemblies. Not shown is the Pulse-
EKKO 100 console and the recording laptop computer
mitting antenna emits a very high frequency (between 25
and 200 MHz for the applications being discussed in this
paper) electromagnetic pulse into the ground that propa-
gates as a wave at or near the speed of light. When this
emitted wave encounters changes in electrical (dielectric
constant) properties of the ground a reflected wave is gen-
erated, similar to seismic reflections. The time required
for the reflected wave to reach the receiving antenna and
the amplitude of this wave is recorded and used to deter-
mine the properties of the shallow subsurface.
The standard operational mode for GPR reflection sur-
veys is shown in Fig. 5.3a. The antenna dipoles are placed
perpendicular to the direction of the survey line. A con-
stant separation between the two antenna dipoles is main-
tained throughout the survey. The transmitter and receiver
positions are moved in increments along the survey line
as shown in the figure. Figure 5.3a illustrates schemati-
cally the ray paths at several locations along this example
survey line. Note the reflections from the finite body as
well as at the boundary between overburden and bedrock.
Fig. 5.3. a A schematic diagram illustrating GPR reflection profiling.
The antenna dipoles are placed perpendicular to the direction of
the survey line. S is the constant separation between the two dipoles
and x is the incremental distance the GPR system is moved along
the survey line. b The GPR cross-section for the geological situation
given in a. The time axis is measured in nanoseconds since the ve-
locity of light is 0.3 m ns–1. Note the reflections from the top and
bottom of the finite body