APMR checks stability of dikes

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A company from one of the European Space Agency's Business Incubation Centres has developed a scanner to spot weaknesses in dike structures.

A company from one of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Business Incubation Centres has developed a scanner to spot weaknesses in dike structures.

It is now being used to inspect dikes and dams on the River Danube and in the Netherlands.
 
Dutch start-up company Miramap’s instrument can ‘look’ into the ground and measure the amount of water in the soil, which is important when checking the stability of dams and dikes.

Very wet areas can indicate a weakened or even dangerously unstable structure.

By mounting the scanner on an aircraft, large areas can be mapped easily, identifying points to be inspected and perhaps repaired.

Miramap’s Airborne Passive Microwave Radiometry (APMR) soil-moisture instrument is based on passive microwave radiometry (PMR), a technology used on satellites to monitor changes in soil moisture and ocean salinity on Earth.

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