Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has emerged as a promising technology for estimating the soil water content (SWC) in the vadose zone. However, most current studies focus on partial GPR data, such as travel-time or amplitude, to achieve SWC estimation. Full waveform inversion (FWI) can produce more ac...

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Main Authors: Hanqing Qiao, Minghe Zhang, Maksim Bano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/8/1436
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author Hanqing Qiao
Minghe Zhang
Maksim Bano
author_facet Hanqing Qiao
Minghe Zhang
Maksim Bano
author_sort Hanqing Qiao
collection DOAJ
description Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has emerged as a promising technology for estimating the soil water content (SWC) in the vadose zone. However, most current studies focus on partial GPR data, such as travel-time or amplitude, to achieve SWC estimation. Full waveform inversion (FWI) can produce more accurate results than inversion based solely on travel-time. However, it is subject to local minima when using a local optimization algorithm. In this paper, we propose a novel and powerful GPR waveform inversion scheme based on Harris hawks optimization (HHO) algorithm. The proposed strategy is tested on synthetic data, as well as on field experimental data. To further validate our approach, the results of the HHO algorithm are also compared with those of partial swarm optimization (PSO) and grey wolf optimizer (GWO). The inversion results from both synthetic and real experimental data demonstrate that the proposed inversion scheme can efficiently invert both SWC and layer thicknesses, thus achieving very fast convergence. These findings further confirm that the HHO algorithm can be effectively applied for the quantitative interpretation of GPR data.
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spelling doaj-art-25a8ad2eacb944fbb2d838e36ff984bb2025-08-20T03:13:32ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-04-01178143610.3390/rs17081436Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform InversionHanqing Qiao0Minghe Zhang1Maksim Bano2Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Langfang 065000, ChinaITES (UMR7063), EOST, University of Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, FranceITES (UMR7063), EOST, University of Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, FranceGround-penetrating radar (GPR) has emerged as a promising technology for estimating the soil water content (SWC) in the vadose zone. However, most current studies focus on partial GPR data, such as travel-time or amplitude, to achieve SWC estimation. Full waveform inversion (FWI) can produce more accurate results than inversion based solely on travel-time. However, it is subject to local minima when using a local optimization algorithm. In this paper, we propose a novel and powerful GPR waveform inversion scheme based on Harris hawks optimization (HHO) algorithm. The proposed strategy is tested on synthetic data, as well as on field experimental data. To further validate our approach, the results of the HHO algorithm are also compared with those of partial swarm optimization (PSO) and grey wolf optimizer (GWO). The inversion results from both synthetic and real experimental data demonstrate that the proposed inversion scheme can efficiently invert both SWC and layer thicknesses, thus achieving very fast convergence. These findings further confirm that the HHO algorithm can be effectively applied for the quantitative interpretation of GPR data.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/8/1436ground-penetrating radarsoil water contentwaveform inversionHarris hawks optimizationvadose zone
spellingShingle Hanqing Qiao
Minghe Zhang
Maksim Bano
Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion
Remote Sensing
ground-penetrating radar
soil water content
waveform inversion
Harris hawks optimization
vadose zone
title Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion
title_full Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion
title_fullStr Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion
title_full_unstemmed Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion
title_short Harris Hawks Optimization for Soil Water Content Estimation in Ground-Penetrating Radar Waveform Inversion
title_sort harris hawks optimization for soil water content estimation in ground penetrating radar waveform inversion
topic ground-penetrating radar
soil water content
waveform inversion
Harris hawks optimization
vadose zone
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/8/1436
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AT minghezhang harrishawksoptimizationforsoilwatercontentestimationingroundpenetratingradarwaveforminversion
AT maksimbano harrishawksoptimizationforsoilwatercontentestimationingroundpenetratingradarwaveforminversion