Natural or artificial cavities in the ground can be regarded as special “areas of weakness”, which can lead to subsidence or sinkholes on the surface of the terrain and thus endanger people, animals and objects.

Location and monitoring of cavities have recently become important special tasks in geophysics. In order to successfully carry out these investigations, the measurement methods derived from exploration physics must be adapted to the usually relatively small dimensions of the cavities sought. For interpretation of the measurement results, a very good knowledge of the genesis of cavities in the relevant geological formation is of great importance (geological / geotechnical know-how).

To locate cavities, we use one or more of the following geophysical methods, depending on the situation and the problem:

• Geoelectrics
• Electromagnetics
• Ground penetrating radar (GPR)
• Seismics