The Musqueam/UBC GPR team offers a GPR course for Indigenous communities
Our goal is to provide guidance to communities who wish to develop a GPR capacity. We believe the search for children missing from Indian Residential Schools is most appropriately Indigenous-led and Indigenous-conducted.
GPR is an accessible method of near-surface geophysics, and our training program is intended to facilitate communities in developing a full capacity, from project design to field data collection, to processing, visualization, interpretation and reporting. We know that other communities and institutions are developing similar efforts, and we are keen to assist in coordinating content and guidance for a national training program.
Our course is divided into ten sections, which represent 10 weeks of study:
- GPR History, Principles, Introduction to archaeological Applications
- Introduction to the Equipment: The GPR Array, Data Collection Software, Data Transfer Protocols
- Field Applications 1: Project Planning, Data Collection Design, Data Management Plans/Templates, Testing and Prospection Mode
- Field Applications 2: Velocity Testing, Experimentation with Parameters
- Field Applications 3: Conducting Grid Surveys in Cemeteries
- Lab Work 1: Data Security, Data Transfer, Software Tools, Grid Processing, Intro to Visualization
- Lab Work 2: Data Visualization, Simulations, Processing Options, Grid Assembly
- Lab Work 3: Interpretation of GPR Visualizations, Statistical Principles, Anomaly Identification, Confidence
- Lab Work 4: GIS, Google Earth, and Report Writing and Presentation
- Discussion: Beyond Cemetery Contexts: Archaeology and Informal Burial Locations
Follow this link for information on registering for the course.
