An Overview of Jefferson Proving Ground UXO Technology Demonstration (Phase III) Contractor Performance Self-Assessments

The self-evaluations of four participants in the Jefferson Proving Ground, IN, UXO (unexploded ordnance) Technology Demonstrations, Phase III (1996), were reviewed to better understand the factors that control detection and/or discrimination of buried UXO by surface instruments. Among the conclusions drawn was the fact that each participant relied more heavily on human experience than model-driven data analysis to distinguish UXO from other objects. Furthermore, the simple magnetic dipole models that were used by some participants were shown to be inadequate for accurately predicting depth of burial and UXO orientation in most cases. Data analysis techniques and model predictions are not yet sophisticated enough to allow UXO discrimination using total field magnetometry.