Comparison of methods considering ground surface elevation in spatial distribution estimation of bedrock using Gaussian process regression

Abstract

The bedrock elevation data is important basic information in the design and construction of various infrastructures. The bedrock elevation may have a correlation with the ground surface elevation, and several studies have been reported on methods using the ground surface elevation for estimating the spatial distribution of the bedrock elevation. In this study, three methods, i.e., the method using only boring data, the method considering the correlation with the ground surface elevation, and the method considering the average depth from the ground surface elevation, were applied to simulated data and measured data. We compared and examined the characteristics of the three methods. The estimation accuracy of bedrock elevation in mountainous and plain areas by each method is shown, and it is shown that the spatial distribution of bedrock elevation can be estimated more accurately in mountainous areas and around the bottom of slopes by utilizing the ground surface elevation.