Using ground penetrating radar to understand the failure of the Koh Ker Reservoir, Northern Cambodia.

A flawed design in the Koh Ker Reservoir's spillway, revealed through ground penetrating radar and topographic mapping, likely contributed to its failure during the first rainy season after construction. This inadequacy exacerbated water flow issues, potentially accelerating the collapse of the reservoir's dike and thereby shortening Koh Ker's tenure as a political center of the Khmer Empire. The study employed advanced geophysical techniques to reconstruct the buried laterite pavement, providing new insights into ancient hydraulic engineering failures.

Moffat, I., klassen, s., Attorre, T., Evans, D., Lustig, T., & Kong, L. (2021). Using ground penetrating radar to understand the failure of the Koh Ker Reservoir, Northern Cambodia. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/6xcvu