The problem of the location and characterization of a two-dimensional (2-D) subsurface object is formulated as the inverse problem for an effective scattering model. An arbitrary finite-sized buried object is described as a subsurface circular cylinder with the radius, permittivity, and position of its center to be determined. The inversion is performed in a nonlinearized way, minimizing the discrepancy between the actual scattered field and that of the effective scattering model. A simple and

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... uick solution for a circular cylinder embedded in a lossy half space is introduced. As far as numerical efficiency is concerned, the obtained approximate algorithm is comparable to the freespace solution. The location algorithm has been tested with the two-dimensional models of plastic antipersonnel land mines. Index Terms-Detection and characterization of subsurface objects, ground penetrating radar, nonlinear inversion.