Progress on determining the vapor signature of a buried landmine

The goal of the DARPA "Dog's Nose" program is to develop a sensor capable of detecting explosives contained in all buried landmines. In support of the DARPA program, the purpose of the Explosives Fate and Transport; (EF&T) experiments is to define in detail the accessible trace chemical signature produced by the explosives contained in buried landmines, We intend to determine the partitioning (soil, air, water), composition, and quantity of explosive related chemicals (ERC) which emanate from different kinds of landmines (predominantly plastic-cased with TNT as the main charge) buried in multiple soil types and exposed to various climatic events, We are also developing a computer model that will enable us to predict the composition and quantity of ERC under a much wider range of environmental conditions than we are able to test experimentally.