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Mapping subsurface conditions within the near-shore zone of an Arctic delta using ground penetrating radar
- Source :
- Cold Regions Science and Technology. 56:30-38
- Publication Year :
- 2009
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2009.
-
Abstract
- This paper demonstrates the capabilities of ground penetrating radar (GPR) to map and resolve shallow subsurface features in the near-shore zone: (i) ice conditions (floating or bottom fast); (ii) water bathymetry; (iii) sedimentary structures; and (iv) interfaces between frozen and unfrozen sediment. These features were resolved in the near-shore zone of the Mackenzie Delta, N.W.T., Canada, using multi-frequency (50, 100 and 250 MHz) GPR data collected in winter (2005 and 2006). The capability of GPR to resolve subsurface features in the near-shore zone was strongly controlled by bottom-fast and floating ice conditions. The latter were discriminated using a novel approach involving the energy return from the base of ice and the presence of ice-bottom multiples. Beneath zones of bottom-fast ice, sedimentary structures and interfaces between frozen and unfrozen sediment were discriminated by reflection geometry and amplitude. Beneath floating ice, water depths were measured to depths greater than 5 m using a multi-layer depth calculation. Overall, this research demonstrates that baseline information for geotechnical investigations and climate change research in Arctic coastal zones can be greatly enhanced with GPR data.
Details
- ISSN :
- 0165232X
- Volume :
- 56
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Cold Regions Science and Technology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........9a7323f853753ec2a0b8127bdd4dc3a5