Exploring the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to measure the extent of chronic disturbance in peatlands: Examples from acid mine drainage and peat fire

By: , and 

Links

Abstract

Peatlands are accumulations of partially decayed organic soil that cover approximately 3% of Earth’s surface and have been shown to serve essential environmental and ecological functions such as sequestering carbon, purifying water, and providing habitat for organisms. However, peatlands are threatened by pressures from agriculture, urban development, mining, and climate change. Geophysical methods have been used in peatlands to determine peat volume and carbon stocks (e.g., Comas et al., 2017), observe differences in humification and water content (e.g., Ulriksen, 1982), guide engineering projects (e.g., Jol and Smith, 1995), learn about subsurface greenhouse gas dynamics (Wright and Comas, 2016), observe seasonal variations in pore water salinity (Walter et al., 2018), and assess hydrological processes (Hare et al., 2017). Among various geophysical methods, ground penetrating radar (GPR) is arguably the most popular for studying peat properties given the method’s sensitivity to variations in water content and ability to resolve major structural properties within the peat at high spatial resolution. Though less widely applied, frequency-domain analysis of GPR may also yield useful information.

Publication type Conference Paper
Publication Subtype Conference Paper
Title Exploring the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to measure the extent of chronic disturbance in peatlands: Examples from acid mine drainage and peat fire
DOI 10.1190/gpr2020-015.1
Year Published 2020
Language English
Publisher Society of Exploration Geologists
Contributing office(s) WMA - Earth System Processes Division
Description 4 p.
First page 53
Last page 56
Conference Title 18th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar
Conference Location Golden, Colorado
Conference Date June 14-19, 2020
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details