GPR reflection characteristics and depositional models of mud volcanic sediments—Wushanting mud volcano field, southwestern Taiwan

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was conducted in the Wushanting mud volcano field (Yanchao, Kaohsiung) using a 500 MHz antennae, which allowed high-resolution imaging of subsurface structures. Seven GPR reflection characteristics are recognized. Sigmoid GPR reflection patterns resulted from a recent mud lobe deposited above an underlying older mud lobe front. Contorted GPR facies resulted from recent mud flow which encountered obstacles. Subparallel reflections resulted from mud volcano deposits of limited flowability, low velocity and gentle gradient. Hummocky reflection patterns are formed by interfingering of recent mud lobes building onto low land. Disrupted GPR facies were due to lateral breaks of continuity from mud cracks, which, according to field observation, can provide channels for erosion and form deeper erosion gullies. GPR time slices of different depths are rendered as a three-dimensional model. Approximately orbicular GPR reflection characteristics can indicate arcuate stacked mud lobe fronts of different periods. Some depositional models to explain GPR reflection characteristics can be founded upon observations of recent sedimentary phenomena. The models of this study may be applied to paleoenvironments and the depositional evolution of mud volcanoes in similar geological settings.     

GPR reflection characteristics and depositional models of mud volcanic sediments—Wushanting mud volcano field,southwestern Taiwan

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was conducted in the Wushanting mud volcano field (Yanchao, Kaohsiung) using a 500 MHz antennae, which allowed high-resolution imaging of subsurface structures. Seven GPR reflection characteristics are recognized. Sigmoid GPR reflection patterns resulted from a recent mud lobe deposited above an underlying older mud lobe front. Contorted GPR facies resulted from recent mud flow which encountered obstacles. Subparallel reflections resulted from mud volcano deposits of limited flowability, low velocity and gentle gradient. Hummocky reflection patterns are formed by interfingering of recent mud lobes building onto low land. Disrupted GPR facies were due to lateral breaks of continuity from mud cracks, which, according to field observation, can provide channels for erosion and form deeper erosion gullies. GPR time slices of different depths are rendered as a three-dimensional model. Approximately orbicular GPR reflection characteristics can indicate arcuate stacked mud lobe fronts of different periods. Some depositional models to explain GPR reflection characteristics can be founded upon observations of recent sedimentary phenomena. The models of this study may be applied to paleoenvironments and the depositional evolution of mud volcanoes in similar geological settings.     

Recursive impedance inversion of ground-penetrating radar data in stochastic media

The travel time and amplitude of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) waves are closely related to medium parameters such as water content, porosity, and dielectric permittivity. However, conventional estimation methods, which are mostly based on wave velocity, are not suitable for real complex media because of limited resolution. Impedance inversion uses the reflection coefficient of radar waves to directly calculate GPR impedance and other parameters of subsurface media. We construct a 3D multiscale stochastic medium model and use the mixed Gaussian and exponential autocorrelation function to describe the distribution of parameters in real subsurface media. We introduce an elliptical Gaussian function to describe local random anomalies. The tapering function is also introduced to reduce calculation errors caused by the numerical simulation of discrete grids. We derive the impedance inversion workflow and test the calculation precision in complex media. Finally, we use impedance inversion to process GPR field data in a polluted site in Mongolia. The inversion results were constrained using borehole data and validated by resistivity data.     

Characterizing hydrological processes in a semiarid rangeland watershed: A hydrogeophysical approach

The complex ecohydrological processes of rangelands can be studied through the framework of ecological sites (ESs) or hillslope‐scale soil–vegetation complexes. High‐quality hydrologic field investigations are needed to quantitatively link ES characteristics to hydrologic function. Geophysical tools are useful in this context because they provide valuable information about the subsurface at appropriate spatial scales. We conducted 20 field experiments in which we deployed time‐lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), variable intensity rainfall simulation, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), and seismic refraction, on hillslope plots at five different ESs within the Upper Crow Creek Watershed in south‐east Wyoming. Surface runoff was measured using a precalibrated flume. Infiltration data from the rainfall simulations, coupled with site‐specific resistivity–water content relationships and ERT datasets, were used to spatially and temporally track the progression of the wetting front. First‐order constraints on subsurface structure were made at each ES using the geophysical methods. Sites ranged from infiltrating 100% of applied rainfall to infiltrating less than 60%. Analysis of covariance results indicated significant differences in the rate of wetting front progression, ranging from 0.346 m min^?1/2 for sites with a subsurface dominated by saprolitic material to 0.156 m min^?1/2 for sites with a well‐developed soil profile. There was broad agreement in subsurface structure between the geophysical methods with GPR typically providing the most detail. Joint interpretation of the geophysics showed that subsurface features such as soil layer thickness and the location of subsurface obstructions such as granite corestones and material boundaries had a large effect on the rate of infiltration and subsurface flow processes. These features identified through the geophysics varied significantly by ES. By linking surface hydrologic information from the rainfall simulations with subsurface information provided by the geophysics, we can characterize the ES‐specific hydrologic response. Both surface and subsurface flow processes differed among sites and are directly linked to measured characteristics.     

Simulation for ground penetrating radar (GPR) study of the subsurface structure of the Moon

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is currently within the scope of China's Chang-E 3 lunar mission, to study the shallow subsurface of the Moon. In this study, key factors that could affect a lunar GPR performance, such as frequency, range resolution, and antenna directivity, are discussed firstly. Geometrical optics and ray tracing techniques are used to model GPR echoes, considering the transmission, attenuation, reflection, geometrical spreading of radar waves, and the antenna directivity. The influence on A-scope GPR echoes and on the simulated radargrams for the Sinus Iridum region by surface and subsurface roughness, dielectric loss of the lunar regolith, radar frequency and bandwidth, and the distance between the transmit and receive antennas are discussed. Finally, potential scientific return about lunar subsurface properties from GPR echoes is also discussed. Simulation results suggest that subsurface structure from several to hundreds of meters can be studied from GPR echoes at P and VHF bands, and information about dielectric permittivity and thickness of subsurface layers can be estimated from GPR echoes in combination with regolith composition data.     

Mapping agricultural fields with GPR and EMI to identify offsite movement of agrochemicals

Offsite movement of waterborne agrochemicals is increasingly targeted as a non-point source of water quality degradation. Our research has indicated that subsurface water movement is variable and site-specific, and that a small soil volume frequently conducts a large volume of flow. This concentrated flow is usually caused by soil morphology, and it often results in water moving rapidly offsite from certain areas of fields; little or no lateral subsurface flow may occur in other areas. Identifying these subsurface regions is difficult using conventional soil survey and vadose zone sampling techniques. In this study, traditional surveying is combined with electromagnetic induction (EMI) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) mapping to identify areas with high potential for subsurface offsite movement of agrochemicals, optimizing these identification techniques, and expanding the mapping procedures to make them useful at the field-scale for agricultural production practices. Conclusions from this research are: (1) EMI mapping provides rapid identification of areas of soil with a high electrical conductivity and presumably high potential for offsite movement of subsurface water, (2) GPR mapping of areas identified by EMI mapping provides a means to identify features that are known to conduct concentrated lateral flow of water, and (3) combining the capabilities of EMI and GPR instrumentation makes possible the surveys of large areas that would otherwise be impossible or unfeasible to characterize.     

Investigating alluvial and tectonic features with ground-penetrating radar and analyzing diffractions patterns

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) experiments were conducted on a Quaternary sedimentary (made up of gravel, sand and loess) site to image the structures and tectonic features. Two sets of antennae, 50 and 100 MHz, have been tested in a water saturated alluvial deposits (mostly sand and gravel). The 100 MHz antennae provided adequate penetration depth and allowed better lateral continuity and resolution of the subsurface targets than the 50 MHz antennae. Results show that most of GPR data are contaminated by strong diffraction hyperbolae caused by above-ground objects near the survey line. Therefore, it is very important to recognize the diffractions through air and not to confuse them with the reflections from underground geologic features. Despite the air diffraction problem, the GPR data allow us to prospect subsurface sedimentary and tectonic structures. Water table, channels and meander bars are observed on GPR data. Most of these observations are correlated with borehole and trench data.     

The use of GPR for characterizing underground weathered profiles in the sub-humid tropics

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been used as a tool to access information about ground subsurface features. Such information is very important for different types of studies, varying from those related to archeological research to those studying geological elements of bedrock. More recently, however, GPR has been increasingly applied to environmental studies, especially for soil research. This paper presents the results of an application of GPR for the study of weathered profiles. GPR was used to discover the degree of trustworthiness of the information on the ground subsurface through the interpretation of the results of the radar sections as well as the data collected from boreholes, which reached until 21 m. The results show a relatively high degree of details obtained by GPR, indicating the possibility of speeding up ground subsurface surveys related to geomorphological, geological, and pedological studies.     

Characterization of pyroclastic fall and flow deposits from the 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano,Indonesia using ground-penetrating radar

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is used to image and characterize fall and pyroclastic flow deposits from the 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano in Indonesia. Analysis of GPR common-mid-point (CMP) data indicate that the velocity of radar in the sub-surface is 0.1 m/ns, and this is used to establish a preliminary traveltime to-depth conversion for common-offset reflection profiles. Common-offset radar profiles were collected along the edge of an erosional gully that exposed approximately 1–2 m of volcanic stratigraphy. Additional trenching at select locations in the gully exposed the contact between the pre-1815 eruption surface and overlying pyroclastic deposit from the 1815 eruption. The deepest continuous, prominent reflection is shown to correspond to the interface between pre-eruption clay-rich soil and pyroclastics that reach a maximum thickness of 4 m along our profiles. This soil surface is distinctly terraced and is interpreted as the ground surface augmented for agriculture and buildings by people from the kingdom of Tambora. The correlation of volcanic stratigraphy and radar data at this location indicates that reflections are produced by the soil-pyroclastic deposit interface and the interface between pyroclastic flows (including pyroclastic surge) and the pumice-rich fall deposits. In the thickest deposits an additional reflection marks the interface between two pyroclastic flow units.     

Characterization of volcanic deposits with ground-penetrating radar

 Field-based studies of surficial volcanic deposits are commonly complicated by a combination of poor exposure and rapid lateral variations controlled by unknown paleotopography. The potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) as an aid to volcanological studies is shown using data collected from traverses over four well-exposed, Recent volcanic deposits in western Canada. The deposits comprise a pumice airfall deposit (3–4 m thick), a basalt lava flow (3–6 m thick), a pyroclastic flow deposit (15 m thick), and an internally stratified pumice talus deposit (60 m thick). Results show that GPR is effective in delineating major stratigraphic contacts and hence can be used to map unexposed deposits. Different volcanic deposits also exhibit different radar stratigraphic character, suggesting that deposit type may be determined from radar images. In addition, large blocks within the pyroclastic deposits are detected as distinctive point diffractor patterns in the profiles, showing that the technique has potential for providing important grain-size information in coarse poorly sorted deposits. Laboratory measurements of dielectric constant (K') are reported for samples of the main rock types and are compared with values of K' for the bulk deposit as inferred from the field data. The laboratory values differ significantly from the "field" values of K'; these results suggest that the effectiveness of GPR at any site can be substantially improved by initial calibration of well-exposed locations. Received: 10 May 1996 / Accepted: 27 December 1996     

Examining the information content of time-lapse crosshole GPR data collected under different infiltration conditions to estimate unsaturated soil hydraulic properties

Time-lapse geophysical data acquired during transient hydrological experiments are being increasingly employed to estimate subsurface hydraulic properties at the field scale. In particular, crosshole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data, collected while water infiltrates into the subsurface either by natural or artificial means, have been demonstrated in a number of studies to contain valuable information concerning the hydraulic properties of the unsaturated zone. Previous work in this domain has considered a variety of infiltration conditions and different amounts of time-lapse GPR data in the estimation procedure. However, the particular benefits and drawbacks of these different strategies as well as the impact of a variety of key and common assumptions remain unclear. Using a Bayesian Markov-chain-Monte-Carlo stochastic inversion methodology, we examine in this paper the information content of time-lapse zero-offset-profile (ZOP) GPR traveltime data, collected under three different infiltration conditions, for the estimation of van Genuchten–Mualem (VGM) parameters in a layered subsurface medium. Specifically, we systematically analyze synthetic and field GPR data acquired under natural loading and two rates of forced infiltration, and we consider the value of incorporating different amounts of time-lapse measurements into the estimation procedure. Our results confirm that, for all infiltration scenarios considered, the ZOP GPR traveltime data contain important information about subsurface hydraulic properties as a function of depth, with forced infiltration offering the greatest potential for VGM parameter refinement because of the higher stressing of the hydrological system. Considering greater amounts of time-lapse data in the inversion procedure is also found to help refine VGM parameter estimates. Quite importantly, however, inconsistencies observed in the field results point to the strong possibility that posterior uncertainties are being influenced by model structural errors, which in turn underlines the fundamental importance of a systematic analysis of such errors in future related studies.     

Inversion of multiple intersecting high-resolution crosshole GPR profiles for hydrological characterization at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site

The integration of geophysical data into the subsurface characterization problem has been shown in many cases to significantly improve hydrological knowledge by providing information at spatial scales and locations that is unattainable using conventional hydrological measurement techniques. In particular, crosshole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) tomography has shown much promise in hydrology because of its ability to provide highly detailed images of subsurface radar wave velocity, which is strongly linked to soil water content. Here, we develop and demonstrate a procedure for inverting together multiple crosshole GPR data sets in order to characterize the spatial distribution of radar wave velocity below the water table at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site (BHRS) near Boise, Idaho, USA. Specifically, we jointly invert 31 intersecting crosshole GPR profiles to obtain a highly resolved and consistent radar velocity model along the various profile directions. The model is found to be strongly correlated with complementary neutron porosity-log data and is further corroborated by larger-scale structural information at the BHRS. This work is an important prerequisite to using crosshole GPR data together with existing hydrological measurements for improved groundwater flow and contaminant transport modeling.     

Facies characteristics and magma–water interaction of the White Trachytic Tuffs (Roccamonfina Volcano, southern Italy)

 The Quaternary White Trachytic Tuffs Formation from Roccamonfina Volcano (southern Italy) comprises four non-welded, trachytic, pyroclastic sequences bounded by paleosols, each of which corresponds to small- to intermediate-volume explosive eruptions from central vents. From oldest to youngest they are: White Trachytic Tuff (WTT) Cupa, WTT Aulpi, WTT S. Clemente, and WTT Galluccio. The WTT Galluccio eruption was the largest and emplaced ∼ 4 km³ of magma. The internal stratigraphy of all four WTT eruptive units is a complex association of fallout, surge, and pyroclastic flow deposits. Each eruptive unit is organized into two facies associations, Facies Association A below Facies Association B. The emplacement of the two facies associations may have been separated by short time breaks allowing for limited reworking and erosion. Facies Association A consists of interbedded fallout deposits, surge deposits, and subordinate ignimbrites. This facies association involved the eruption of the most evolved trachytic magma, and pumice clasts are white and well vesiculated. The grain size coarsens upward in Facies Association A, with upward increases of dune bedform wavelengths and a decrease in the proportion of fine ash. These trends could reflect an increase in eruption column height from the onset of the eruption and possibly also in mass eruption rate. Facies Association B comprises massive ignimbrites that are progressively richer in lithic clast content. This association involved the eruption of more mafic magma, and pumice clasts are gray and poorly vesiculated. Facies Association B is interpreted to record the climax of the eruption. Phreatomagmatic deposits occur at different stratigraphic levels in the four WTT and have different facies characteristics. The deposits reflect the style and degree of magma–water interaction and the local hydrogeology. Very fine-grained, lithic-poor phreatomagmatic surge deposits found at the base of WTT Cupa and WTT Galluccio could record the interaction of the erupting magma with a lake that occupied the Roccamonfina summit depression. Renewed magma–water interaction later in the WTT Galluccio eruption is indicated by fine grained, lithic-bearing phreatomagmatic fall and surge deposits occurring at the top of Facies Association A. They could be interpreted to reflect shifts of the magma fragmentation level to highly transmissive, regional aquifers located beneath the Roccamonfina edifice, possibly heralding a caldera collapse event. Received: 26 August 1996 / Accepted: 27 February 1998     

Swift snowmelt and floods (lahars) caused by great pyroclastic surge at Mount St Helens volcano,Washington, 18 May 1980

The initial explosions at Mount St. Helens, Washington, on the moring of 18 May 1980 developed into a huge pyroclastic surge that generated catastrophic floods off the east and west flanks of the volcano. Near-source surge deposits on the east and west were lithic, sorted, lacking in accretionary lapilli and vesiculated ash, not plastered against upright obstacles, and hot enough to char wood — all attributes of dry pyroclastic surge. Material deposited at the surge base on steep slopes near the volcano transformed into high-concentration lithic pyroclastic flows whose deposits contain charred wood and other features indicating that these flows were hot and dry. Stratigraphy shows that even the tail of the surge had passed the east and west volcano flanks before the geomorphically distinct floods (lahars) arrived. This field evidence undermines hypotheses that the turbulent surge was itself wet and that its heavy components segregated out to transform directly into lahars. Nor is there evidence that meters-thick snow-slab avalanches intimately mixed with the surge to form the floods. The floods must have instead originated by swift snowmelt at the base of a hot and relatively dry turbulent surge. Impacting hot pyroclasts probably transferred downslope momentum to the snow surface and churned snow grains into the surge base. Melting snow and accumulating hot surge debris may have moved initially as thousands of small thin slushflows. As these flows removed the surface snow and pyroclasts, newly uncovered snow was partly melted by the turbulent surge base; this and accumulating hot surge debris in turn began flowing, a self-sustaining process feeding the initial flows. The flows thus grew swiftly over tens of seconds and united downslope into great slushy ejecta-laden sheetfloods. Gravity accelerated the floods to more than 100 km/h as they swept down and off the volcano flanks while the snow component melted to form great debris-rich floods (lahars) channeled into valleys.     

Stratified flow in pyroclastic surges

Stratified flow theory is applied to pyroclatic surges in an effort to gain insight into transport dynamics during explosive eruptions. Particle transport is assumed to be by turbulent suspension, and calculations contained herein show that this is likely for many cases including the 18 May 1980 blast at mount St. Helens. The discussion centers on the Rouse number (Pn), which represents a ratio of particle settling velocity to scale of turbulence; the Brunt-Väisälä frequency (N), which is the maximum possible frequency of internal waves; the Froude number (Fr), representing the ratio of inertial forces to gravitational forces; and the Richardson number (Ri), a ratio of buoyant restoring forces to turbulent mixing forces. The velocity or flow power dependence of bed-form wavelength in surge deposits is related to a velocity dependence of wavelength of internal waves in the turbulent surge. This produces a decrease in dune wavelength with increasing distance from vent. Migration direction of bed forms is related toFr as it is defined for a continuously stratified flow. Proximal to distal facies variations in surge deposits reflect increasingPn andRi as the flows move away from their sources. This produces the progression from sandwave to massive to planar facies with increasing distance from vent. Where the long axis of topography is at low angles to the flow direction, massive facies in topographic lows may from concurrently with sandwave facies on highs, due to the higher particle concentration in the lows. Where long axis of topography is at high angles to flow direction, denser lower parts of the surge may be dammed or blocked. Blocked material tends to form massive flows that may move down slope independent of the overriding surge. A model incorporating turbulent transport, stratified flow, and time evolution of pyroclastic surges is proposed for deposits which have been attributed to both pyroclastic flow and pyroclastic surge transport by various workers. During the initial high energy (waxing) phase of the eruptive event,Pn is sufficiently low that only coarse, but poorly sorted, material is deposited to form relatively coarse bottom layers. As the event wanes, remaining finer material is deposited through a thin bed load to produce overlying bedded and cross-bedded veneer deposits. Throughout most of the event, blocking occurs to produce relatively thick and massive deposits in valley bottoms.     

Could tsunami risk be underestimated using core‐based reconstructions? Lessons from ground penetrating radar

Where should we take cores for palaeotsunami research? It is generally considered that local depressions with low energy environments such as wetlands are one of the best places. However, it is also recognized that the presence or absence of palaeotsunami deposits (and their relative thickness) is highly dependent upon subsoil microtopography. In the beach ridge system of Ishinomaki Plain, Japan, several palaeotsunami deposits linked to past Japan Trench earthquakes have been reported. However, the number of palaeotsunami deposits reported at individual sites varies considerably. This study used ground penetrating radar (GPR) combined with geological evidence to better understand the relationship between palaeotopography and palaeotsunami deposit characteristics. The subsurface topography of the ~3000–4000 bp beach ridge was reconstructed using GPR data coupled with core surveys of the underlying sediments. We noted that the number (and thickness) of the palaeotsunami deposits inferred from the cores was controlled by the palaeotopography. Namely, a larger number of events and thicker palaeotsunami deposits were observed in depressions in the subsurface microtopography. We noted a total of three palaeotsunami deposits dated to between 1700 and 3000 cal bp , but they were only observed together in 11% of the core sites. This result is important for tsunami risk assessments that use the sedimentary evidence of past events because we may well be underestimating the number of tsunamis that have occurred. We suggest that GPR is an efficient and invaluable tool to help researchers identify the most appropriate places to carry out geological fieldwork in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of past tsunami activity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectral bandwidth enhancement of GPR profiling data using multiple-frequency compositing

The amplitude spectrum of ground penetrating radar (GPR) reflection data acquired with a particular antenna set is normally concentrated over a spectral bandwidth of a single octave, limiting the resolving power of the GPR wavelet. Where variously-sized GPR targets are located at numerous depths in the ground, it is often necessary to acquire several profiles of GPR data using antennas of different nominal frequencies. The most complete understanding of the subsurface is obtained when those frequency-limited radargrams are jointly interpreted, since each frequency yields a particular response to subsurface reflectivity. The application of deconvolution to GPR data could improve image quality, but is often hindered by limited spectral bandwidth.We present multiple-frequency compositing as a means of combining data from several frequency-limited datasets and improving the spectral bandwidth of the GPR profile. A multiple-frequency composite is built by summing together a number of spatially-coincident radargrams, each acquired with antennae of different centre frequency. The goal of the compositing process is therefore to produce a composite radargram with balanced contributions from frequency-limited radargrams and obtain a composite wavelet that has properties approximating a delta function (i.e. short in duration and having a broad, uniform spectral bandwidth).A synthetic investigation of the compositing process was performed using Berlage wavelets as proxies for GPR source pulses. This investigation suggests that a balanced, broad bandwidth, effective source pulse is obtained by a compositing process that equalises the spectral maxima of frequency-limited wavelets prior to summation into the composite. The compositing of real GPR data was examined using a set of 225, 450 and 900 MHz GPR common offset profiles acquired at a site on the Waterloo Moraine in Ontario, Canada. The most successful compositing strategy involved derivation of scaling factors from a time-variant least squares analysis of the amplitude spectra of each frequency-limited dataset. Contributions to the composite from each nominal acquisition frequency are clear, and the trace averaged amplitude spectrum of the corresponding composite is broadened uniformly over a bandwidth approaching two-octaves. Improvements to wavelet resolution are clear when a composite radargram is treated with a spiking deconvolution algorithm. Such improvement suggests that multiple-frequency compositing is a useful imaging tool, and a promising foundation for improving deconvolution of GPR data.     

Interrelations among pyroclastic surge,pyroclastic flow,and lahars in Smith Creek valley during first minutes of 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens,USA

A devastating pyroclastic surge and resultant lahars at Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 produced several catastrophic flowages into tributaries on the northeast volcano flank. The tributaries channeled the flows to Smith Creek valley, which lies within the area devastated by the surge but was unaffected by the great debris avalanche on the north flank. Stratigraphy shows that the pyroclastic surge preceded the lahars; there is no notable “wet” character to the surge deposits. Therefore the lahars must have originated as snowmelt, not as ejected water-saturated debris that segregated from the pyroclastic surge as has been inferred for other flanks of the volcano. In stratigraphic order the Smith Creek valley-floor materials comprise (1) a complex valley-bottom facies of the pyroclastic surge and a related pyroclastic flow, (2) an unusual hummocky diamict caused by complex mixing of lahars with the dry pyroclastic debris, and (3) deposits of secondary pyroclastic flows. These units are capped by silt containing accretionary lapilli, which began falling from a rapidly expanding mushroom-shaped cloud 20 minutes after the eruption's onset. The Smith Creek valley-bottom pyroclastic facies consists of (a) a weakly graded basal bed of fines-poor granular sand, the deposit of a low-concentration lithic pyroclastic surge, and (b) a bed of very poorly sorted pebble to cobble gravel inversely graded near its base, the deposit of a high-concentration lithic pyroclastic flow. The surge apparently segregated while crossing the steep headwater tributaries of Smith Creek; large fragments that settled from the turbulent surge formed a dense pyroclastic flow along the valley floor that lagged behind the front of the overland surge. The unusual hummocky diamict as thick as 15 m contains large lithic clasts supported by a tough, brown muddy sand matrix like that of lahar deposits upvalley. This unit contains irregular friable lenses and pods meters in diameter, blocks incorporated from the underlying dry and hot pyroclastic material that had been deposited only moments earlier. The hummocky unit is the deposit of a high-viscosity debris flow which formed when lahars mingled with the pyroclastic materials on Smith Creek valley floor. Overlying the debris flow are voluminous pyroclastic deposits of pebbly sand cut by fines-poor gas-escape pipes and containing charred wood. The deposits are thickest in topographic lows along margins of the hummocky diamict. Emplaced several minutes after the hot surge had passed, this is the deposit of numerous secondary pyroclastic flows derived from surge material deposited unstably on steep valley sides.     

Detection and analysis of LNAPL using the instantaneous amplitude and frequency of ground‐penetrating radar data

This paper reports the results of using the ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) method to detect light non‐aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) floating on the water table in an area where the thickness of LNAPL present ranges from a few centimetres to several decimetres. To understand the GPR response in this context, GPR theoretical models are calculated using information from the literature and hydrogeological field data. The study revealed that in the case of LNAPL floating on the water table in a static condition, there is an increase in the reflection amplitude from the water table due to the decrease in the capillary fringe. Nevertheless the amplitude of reflection from the water table can discriminate the contaminated from the non‐contaminated zone. Apart from an analysis of the real traces, the analysis of some attributes of the complex trace, instantaneous amplitude, phase and frequency, are also good tools to detect hydrocarbons floating on the water table. Such attributes, depending on both the signal frequency and the hydrocarbon thickness, can also give information about the thickness of the hydrocarbon layer. It is concluded that analysing the lateral variations in signal amplitude of the real trace and in the amplitude, phase and instantaneous frequency of the complex signal permits the delimiting of the area polluted by the hydrocarbon.