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Ultra-shallow seismic imaging of the top of the saturated zone

Sloan, Steven D.
Tsoflias, Georgios P.
Steeples, Don W.
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Abstract
We collected ultra-shallow seismic-reflection data to image the near-surface stratigraphy of a Kansas River point bar. We were successful in identifying a discontinuous clay layer and the top of the saturated zone at depths of 0.95 and 1.4 m. Seismic walkaway data collected using various .22-caliber ammunition show that decreased source energy is necessary to generate higher frequencies and prevent clipping of critical near-offset traces needed to identify ultra-shallow reflections. The seismic reflections exhibited average normal moveout velocities of 180–195 m/s with dominant frequencies of 200–450 Hz. Coincident subsurface features were also imaged using 200-MHz ground-penetrating radar. This study presents the shallowest seismic reflection from the top of the saturated zone reported in the literature to date and further demonstrates the potential of using seismic-reflection methods for ultra-shallow imaging of the subsurface as a stand-alone tool or in conjunction with other high-resolution geophysical techniques.
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This is the published version. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Date
2010-04-08
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American Geophysical Union
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Keywords
hyrdogeophysics, Seismic, reflection
Citation
Sloan, S. D., G. P. Tsoflias, and D. W. Steeples (2010), Ultra-shallow seismic imaging of the top of the saturated zone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L07405, http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010GL043034.
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