The internal structure of sand bars on the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, as determined by ground-penetrating radar

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Title The internal structure of sand bars on the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, as determined by ground-penetrating radar
Creator Barnhardt, Walter; Kayen, Robert; Rubin, David; Minasian, Diane
Subject Sediment transport; Hydrology; Ground penetrating radar; Sand bars
Spatial Coverage Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico); Grand Canyon (Ariz.); Colorado; Arizona; New Mexico; Nevada; Utah
Description High-resolution, subsurface imagery from ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has revealed the internal structure of sand bars at seven sites on the Colorado River, Grand Canyon. Based on reconnaissance-level surveys, we recognized three stratigraphic units and several intervening unconformities. Unit A, which exhibits hyperbolic reflections and always occurs at the base of the section, is interpreted as bedrock and/or talus. Unit B is a commonly observed sand deposit that overlies unit A and is characterized by reflections that gently dip down toward the river axis. Unit C is a sand deposit up to 2 m thick that always occurs at the top of the section and may represent a flood deposit from 1983. This study demonstrates the utility of GPR for non-destructive investigation of sand-bar thickness and the stratigraphic record of flood events in the Grand Canyon.
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Date 2001
Type Text
Format application/pdf
Digitization Specifications pdf file copied from USGS website (http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of01-425/). Uploaded into CONTENTdm version 3.7.
Identifier http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of01-425/
Source Barnhardt, Walter; Kayen, Robert; Rubin, David; Minasian, Diane,The internal structure of sand bars on the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, as determined by ground-penetrating radar, Menlo Park, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2001-425, 13 p.
Language eng
Rights Management Public Domain, Courtesy of the USGS
Holding Institution University of Utah
ARK ark:/87278/s6wd3zgq
Setname wwdl_er
ID 1145853
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6wd3zgq