An Analysis of Ground-Penetrating Radar's Ability to Discover and Map Buried Archaeological Sites in Hawai'i
Date
06/01/07 12:00 AM
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11
Number/Issue
1
Starting Page
61
Ending Page
76
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Abstract
The near-surface geophysical method called ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has to
date seen limited use in Hawai'i for the discovery and mapping of buried archaeological
sites. Its success in other areas of the world with similar ground conditions
to Hawai'i, however, suggests that it could be utilized more extensively in the islands.
Working with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's Central Identification
Laboratory QPAC-CIL) to examine the effectiveness of GPR in Hawai'i,
we studied the method's resolution and depth of investigation at a number of test
sites on the islands of O'ahu and Hawai'i. The various sites had different ground
conditions where varying environmental and moisture regimes and bedrock types
affected the method's efficacy. The goal was to compare and contrast depth ofGPR
energy penetration and buried feature resolution in these various areas as a way to
evaluate its potential effectiveness throughout the island chain. In this process,
windward and leeward tests were made in both weathered and fresh basalt, deep
clay soils, as well as coral bedrock and unconsolidated coral sand. The results of
those tests, as well as an analysis of the ground conditions encountered, as they pertain
to the effectiveness of GPR, are discussed here as a first step in building predictive
models for the method's usefulness throughout Hawai'i.
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ground-penetrating radar, radar energy, coral soils, carbonate dunes, Weathered Basaltic Soils
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16 pages
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