APPLICATIONS OF GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR IN ASSESSING SOME GEOLOGICALHAZARDS - EXAMPLES OF GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION, FAULTS, CAVITIES

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be used in appropriate geological s ettings to help map subsurface geological structures and groundwater c ontaminants. Associated engineering and environmental applications are numerous. In particular, GPR surveys can help to identify the approxi mate boundaries of contaminant plumes and provide stratigraphic inform ation at a site. Case studies from sites in Arizona and Utah show that goad correlation exists between GPR signatures and hydrocarbon contam ination in strategically located wells. GPR data can also be very usef ul in identifying shallow faulting, and the characteristics of the ass ociated subsurface deformation can be used to gain a better understand ing of the potential for surface ruptures at a site. An example from a long the Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah County, Utah, shows good correlation between GPR data and trench data. Finally, examples from Prove, Utah and Eureka, Utah demonstrate the utility of using GPR for locating und erground excavations and/or cavities.