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Imaging buried landforms using down‐hole susceptibility data and three‐dimensional GPR visualization software
Author(s) -
Dalan Rinita A.,
Goodman Dean
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
archaeological prospection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.785
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1099-0763
pISSN - 1075-2196
DOI - 10.1002/arp.304
Subject(s) - landform , ground penetrating radar , geology , excavation , visualization , magnetic susceptibility , software , prehistory , remote sensing , quaternary , archaeology , geomorphology , paleontology , computer science , artificial intelligence , geography , telecommunications , radar , physics , quantum mechanics , programming language
A recently developed down‐hole magnetic susceptibility instrument, the Bartington MS2H sensor, coupled with Multitsus FieldPro software provide a minimally invasive, rapid, and cost‐effective means for high‐resolution mapping of vertical variations in magnetic susceptibility across archaeological landforms. This technology was applied at the Dahnke‐Reinke site (32CS29), a multicomponent prehistoric site located in North Dakota, USA. A grid of down‐hole tests, each measuring susceptibility at 2‐cm vertical intervals to a maximum depth of 130 cm, was placed over a 40 m by 50 m area to map and thus understand spatial relationships between buried soils and cultural deposits previously identified in widely spaced test excavations. The susceptibility measurements were imported into GPR‐SLICE software to aid in interpretation. Two and three‐dimensional images and animations allowed buried palaeosols to be traced across the landform and revealed areas of focused human activity on these stable surfaces, demonstrating the potential of such an approach for visualizing landscape use and change over time. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.