3D ground-penetrating radar over ice at Bowness Park, Calgary

Monica Moldoveanu-Constantinescu, Robert R. Stewart, Julie Ann Aitken, Eric V. Gallant

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) studies were conducted at Bowness Park, Calgary to study the character and thickness of ice and the shallow subsurface. We used Sensors and Software Inc.'s 250 MHz NOGGIN and Smart Cart system. A 3D GPR survey was conducted over a frozen lagoon at Bowness Park in Calgary. Hyperbolic velocity analysis gave ice velocities of about 0.15 m/ns with velocities decreasing into the sediments to about 0.11 m/ns. We interpret the ice thickness to be about 0.4 m from the GPR, which is consistent with auger holes drilled through the ice. Channel sediments and stratigraphy beneath the ice are interpretable from the 3D radar reflectivity. Penetration of the 250 MHz data reached about 4 m at several locations in the area.