Published June 1984
| public
Journal Article
Detection of subsurface features in SEASAT radar images of Means Valley, Mojave Desert, California
Abstract
Igneous dikes buried beneath as much as 2 m of alluvium in the Mojave Desert of California were detected by the SEASAT L-band (23.5-cm wavelength) synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) in 1978. The roughness and dihedral configuration of the dikes are favorable to generation of strong radar echos. The soil-moisture levels in 1978 were likely below the critical 1% level. The other permissive conditions for radar penetration of a fine-grained and thin alluvial cover are present. Our findings suggest that subsurface features with potential tectonic or geomorphic significance may be revealed in other orbital radar images of semiarid terrains.
Additional Information
© 1984 Geological Society of America. Manuscript received October 20, 1983; Revised manuscript received February 13, 1984; Manuscript accepted February 16, 1984. Crippen was supported by NASA Geodynamics Program Grant NAG 5-177 and a grant from the California Space Institute. We thank Herbert and Lola Barnes for their hospitality and weather records. Valuable discussion and/or editorial comments were provided by Walter Brown, Jr., John Crowell, John Ford, Bruce Luyendyk, Jeff Plescia, David Nash, Doug Nash, Laci Roth, Robert Fakundiny, and Robert Stern. This paper represents one phase of research carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 61831
- DOI
- 10.1130/0091-7613(1984)12<346:DOSFIS>2.0.CO;2
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20151104-113329721
- NAG 5-177
- NASA
- California Space Institute
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- Created
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2015-11-04Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences