Applications of Ground-Penetrating Radar to Glacial and Frozen Materials

Abstract

Ground-penetrating radar is widely applied to the study of glacial and frozen materials. Significant areas of investigation include: 1) the water content of glaciers and frozen ground, often indicating the state of the thermal regime of glacier ice or permafrost, 2) route-ways for subglacial∕subsurface drainage, 3) the internal structure of glacial and frozen materials, sometimes indicating flow properties of ice or permafrost, 4) the fracturing and deformation of frozen ground and glacier ice, and 5) inclusions in the sediment∕ice matrix, such as salt water in sea ice, sediment in glacier ice and the ice content of frozen ground. This review of the application of GPR to glacial and frozen materials highlights recent scientific advances, assesses the limitations of the GPR technique for these environments and indicates possible future developments in the field.