ISSN:
1420-9136
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
Notes:
Summary In sand-filled river channels in arid parts of South West Africa it is of importance to find methods of locating the rock surface under the sand, for purposes of water supply. This paper describes preliminary investigations in three such river beds, to test the applicability to this problem of the seismic refraction method, using the hammer-electronic seismic instrument previously developed by one of the writers for shallow refraction work. Both the method in general, and the instrument in particular, proved satisfactory. Examples are given of travel-time diagrams, interpretation is discussed, and channel profiles deduced from the work are shown. Depths ranged from a few feet to a few tens of feet. At two of the three sites, variations in velocity in the sand made standard calculations of dip and depth from two-way shooting inapplicable. In such situations depth could still be estimated reasonably reliably near the origin of the traverse. There was evidence of a superficial layer in which the velocity was less than that of sound in air.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01988849
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