A GROUND PENETRATING RADAR STRATIGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION NEAR ELIZABETHTOWN, NC

The Atlantic Coastal Plain is composed of many diverse surface landforms such as river valleys, swamps, estuaries, and Carolina Bays. Carolina Bays are oval shaped depressions oriented in a northwest to southeast direction and often have associated sandy rims. The initial purpose of this study was to use ground penetrating radar (GPR) to determine the stratigraphic structure of the rims of two bays at Jones Lake State Park, Elizabethtown, North Carolina. Seventeen transects on the rims of the two bays were surveyed using a GSSI system with a 400 MHz antenna. A series of deeper profiles across the region also were collected with a 200 MHz antenna. Each transect was corrected for elevation and processed. Few features were identified in the upper 2 meters making up the rims. Deeper profiles (up to 15 m) across the study area revealed at least three underlying GPR units. The lower units showed cut and fill features, with nearby cores suggesting fluvial/estuarine sediments overlying older marine mudstone. Results from this study provide for a better understanding of Atlantic Coastal Plain architecture in the Elizabethtown, NC region.