USING UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS, LIDAR, AND GEOPHYSICS TO STUDY KARST AT THE SELU CONSERVANCY, RADFORD, VIRGINIA

The Selu Conservancy was established in 1989 when John Bowles donated 185 acres of family, land on the banks of Little River, to Radford University. It was later expanded to 380 acres through another Bowles family gift. Today the property houses an educational retreat center with classrooms, an astronomical observatory, overnight accommodations, hiking trails, and much more. The property is used for many different types of cultural and outdoor educational activities.

Geologically, the Selu Conservancy is located within a doubly plunging anticline on the Cambrian-aged Elbrook and Copper Ridge Formations. The Elbrook Formation is generalized here as a tan and gray, partially dolomitized limestone, interbedded with a styolitic, dark gray, fine-grained dolomitic limestone. The younger Copper Ridge Formation is characterized as a medium to light gray, fine-grained dolomite with algal laminations and some lenses of dolomitic, quartzose sandstones, and laminated chert. More detailed descriptions are to be found on the “Geologic Map of the Radford South Quadrangle, Virginia,” by Schultz and Bartholomew, 2010. The property contains numerous mapped sinkholes, found primarily within the Copper Ridge Formation. Previous mapping did not reveal the presence of caves on the property, but recent evidence suggests that a cave or caves might be present.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of unmanned aerial systems, infrared imagery, and possibly LiDAR, for mapping karst features, in comparison to earlier traditional surveys and published topographic maps. Locations where caves might exist are being further explored using ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity, and seismic refraction. A progress report will be presented.