Where unconsolidated overburden exceeds 20 m in thickness, the reflection method may be efficiently used with a 12‐channel engineering seismograph to map topography on the overburden‐bedrock interface as well as possible structure within the overburden. The two techniques we suggest are the simplest forms of reflection profiling which can be applied with a minimum amount of equipment which we suggest is a 12‐channel enhancement seismograph, a 12‐geophone array, and a hammer source. These techniques require good transmission characteristics of the overburden as well as a sharp velocity discontinuity at the overburden‐bedrock interface. For data processing and display a microcomputer is essential.
Seismic stratigraphy, geometry, and sediment facies within the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) area of Ontario record major structural elements and surfaces of the Quaternary sedimentary sequence. The derived stratigraphic architecture can be used to identify the key elements of a regional erosional surface, represented by an unconformity in the subsurface, and associated overlying channel sediments. The erosional surface unconformity forms a distinct time datum in the Quaternary sequence, which provides an important aid to lithostratigraphic correlation. The architecture also gives improved understanding of the effects of erosion on the late-glacial landscape. The surfaces of erosional drumlins and intervening troughs, and the beds and banks of meltwater channels in the ORM area, define the regional unconformity, highlighted by seismic profiles linked to continuously cored boreholes. These features are attributed to regional-scale, subglacial meltwater flow events. The sculpted surfaces, which are analogous to water-eroded forms, the presence of boulder lags and coarse-grained deposits on the regional erosional surface, and the channels with undulating profiles provide the vital supporting evidence for a meltwater interpretation. The inter-regional extent of the unconformity is inferred from the coherence of regional paleoflows and the extent of drumlinized uplands, tunnel channels, and scoured bedrock terrain across ~75% of the landscape from the ORM area east and south to the Finger Lakes, New York. The implied magnitude of erosion suggests a pressing need for directed sedimentological study in those ocean basins that were probable depositional sites for flood deposits.
Analysis of over 50 line-kilometres of land-based, shallow, seismic reflection profiles has provided a means of investigating the subsurface architecture and stratigraphic relationships of the glacial deposits in and beneath the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM). The focus of this paper is the role of seismic reflection surveys, and the derived seismic facies and facies geometry, in the development of a well-constrained, regional, conceptual model of the subsurface stratigraphy in the area and the improved inferences these data allow regarding glacial event sequence and process interpretations. The data define four major seismic facies that characterize the complex glacial sequence of the ORM area. High-reflectivity facies (I) can be traced regionally and related to an eroded Newmarket Till surface. Medium (II) and low (III) reflectivity facies are generally associated with coarse-grained glaciofluvial deposits and laterally extensive, glaciolacustrine sequences of sand, silt, and clay, respectively. A chaotic facies (IV) is common within buried channels, and attributed to instability and (or) rapid channel-fill deposition. Seismic geometry (with borehole verification) shows that a broad surface network of channels extends below thick ORM sediments. The channel system is part of a regional unconformity formed on the Newmarket Till (facies I). The buried channels can have steep sides, and their fills frequently include tabular sheets, eskers, and (or) large cross-beds. The observations are consistent with the scenario of sheet flow and channel cutting by high-energy subglacial meltwater and filling with gravel, sand, and silt in succession (facies II and III) as the flows waned.
Choosing a seismic source for a shallow reflection survey can be the most pivotal decision for the engineering geophysicist. The intent of this paper is to present data that will assist in selection of a shallow seismic source best meeting the goals within the constraints of specific projects, particularly in areas where the water table is near the surface. The data were collected (and displayed as seismograms and amplitude spectra) for 15 different shallow seismic sources in October, 1985, at a single site in New Jersey; they show the different characteristics of each source. Considering the almost three orders of magnitude difference in total source energy between the largest and smallest source, we chose a display format that presented the data as objectively as possible, while still allowing direct source‐to‐source comparisons. Two strong reflections at about 100 and 130 ms probably mark the top and bottom of a clay unit 80 m below the surface at this site. Our previous work and that of our colleagues suggests that, given a specific set of site characteristics, any source could dominate the comparison categories addressed here.
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