Mapping bedrock topography: a seismic refraction survey and landscape analysis in the Laramie Range, Wyoming

Frontiers in Water

Water

Rachel Kaitlyn Uecker¹  Brady Adams Flinchum¹  Bradley James Carr²  W. Steven Holbrook³ 

[1] Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States;Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States;Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States;

关键词: critical zone;    seismic refraction;    geomorphology;    landscape analyses;    hydrogeology and hydrology;    geophysics;   

DOI  :  10.3389/frwa.2023.1057725

 received in 2022-09-29, accepted in 2023-06-21,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Physical, chemical, and biological processes create and maintain the critical zone (CZ). In weathered and crystalline rocks, these processes occur over 10–100 s of meters and transform bedrock into soil. The CZ provides pore space and flow paths for groundwater, supplies nutrients for ecosystems, and provides the foundation for life. Vegetation in the aboveground CZ depends on these components and actively mediates Earth system processes like evapotranspiration, nutrient and water cycling, and hill slope erosion. Therefore, the vertical and lateral extent of the CZ can provide insight into the important chemical and physical processes that link life on the surface with geology 10–100 s meters below. In this study, we present 3.9 km of seismic refraction data in a weathered and crystalline granite in the Laramie Range, Wyoming. The refraction data were collected to investigate two ridges with clear contrasts in vegetation and slope. Given the large contrasts in slope, aspect, and vegetation cover, we expected large differences in CZ structure. However, our results suggest no significant differences in large-scale (>10 s of m) CZ structure as a function of slope or aspect. Our data appears to suggest a relationship between LiDAR-derived canopy height and depth to fractured bedrock where the tallest trees are located over regions with the shallowest depth to fractured bedrock. After separating our data by the presence or lack of vegetation, higher P-wave velocities under vegetation is likely a result of higher saturation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Uecker, Flinchum, Holbrook and Carr.