During the last decade, archaeologists have widely accepted the use of geophysical
exploration techniques, including magnetic, resistivity and electromagnetic methods, for
pre-excavation site assessment. Although researchers were quick to recognize the potential
of seismic techniques to provide cross-sectional images of the subsurface, early feasibility
studies concluded that seismic methods were inappropriate due to restricted resolving
power and the relatively small-scale nature of archaeological features. Unfortunately,
this self-fulfilling prophesy endures and has largely discouraged subsequent attempts to
exploit seismic methods for archaeological reconnaissance. Meanwhile, however, seismic
technology has been revolutionized in connection with engineering, groundwater and environmental
applications. Attention to detail in developing both instrumentation and data
acquisition techniques has yielded a many-fold improvement in seismic resolving power. In
light of these advances, this dissertation re-examines the potential of reflection seismology
for archaeological remote sensing.
It is not the objective of this dissertation to deliver an unequivocal pronouncement
on the ultimate utility of reflection seismology for the investigation of archaeological sites.
Rather, the goal has been to establish a sound theoretical foundation for objective evaluation
of the method's potential and future development. In particular, a thorough theoretical
analysis of seismic detection and resolution yields practical performance and identifies
frequency response characteristics associated with optimum resolution. Findings have
guided subsequent adaptation, development and integration of seismic instrumentation,
resulting in a prototype system for high-resolution seismic imaging of the shallow subsurface.
Finally, to assess system performance and the suitability of optimum offset data acquisition
techniques, a full-scale subsurface model has been constructed, allowing direct comparison between experimental soundings and known subsurface structure. Results
demonstrate the potential of reflection seismology to resolve near-surface features on the
scale of archaeological interest. Moreover, despite conventional wisdom that the groundpenetrating
radar method possesses vastly superior resolving power, acquisition of coincident
radar soundings demonstrates that the two techniques provide comparable resolution.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8779 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Cross, Guy Matthew |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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