Ground penetrating radars application for soil-pyroclastic cover survey of the south-eastern zone of Matua Island, the Kurile Islands

Abstract

Matua is a volcanic island located in the central part of the Kurile-Kamchatka island arc. Its greater north-western part is occupied by the edifice of Sarychev Peak Volcano, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuriles. The south-eastern part of the island is an ancient abrasion-accumulative terrace, which base is formed by weakly dislocated Pliocene-Eopleistocene volcanic-aqueous complexes overlapped with marine deposits and solid soil-pyroclastic cover. Besides, Matua Island is an area with a unique anthropogenic landscape shaped by the Japan army as a result of the construction of elaborated military fortifications in the first half of the 20th century. The paper provides the results of GPR investigation of the soil-pyroclastic cover on Matua Island. The survey included detection of hidden posterns, large-scale cavities and a GPR inspecting of fortifications areas. The results of GPR sounding are compared to geological profile data, which provide records for the explosive activity on the island over the period late Pleistocene to Holocene.

Keywords

• soil-pyroclastic cover
• Matua Island
• GPR survey
• Matua Island