Identification of Underground Karst Features using Ground-Penetrating Radar in Northern Yucatán, México

Northern Yucatán is a dry tropical area where limestone karst terrain supports a subdeciduous forest that is critical for sustaining the local economy of Mayan people. The 5- to 10-m-deep vadose zone is characterized by shallow soils (1 m), microrelief (mounds and plains), and large soil pockets within the limestone matrix were also identified. Main sources of GPR signal attenuation were suspected to be the higher clay and water contents of soil material contained in underlying cavities. As a noninvasive tool, GPR can help to determine properties of the limestone and its dissolution features that are critical to vadose zone–forest interactions.