Ground-Penetrating Radar Mapping of Agricultural Landforms within the New Madrid Seismic Zone of the Mississippi Embayment

Cataclysmic earthquakes have repeatedly shattered the alluvial landforms about the Missouri Bootheel, the most recent being the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. During these immense earthquakes, the ground surfaces split apart spewing sands, sulfuric steam, and charcoal. Volcanic-like venting left behind sand blow craters pockmarking the surface. Sand-filled vents are now embedded between the subsurface and surface. These sand vents and fissures serve as rapid water-transport channels extending from just beneath the surface into the water table, rapidly draining surface water much like sink holes and abandoned wells.