(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=78, TM=2, BM=2)
                      Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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                                  August 2, 1990

                       Courtesy of NASA BBS at 205 895-0028

                                   SOIL SURVEYS

         Accurate soil   surveys   are   necessary  for  soil  conservation
       measures, determining building  sites,   selecting  park  locations,
       siting sewage plants and a variety of other reasons.

         The traditional method of surveying requires auger boring into the
       ground to obtain subsurface soil samples for classification,  a slow
       and fatiguing process  since a typical survey might require hundreds
       of depth measurements.

         The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service
       (SCS) is now employing an easier  and  faster  method,  developed in
       cooperation with NASA, that involves use of ground penetrating radar
       to produce subsurface graphs for interpretation by soil scientists.

         The radar antenna is pulled by a four-wheel-drive  vehicle along a
       transect line, a  straight  line  across  the surface where normally
       many borings would be made.

         As it moves along the transect line  at about five miles per hour,
       the antenna transmits radio waves downward that are  reflected  back
       to the antenna  when they strike layers--soil, rock, water, man-made
       objects--of different electromagnetic properties.

         The antenna relays the reflected  pulses  to  a  graphic  recorder
       mounted in the vehicle.  The system analyzes the data  and  produces
       images on the  recorder  of subsurface "interfaces", areas where two
       different types of features meet.

         Soil scientists examine the recorder's  printout.  The information
       does not entirely eliminate the need to dig holes,  but  only  a few
       are required to double-check the radar's findings.

         The radar   can  penetrate  to  depths  of  seven  to  eight  feet
       routinely; in some types of soil it can reach 30 feet or more.

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       consideration, interest and support.

           Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
                             Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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