Abstract

Exploring Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) in Subsurface Imagery
Track: Tribal/Indigenous GIS Programs
Authors: Deanna Johnson, Gloria Battice

The Chickasaw Nation Cultural Resources Cemetery Program uses a Ground Penetrating Radar, a handheld tracking Global Positing System (GPS)and GIS software in assigned activities.
The GPR equipment is used to locate grave and/or burial sites. The area in which we operate is in the historical boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation. This area covers 13 ½ counties and contains approximately 5-million acres located in the south-central part of Oklahoma. Most of the burial sites the Cemetery Program helps to find are located in old cemeteries which date back to the early 1800s. Once a grave or burial site is located, a GPS unit electronically marks the location and makes a permanent record of the location. This information is stored to protect against future development. This device is used in conjunction with Radan software. This software is able to produce visual sub-surfaces images in color and in 2D or 3D views.