Field experiments show ground penetrating radar can be used to image shallow carbonate stratigraphy effectivelyin a variety of settings. In south Florida, the position and structure of cap rock cover on limestone can be an importantcontrol on surface water flow and vegetation, but larger scale outcrops (tens of meters) of cap rock are sparse. GPR mappingthrough south Florida prairie, cypress swamp and hardwood hammock resolves variations in thickness and structure of caprock to ~3 m and holds the potential to test theories for cap rock–vegetation relationships. In other settings, carbonatestrata are mapped to test models for the formation of local structural anomalies. A test of GPR imaging capabilities on anarid caliche (calcrete) horizon in southeastern Nevada shows depth penetration to ~2 m with resolution of the base ofcaliche. GPR profiling also succeeds in resolving more deeply buried (~5 m) limestone discontinuity surfaces that recordsubaerial exposure in south Florida.
