Subsurface structure of water–gas escape features revealed by ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Lake Powell delta, Utah, USA

Abstract

Data gathered by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) were used to produce a three-dimensional image of subsurface soft-sediment deformation structures developed on the modern Lake Powell delta at Hite, Utah. ERT and GPR lines were run orthogonal across the crater. ERT resolved a low-resistivity layer up to 2m thick in the area near the vents within the crater. This low-resistivity layer thins toward the margins representing clays ejected from the vents. Below and adjacent to this layer is a high-resistivity layer that reflects delta top and pro-delta sands. The deepest zone recognized in the ERT profiles consists of a low-resistivity layer, clay deposits that accumulated during the maximum lake high stand. This clay zone is connected to the vent within the crater by a conduit that changes diameter vertically. GPR profiles recognized the presence of collapse features restricted to the proximity of the vent. The geometry of the model is consistent with those proposed for marine pockmarks that can be generated seismically or aseismically with the exception of subaerial exposure after the dome stage development.