Parry, LE, West, LJ, Holden, J et al. (1 more author) (2014) Evaluating approaches for estimating peat depth. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 119 (4). 567 - 576. ISSN 2169-8953
Abstract
Estimates of peat depth are required to inform understanding of peatland development, functioning, and ecosystem services such as carbon storage. However, there is a considerable lack of peat depth data at local, national, and global scales. Recent studies have attempted to address this knowledge deficit by using manual probing and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to estimate depth. Despite increasing application, little consideration has been given to the accuracy of either of these techniques. This study examines the accuracy of probing and GPR for measuring peat depth. Corresponding GPR and probing surveys were carried out at a catchment scale in a blanket peatland. GPR depth estimations, calibrated using common midpoint (CMP) surveys, were found to be on average 35% greater than probe measurements. The source of disagreement was found to be predominantly caused by depth probes becoming obstructed by artifacts within the peat body, although occasionally probing rods also penetrated sediments underlying the peat. Using the Complex Refractive Index Model, it was found that applying a single velocity of 0.036 m ns−1 across a single site may also result in −8 to +17% error in estimation of peat depth due to spatial variability in water content and porosity. It is suggested that GPR calibrated at each site using CMP surveys may provide a more accurate method for measuring peat depth.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2014, Parry, LE, West, LJ, Holden, J and Chapman, PJ. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Ground penetrating radar; CRIM; probing; peatland; depth; carbon |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Jun 2014 11:42 |
Last Modified: | 16 Jan 2018 16:37 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013JG002411 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/2013JG002411 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:79208 |