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