At South Pole Station, ground penetrating radar profiles were recorded along the surveyed S-N and W-E routes of two proposed snow tunnels that would function as future water and sewer utilidors. The radar system was operated from within the cab of a tracked vehicle that towed two antennas in a sled. The two antennas transmitted pulses centered near 900 and 400 MHz to provide near-surface detail to penetration depths of 4.1 and 15.0 m, respectively. Eight longitudinal profiles, 518 m long, were recorded along the proposed S-N water line route, and 12 longitudinal profiles, 366 m long, were recorded along the proposed W-E sewer line route. Additional S-N profiles were recorded on the W-E route to delineate a particularly intense reflection. The profiles show that both proposed corridors contain many large and small buried items. Multiple targets at depths of 3.0 to 4.9 m occur along the S-N line. Along the W-E lines, there are multiple targets at similar depths. A particular area is densely cluttered and large targets appear on multiple parallel lines. Near the dome isolated targets appear at depths as great as 7.6 m.

Argonne National Laboratory initiated a site investigation program at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to characterize environmental contamination. The performance and usefulness of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was evaluated under antarctic conditions during the initial site investigation in January 1991. Preliminary surveys were successful in defining the contact between reworked pyroclastic material and in the prefill, undisturbed pyroclastics and basalts at some sites. Interference from radio traffic at McMurdo Station was not observed, but interference was a problem in work with unshielded antennas near buildings. In general, the results of this field test suggest that high-quality, high-resolution, continuous subsurface profiles can be produced with GPR over most of McMurdo Station.