Analytical Approach for RASCAN Radar Images of Dinosaur Footprints through Basic Experiments

The existence of a footprint fossil indicates that some discontinuity occurred at the footprint plane during sedimentation. RASCAN holographic radar reveals the plan shape of shallow buried objects. A simple experiment showed that a clod of loam soil buried in powdered loam soil was recognizable in a radar image. Another experiment showed that a thin ¯lm inserted between dielectrically similar materials also provides recognizable re°ection. Finally, blind tests were performed for realistic surrogates for dinosaur footprints. The radar image has no recogniz- able pattern for the case of microscopic air gap at the footprint parting plane. However, when the air gap was replaced by very thin clay ¯lm, the shape of the toes became recognizable. Thus, there may be some cases in which some discontinuity during sedimentation makes the shape of a dinosaur footprint fossil recognizable by holographic radar.