‘Digging’ With Microwaves

Hazel Morris of New Scientist on Satellites hunt for buried treasure:

In a first for radar sensing, researchers have shown the technology can locate and identify buried objects. Their technique could be used in the hunt for archaeological artefacts smothered by sand or networks of underground buildings, or even to peer below the surface of Mars.

Scientists have long suspected that microwave radar from satellites could "see" below the surface of very dry ground. Many were startled when images from a shuttle mission in the 1980s revealed what appeared to be ancient river drainage patterns below the eastern Sahara desert. Since then there have been other intriguing finds, including ring structures buried under Antarctic ice that look like meteorite craters or the remains of subglacial volcanic eruptions.

This goes in the stuff-that-will-bore-most-of-the-readers-but-fascinates James department.