Cetotheridae, Mysticete Whale, fragment of mandibular detection using GPR method

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been used successfully to help archaeologists locate building foundations and other artifacts of past civilizations. Yet, little has been done to help paleontologists in their search for fossilized remains. Casually in the work of construction of the ring road of Lecce within the base calcarenitic was found a piece of fossil attributable to Cetotheride maxillary (Cetacea - Mysticete). In order to assess the spatial distribution patterns of the fossil a high-resolution 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey was undertaken in an small area adjacent to the discovery features. The Sir 3000 GPR with 1000 MHz antenna was used. GPR data covering 1.2m² acquired with 0.02m line spacing. Adequate processing and volume rendering visualize several features related to fossils remains within the first meter in depth. The densely acquired 3D GPR data collected during this survey demonstrates that the non invasive technique can help in the recovery of fossils without the risk of damaging itself.