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 film inserted between dielectrically similar materials also provides recognizable reflection. Finally, blind tests were performed for realistic surrogates for dinosaur footprints. The radar image has no recognizable pattern for the case of microscopic air gap at the footprint parting plane. However, when the air gap was replaced by very thin clay film, 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.
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