Geological Evaluation of Radarsat Data: Plans and Preliminary Results
Z. Berger, R. E. L. Irving, D. Hughes, and M. D. Thompson
Radarsat, the Canadian synthetic aperture radar satellite to be
launched in September 1995, is anticipated to become the prime active imaging
system for geological mapping of tropical
areas and other humid areas. Radarsat
will provide adequate spatial resolution, stereo capabilities and relativley low
incidence angles to reduce the geometric distortions of geological structures
due to layover effects. As part of the Radassat User Development Program of the
Candian Space Agency, it has been proposed to conduct an evaluation program of
the terrain surface mapping capabilities of Radarsat and its application to
hydrocarbon exploration, coal develoment, geological hazard mapping and
environmental monitoring. The evaluation program will be carried out in three
test sites: 1) Western Canadian Basin (a mature exploration area in Alberta with
a range of geology/topography), 2) Andean Foothills (frontier
tropical
sedimentary basins in Columbian representing protoype active
exploration areas), and 3) Philippine volcanic region (frontier
tropical
earthquake-prone geohazard area of Philippine wrench fault system on Luzon
Island, in a typical structural setting of the sedimentary basins of southeast
Asia). The paper will include the project plans, illustrate the structural
setting and the relationships between surface and subsurface structures for each
of the three test sites, and present a preliminary evaluation of simulated and
actual Radarsat data as compared to data from ERS-1, airborne SAR, Landsat
Thematic Mapper and SPOT. The preliminary application of Radarsat for
exploration will be discussed.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California