Hydrocarbons

The objectives in any hydrocarbon resource evaluation project would include geologic mapping of outcrop lithology and surface structure. PROBE-1 hyperspectral imagery does an excellent job in this regard.

Structures play a major role in forming hydrocarbon traps. Hyperspectral Imagery can identify subtle features due to topographic offset, vegetation change and/or soil alteration. This detailed mapping can be accomplished with PROBE-1 high-resolution imagery. See Figure 1 showing a fault line which was indiscernible with normal aerial views.

Figure 1

Hyperspectral sensors are unique in that they have enough spectral resolution to identify individual surface materials based solely on respective spectral signatures. Spectral libraries contain a group of hyperspectral signatures that have been positively matched with specific materials at the Earth’s surface. Spectral libraries have been constructed for minerals, plant communities, man-made materials, vegetation stress, and so on. There are now spectral library collections of oil-contaminated soils and onshore oil seeps. (See Figure 2)

These libraries will enable skilled analysts to detect oil-impacted surfaces across remote geologic structures and within such dense urban sites as refineries, tank farms, pipelines, and brownfields. They can be used for oil exploration, establishing baselines, and monitoring changes at both active and abandoned industrial sites.

Figure 2

See the General Synfuels International, Inc. website for more information on Hydrocarbon discovery and exploitation. (www.gsfuels.com)