Hyperspectral imaging technologies key for oil seep/oil-impacted soil detection and environmental baselines

摘要

Natural oil seeps can help exploration professionals discover new oil reserves hidden beneath the Earth's surface, creating wealth for companies and governments. At the same time, society's global use of hydrocarbon-based products has resulted in countless spills and leaks over the past century, polluting soils, water, vegetation and air. The locations of many of these oil seeps, oil spills, and oil-impacted soils are not known. Exploration opportunities across the globe are being missed and environments continue to be degraded as these oil-impacted sites go unmapped. By mapping and monitoring these areas using new imaging technologies and advanced software packages, exploration professionals can find new seeps indicative of oil accumulations at depth and environmentalists can assess a broad range of surface conditions. Energy and oil companies monitor their assets and develop environmental baselines to better understand the impact of development on the environment.