ERTS-1 IMAGERY USE IN RECONNAISSANCE PROSPECTING EVALUATION OF THE COMMERCIAL UTILITY OF ERTS-1 IMAGERY IN STRUCTURAL RECONNAISSANCE FOR MINERALS AND PETROLEUM

摘要

This study was performed to investigate applications of ERTS-I imagery in commercial reconnaissance for mineral and hydrocarbon resources ERTS-I imagery collected over five areas in North America (Montana, Colorado, New Mexico-West Texas, Superior Province, Canada, and North Slope, Alaska) has been analyzed for data content including hears, lineaments, and curvilinear anomalies Locations of these features were mapped and compared with known locations of mineral and hydrocarbon accumulations Results were then analyzed in the context of a simple-shear, block-coupling modelnData analyses have resulted in detection of new (and extension of known) lineaments, some of which may be continental in extent, detection of many curvilinear patterns not generally seen on aerial photos, strong evidence of continental pragmatic fracture patterns, and the realization that all geological features in the test areas can be explained reasonably in terms of a simple-shear, block-coupling model Cost analysis has shown that using ERTS-I imagery for regional structure investigations is about 1/500 as expensive as using conventional aerial photos