Geostructural studies by photointerpretation in support of geothermal exploration
Country, Location(s)
Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Bolivia – Blawan Ijen and Mataloko (Indonesia); Alalobeda, Aluto and Meteka (Ethiopia); Menengai (Kenya); various areas in Malawi; Kiejo-Mbaka and Rufiji (Tanzania); Empexa (Bolivia)
Client(s)
ELC Electroconsult S.p.a., Milan
Aims of the Project
Realization of geostructural and geomorphological studies through remote sensing optical and radar satellite images to support the exploration of geothermal resources in various sites.
Contract Holder(s)
Geomap Srl
Staff
3 photogeologists, 1 GIS expert
Project Activities
The studies include a preliminary phase of acquisition and pre-processing of remote sensing images of various sensors with medium and high spatial and spectral resolution (eg Landsat, Aster, Sentinel 2, Spot, etc.), in order to make them suitable for photointerpretation. Subsequently the photo-interpretation on video in a GIS environment of these images is performed, in order to extract a certain number of themes, including: total field of lineations, drainage and landforms, photogeological units. A digital terrain model (eg SRTM or GDEM) is always used to support remote sensing data.
The total field of lineations is then processed and analyzed to: 1) generate data statistically aggregated in the form of rose diagrams, to represent various trends of azimuthal distribution of the linear elements, both as a whole or divided by type or geological unit; 2) produce derived maps of fracture density and location of the nodal points (where two or more lineations cross each other). These studies typically produce, in addition to a written report, a series of cartographic documents such as: photogeological map, geomorphological map, structural map, map of the total field of lineations, fracture density map and nodal point density map.
