Integrating Remote Sesing and Non-Seismic Geophysics: Case Historues of Where it Does and Does Not Reduce Exploration Risk
Since the advent of Landsat in 1973, geoscientists have
sought to integrate space and air borne electro optical remote sensing imagery
with other types of earth
observation remote sensing geophysical technologies.
For explorationists seeking hydrocarbon or mineral deposits, correlated
anomalies in multiple independent datasets have long been used to construct
constrained
earth
models which serve to improve the ability to identify
economic deposits and reduce the risk of drilling dry holes. Ultimately, this
approach leads to lower finding costs and shorter time-lines for bringing
resources to market.
Integration of optical remote sensing data with
geophysical data is not a panacea, however. The surface expression of
reflectance may be decoupled from the more deeply-sourced geologic features
which generate geophysical anomalies. The geology at depth
may be spatially
offset from the surface reflectance anomaly. In some cases, the deep-seated
geologic target may have no correlation with surface features. As with many exploration
tools, electro optical imagery as well as potential fields remote sensing data
should be tightly constrained with sound geological and geophysical insight.
In our 30 years of integrating electro optical remote
sensing imagery with gravity, magnetics, and topographic information, we have
compiled examples where disparate data are combined for improved confidence in
exploration earth
modeling
. Our presentation will show some of the
‘success stories’ as well as some of the duds, providing attendees
with a realistic view of what may or may not become clear when integrating
different data.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California