Earth remote sensing

OJSC "CST" developed and use a remote sensing exploration for hydrocarbons method based on the model of vertical microseepage

Source: Schumacher, D., 1996, Hydrocarbon-induced alteration of soils and sediments, in D. Schumacher and M. A. Abrams, eds., Hydrocarbon migration and its nearsurface expression: AAPG Memoir 66, p. 71–89, p.83.

According to model hydrocarbons while seeping vertically from deposit to surface on the way produce alteration of microbiological activity which contribute to appearence of a number of geophysical and geochemical anomalies. These anomalies reveals itselfes on the surface rendering different influence on soils and microbiological life composition and, in its turn, on spectral reflection of natural formations, detectable by special imaging technique.

For data acquisition and aforementioned anomalies detection OJSC "CST" developed airborne multy-zone scanner «Eagle». The hardware allows to obtain data from 26 information channels in different parts of spectrum. Terrain scanning from An-30 aircraft performed from an altitude of about 5000 meters which gives surface scanning span also 5000 meters.

The information acquired while imaging passes through pre-processing stage, where radiometric (impulse-noise filtering, brightness averaging and banding removal) and geometric correction is performed. The result is mosaic image of scanned area, which is a basis for further thematic mapping of hydrocarbons induced anomalies.

Thematic mapping comprises processing of multy-zone image to reveal areas with radiometric brightness similar to brightness on reference location with known hydrocarbons deposit presence or production underway. Information from different zones of spectrum makes different areas of anomalies distribution, although further spatial anomalies overlay makes possible to find out their intercrossing. Zones with maximum coinciding features are considered the most prospective for further surface geology exploration.

The result comes to customer as an image of scanned terrain in GIS "Digitizer" with overlayed anomalies areas pertinent to hydrocarbons presence.

OJSC "CST" remote explorationn technology and GIS "Digitizer" software components are patented in Russia.