Use of RADARSAT-1 principal component imagery for structural mapping: a case study in the Buffalo Head Hills area, northern central Alberta, Canada

The objective of this study has been to analyze the suitability of principal component analysis (PCA) of RADARSAT-1 images to enhance interpretability of surface features for geological applications. Four principal components (PCs) were extracted from the RADARSAT-1 standard beams mode S1 and S7 scenes acquired in ascending and descending orbit. The use of PCA minimizes the data redundancy inherent in the RADARSAT-1 scenes and creates component images that are characterized by a linear combination of the input data. The feature-oriented principal components selection (FPCS) method has been applied to examine the PCA eigenvector loadings and to understand which principal component images concentrate and enhance information directly related to the backscattering response of specific targets in the Buffalo Head Hills area, in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), to provide an enhanced image base for structural mapping as an aid to kimberlite exploration. North- and north-northeast-trending lineaments bounding the eastern edge of the Buffalo Head Hills along the Loon River valley, a conjugate set of northwest- and northeast-trending lineaments, and east-northeast-trending lineaments identifying the latest features in the area were identified. The development of these structures has been related to Precambrian terrane assemblage in the WCSB during the Early Proterozoic, the development of the Peace River Arch, and the Laramide orogeny. The application of the method to the Buffalo Head Hills area has shown that RADARSAT-1 PC2 and PC3 images optimize the topographic perception inherent in the radar images and retain information related to radar backscattering response to surface characteristics. These images provide an excellent base for structural mapping in this type of terrain, which suggests that this technique has important potential for structural mapping, not only in relation to kimberlite exploration but also for oil and gas exploration.

[1]  Donald W. Hillger,et al.  Meteorological features from principal component image transformation of GOES imagery , 1996, Optics & Photonics.

[2]  I. W. Somerton,et al.  Magnetic interpretation in three dimensions using Euler deconvolution , 1990 .

[3]  M. Pilkington,et al.  Potential-field signatures of buried Precambrian basement in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin , 2000 .

[4]  F. W. Jones,et al.  A synthesis of electromagnetic studies in the Lithoprobe Alberta Basement Transect: constraints on Paleoproterozoic indentation tectonics , 2000 .

[5]  B. Brisco,et al.  RADARSAT Applications: Review of GlobeSAR Program , 1996 .

[6]  Donald W. Hillger,et al.  Detection of Important Atmospheric and Surface Features by Employing Principal Component Image Transformation of GOES Imagery , 2003 .

[7]  Eric C. Grunsky,et al.  Integration of structural, gravity, and magnetic data using the weights of evidence method as a tool for kimberlite exploration in the Buffalo Head Hills, Northern Central Alberta , 2002, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[8]  W. P. Loughlin,et al.  PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS FOR ALTERATION MAPPING , 1991 .

[9]  Tom Farr,et al.  Multipolarization Radar Images for Geologic Mapping and Vegetation Discrimination , 1986, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[10]  E. Grunsky,et al.  The application of principal components analysis to multi-beam RADARSAT-1 satellite imagery: A tool for land cover and terrain mapping , 2002 .

[12]  M. H. Tangestani,et al.  Comparison of Three Principal Component Analysis Techniques to Porphyry Copper Alteration Mapping: A Case Study, Meiduk Area, Kerman, Iran , 2001 .

[13]  D. Cant.  Regional Structure and Development of the Peace River Arch, Alberta: A Paleozoic Failed-Rift System? , 1988 .

[14]  J R Harris,et al.  Regional Structural Reconnaissance of the Southwestern Grenville Province Using Remotely Sensed Imagery , 1992 .

[15]  J. Barclay,et al.  The Origin, History, and Regional Structural Development of the Peace River Arch, Western Canada , 1990 .

[16]  Frances J. Hein,et al.  Mixed (Multi) fractal analysis of Granite Wash fields/pools and structural lineaments, Peace River Arch area, northwestern Alberta, Canada : A potential approach for use in hydrocarbon exploration , 1999 .

[17]  Grant D. Mossop,et al.  Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin , 1988 .

[18]  P. Bird.  Kinematic history of the Laramide orogeny in latitudes 35°–49°N, western United States , 1998 .

[19]  K. S. Misra,et al.  Mapping of Basement and other Tectonic Features Using Seasat and Thematic Mapper in Hydrocarbon-Producing Areas of the Western Sedimentary Basin of Canada , 1991 .

[20]  S. Bowring,et al.  Geophysics and geochronology of the crystalline basement of the Alberta Basin, western Canada , 1991 .

[21]  B. Currie.  Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Morrison and Cedar Mountain formations, NE Utah-NW Colorado; relationships between nonmarine deposition and early Cordilleran foreland-basin development , 1998 .

[22]  K. Bergman,et al.  Stratal Reorientation, Depositional Processes, and Sequence Evolution of the Cretaceous in the Peace River Arch Region of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin , 1999 .

[23]  G. Ross.  Deep Crust and Basement Structure of the Peace River Arch region: Constraints on Mechanisms of Formation , 1990 .

[24]  E. Grunsky,et al.  Integration of Structural, Gravity, and Magnetic Data Using the Weights of Evidence Method as a Tool for Kimberlite Exploration in the Buffalo Head Hills, Northern Central Alberta, Canada , 2002 .

[25]  D. Eaton,et al.  Basement Reactivation in the Alberta Basin: Observational Constraints and Mechanical Rationale , 2001 .

[26]  V. Singhroy,et al.  Effects of Relief on the Selection of RADARSAT-1 Incidence Angle for Geological Applications , 1999 .

[27]  Jeff R. Harris,et al.  Digital processing of orbital radar data to enhance geologic structure - Examples from the Canadian Shield , 1988 .

[28]  A. Luscombe,et al.  The RADARSAT Synthetic Aperture Radar Development , 1993 .