GEOLOGIC LINEAMENT DETECTION USING SATELLITE IMAGERY AND CLOUD-BASED GEOSPATIAL PROCESSING

Understanding the structural geologic setting of a basin is critical for locating hydrocarbon traps and fluid migration pathways, drainage basin development, and infrastructure design and planning. Satellite imagery allows for the remote sensing of surface geologic features (e.g. faults, folds, lineaments, and lithologic variations) that can be extrapolated into the subsurface. Past researchers successfully applied these techniques to identify a previously undocumented fold over Qaidam Basin, China using traditional geographic information systems and remote sensing methods. We propose using cloud-based services, such as Google Earth Engine, and civil imagery (e.g. Landsat, Sentinel) as a geologic interpretation tool to quickly evaluate areas. Google Earth Engine provides a cloud-based geospatial processing platform and large data archive that can be exploited by geologists and engineers for structural interpretation. The goal of this study is to demonstrate the use of cloud-based tools for the standardization and speed for geologic work. We compare these results to a previous manual interpretation. Previous research has shown the utility of satellite imagery for remote sensing for geologic purposes but none have implemented it with a tool that has unprecedented speed and ease of use.