Satellite Radar Imagery, Geological And Geophysical Data For Anomaly Detection In Mineral Exploration

In areas of dense vegetation common multispectral sensor systems such as Landsat TM<br>are often of limited use for geological and structural mapping.<br>Radar imagery, such as ERS-1/2 and Radarsat, differ in many ways from products<br>obtained from multispectral sensor platforms. Acquiring data in the microwave portion of<br>the electromagnetic spectrum, radar systems are highly sensitive to surface roughness<br>and geomorphology due to the acquisition geometry. Geomorphological variations can<br>thus cause different backscatter results. Morphological ridges are therefore supposed to<br>show higher backscatter effects than flat ground, resulting in brighter areas on the<br>image. A similar scenario applies to any other prominent tectonic elements such as<br>faults. Specialfilter techniques allow the enhancement of those areas.