THE USE OF LANDSAT IMAGERY IN GROUND WATER EXPLORATION1

ABSTRACT: Water supplies in Arizona are becoming increasingly limited because municipal, industrial, and agricultural consumption depletes ground water reserves by three million acre-feet annually. Additional demands are being created by electric power generation, particularly in northeastern Arizona where ground water pumpage is expected to escalate by sixfold during the next 10 years. The results of a study to determine the ease and feasibility of using satellite imagery as a tool in exploring for new sources of ground water are reported. Lineaments detected on Landsat images of two sites were mapped and correlated with well data in the two study areas by means of well centered grid model. The correlations developed between lineament density and water well data in the two study sites support the hypothesis that a relationship exists between regional geologic structure and the presence of ground water.     

THE POTENTIAL FOR REMOTE SENSING OF LOESS SOILS SUSPENDED IN SURFACE WATERS1

ABSTRACT: The potential for detecting the concentration and type of soils suspended in surface water through remote sensing techniques was investigated by studying the spectral reflectance of two types of soils in suspension. In a large tank filled with 7510 liters of water, 20 levels of suspended sediment (soil) concentration (SSC), ranging from 50 to 1000 mg/l were prepared. A high resolution spectroradiometer was used to measure the reflectance at each SSC level. The reflectance spectra of two contrasting soils were distinct in the visible and near infrared (NIR) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelength range between 580–690 nm (visible) was found to be optimal for indicating the type of soil, whereas, the wavelength range between 714–880 (NIR) was found to be appropriate for estimating the concentration of sediment suspended in surface waters.