Quantitative Structural Analysis with Stereoscopic Remote Sensing Imagery

We employ powerful stereoscopic methods with satellite imagery to obtain surface bedding attitude measurements. These data are used to constrain geologic structures in three dimensions using quantitative structural models. We document a numerical method for measuring the strike and dip of bedding using stereoscopic pairs of air photos, as well as Landsat Thematic Mapper™ and SPOT™ images. In examples from the North American and Andean cordilleras, these remote measurements prove consistent with direct surface control and subsurface structures imaged in seismic reflection profiles. Remotely derived measurements are combined with subsurface data to generate balanced structural interpretations that define complex structural traps using fault-related folding theory. These remote sensing methods can provide a low-cost and rapid means of delineating prospects and leads.