Evaluation of LANDSAT-D Thematic Mapper performance as applied to hydrocarbon exploration

Work with digital data of Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and California demonstrate that the increased spectral refinement and spatial resolution of TM over MSS data greatly increase the value of the data to petroleum exploration in roles ranging from logistic planning to direct detection of phenomena related to microseepage of hydrocarbons. The value of the spatial content versus the spectral content of the data increases as soil and vegetation cover increase. The structural detail visible in the imagery can contribute to exploration at the prospect level. Examination of the variance/covariance matrix suggests that a combination of bands 1, 4, and 5 displays the most information for most areas.