Table Of ContentRSRVEP 4(2) 223-472 (1990)
ISSN: 0275-7257
ISBN: 3-7186-5056-8
Volume: 4 Issue 2 (1990)
REMOTE SENSING REVIEWS
Editor-in-Chief: FRANCOIS BECKER
Issue
2 Satellite Remote
Sensing for
Operational Hydrology
Page 223 Applications of Remote Sensing to Groundwater Hydrology
Pauline Waters, David Greenbaum, Peter Smart and Henry Osmaston
265 Prospects for Operational Remote Sensing of Surface Water
Burn Hockey, Timothy Richards and Henry Osmaston
285 Snow Observation by Satellite: A Review
Richard Lucas and Andrew Harrison
349 The Potential Value of Remotely Sensed Data in the Assessment of
Evapotranspiration and Evaporation
John Bailey
379 Satellite Rainfall Estimation Techniques using Visible and Infrared
Imagery
Giles D'Souza, Eric Barrett and Clare Power
415 The Use of Passive Microwave Imagery in Rainfall Monitoring
Christopher Kidd and Eric Barrett
451 Satellite Remote Sensing for Operational Hydrology; Present Needs
and Future Opportunities
Erie Barrett, Michael Beaumont and Reginald Herschy
467 Index
472 Plate Section
Issue Editor: E. C. Barrett
he harwood academic publishers
ap
CHUR • LONDON • PARIS • NEW YORK • MELBOURNE
REMOTE SENSING REVIEWS
Editor
FRANQOIS BECKER, Directeur ENSPS, 7 rue de I'Universite, 67000 Strasbourg,
France
Regional Editors
N. S. GOEL, State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Systems
Science, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering, Binghamton, New York
13901, USA
C. VOUTE, Consultant, Stokhorstlaan 83, 7531 JE, Enschede, The Netherlands
Associate Editors
W. ALPERS, Fachbereich 1. Physics, University of Bremen, 2800 Bremen 33, FRG
E. C. BARRETT, Remote Sensing Unit, Dept. of Geography, University Road,
Bristol BS8 1 SS, England
H. J. BOLLE, Institut fur Meteorologic, F. U. Berlin, Dietrich Schofer Weg 6-10, D
1000 Berlin, FRG
J. CIHLAR, Applications Development, Canada Center for Remote Sensing, 717
Belfast Street, Ottawa, K1A 0Y7, Canada
G. GUYOT, INRA, Station de Bloclimatologie, Domaine St Paul, BP 81, 84140
Montfavet, France
T. K. ISMAILOV, Space Research Institute of Natural Resources of Azerbadjanian
Academy of Sciences, 9 Ketshoveli Street, Baku, USSR
G. P. DE LOOR, Benoordenhoutseweg 277, 2596 BJ The Hague, The
Netherlands
K. TSUCHIYA, Chiba University, Institute of Color and Image Technology, 1-33
Yayoicho, Chiba-city 260, Japan
G. WEILL, GDTA, Avenue Edouard-Belin, 31055 Toulouse Cedex, France
GENERAL INFORMATION
Aims and Scope: Remote Sensing Reviews brings together international discussions on the fundamental
understanding of the data, their processing and the technology involved in remote sensing as well as on its
capabilities in various applied fields both in research and operational modes. Each issue presents an original
in-depth overview of a subject including theoretical and experimental as well as technological and practical
points of view. Directed to a range of readers from scientists and engineers involved in remote sensing to
users of the techniques for specific applications, these reviews cover a large number of areas with particular
focus on the following; geology, oceanography, hydrology, limnology, climatology, land uses, cartography,
resource survey, crops and soils, forests and lands and planets.
Submission of articles: Papers are usually by invitation only. However, those wishing to contribute by
writing a review paper or suggesting a subject are welcome to contact either the Editor or one of the
Associate Editors.
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AUGUST 1990
Editorial
E.C. Barrett, Director, Remote Sensing Unit, Department of Geography,
University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK
Water is essential to our very existence. It is possible to survive without
food for weeks, but without water we should die in a few days. We
drink it, wash in it, and cook in it, and a vast assortment of activities of
everyday life depends on adequate supplies of it.
Unfortunately, traditional means of data gathering are inadequate
even for present purposes in Hydrology and Water Management.
Thus, Hydrologists are urgently seeking new ways for supplementing
their conventional data supplies. Satellite remote sensing is being
explored increasingly as one possible answer to such data acquisition
problems, both because of its perceived facility for providing greatly
improved space and time coverage of key hydrological observation
systems, and as the technologies of data acquisition, transmission and
processing become more advanced and more capable. Although the use
of remote sensing—especially from satellites—is currently less well
developed in these contexts than in support of many other Earth
resource and environmental sciences, much successful hydrological
research has already been based upon satellite data and in limited but
important ways satellite data have already begun to be used in water
monitoring and management operations.
The Remote Sensing Unit in the University of Bristol, UK has, from
its foundation in 1984, focussed most of its research activity upon the
development of potentially operational algorithms for Hydrology and
Water Management. Thus, the set of papers contained in this volume,
all of which have been authored or part-authored by present or past
academic staff or other research scientists in the Bristol University
Remote Sensing Unit, naturally relate not only to the scientific
EDITORIAL
problems which are encountered in this field, but also to the growing
possibilities that routine mapping and monitoring in relation to water
in the environment can already be improved through a wider applica
tion of the results of such studies.
For such possibilities to be realised it is necessary to share news of
them with the whole community of workers in this field.
It is hoped that this collection of papers will assist in the
information-sharing process, not only for the benefit of students of
satellite remote sensing for Hydrology, but most of all for the benefit
of readers employed within the Water Industry, and with responsibili
ties for improving water management, conservation and supply.
Remote Sensing Reviews, 1990, Vol. 4(2), pp. 223-264
Photocopying permitted by license only
© 1990 Harwood Academic Publishers GmbH
Printed in the United Kingdom
Applications of Remote Sensing to
Groundwater Hydrology
PAULINE WATERS^ DAVID GREENBAUM^, PETER L. SMART^ AND
HENRY OSMASTON
^Remote Sensing Unit, Department of Geography, University of Bristoi, Bristol
BS8 1SS, UK
^British Geological Survey, Overseas Directorate, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Notts.
NG12 5GG, UK
^Department of Geography, University of Bristol. Bristol BS8 1SS, UK
Applications of remote sensing to groundwater hydrology are reviewed on the basis of
published literature, lesser known accounts and the authors’ own experiences. The major
application is to ground water exploration, but others include; subsidence monitoring
and the location of thermal waters and steam for geothermal energy. Some of the electro
magnetic techniques used for these applications are reviewed. These include: aerial and
satellite photography, visible, near-, middle- and thermal-infrared scanner imagery and
both imaging and ground-penetrating radar. One of the main problem areas in the appli
cation of remote sensing to groundwater hydrology is related to the use of lineaments as
an exploration guide. The definitions and concepts of lineaments, their geologic nature
and hydrological function are discussed.
It is concluded that despite some uncertainties and inconsistencies in the results,
remote sensing is a useful technique for the study of groundwater hydrology and has
aided the successful location of important groundwater resources.
1 INTRODUCTION
According to Lamoreaux (1984) “Remote sensing is an excellent tool
for hydrologists and geologists to better understand the perplexing
problems of groundwater exploration.” However, of all the hydrologi
cal applications of remote sensing, the hydrogeological analysis of
aerial photographs and satellite imagery is one of the most difficult,
because . groundwater by its very nature is not available for direct
observation.” (Farnsworth et al., 1984). Thus, remotely sensed data
223
224 P. WATERS et al.
cannot be used directly but require substantial, and to some extent sub
jective, interpretation by the researcher. Siegal and Gillespie (1980)
therefore considered that . searching for groundwater is essenti
ally a hydrogeologic inference task.” This view was also expressed by
Compaore (1988) who considered that “. . . the efficiency of using
remote sensing for hydrogeologic research is quite relative and its
success depends upon the correct interpretation of a number of hydro-
logical indicators or clues.” Shapes, patterns, tones and textures, iden
tified through remote sensing, provide direct or indirect evidence of
features of hydrogeological interest (Fraysse, 1980; Salomonson,
1983). These include: structures (faults, joints, ductile shears, folds);
intrusions (dykes, veins); distribution of solid and unconsolidated
lithologies; geomorphology (landforms, erosion surfaces, basins of
deeper weathering); present and ancient drainage systems and patterns;
presence of hygrophile and hydrophile vegetation; and areas of
preserved soil moisture during dry season conditions.
Although a variety of remotely sensed techniques such as: sonar,
down-hole televiewer, deep-well current meters and other geophysical
and mechanical logging devices are used in groundwater hydrology, it
is usual to confine discussion of remote sensing to those techniques that
involve the recording of reflected or emitted electromagnetic radiation
by satellite or airborne sensors. This covers a variety of techniques that
include conventional photography, visible, near-, middle-and thermal-
infrared scanner imagery, and radar that can be used to guide, speed
and reduce the costs of groundwater investigations. Remote sensing for
hydrogeological research has its main applications in groundwater
exploration although it can also be used in hazard monitoring and in
geothermal energy exploration.
Hydrogeological studies can be considered in terms of regional sur
veys, concerned with understanding the general groundwater condi
tions of a large area, or local surveys, where the objective is the siting of
a borehole or dug well. Alternatively a study may take a hierarchial
approach, where the regional survey precedes the local survey.
However, remote sensing will form only one element of any hydro-
geological study and must be integrated with other phases of the
work.
Satellite imagery at scales of 1:1 000 000 to 1:250 000 is particularly
suited to regional interpretation (Parry and Piper, 1981), although
aerial photography can also be useful (Hunting Geology and Geo-
GROUNDWATER HYDROLOGY 225
physics, 1970). In selecting imagery consideration should be given to
season of acquisition: winter scenes at low sun elevation serve to
emphasize structure and geomorphology as well as areas of sustained
near-surface moisture, whereas wet-season images often reveal more
about vegetation patterns and lithologies. Other imagery types have
more specific applications. Thermal infrared (IR) has potential to
deduce information on sub-surface moisture and perched water tables
at shallow depth (Moore and Myers, 1972; Huntley, 1978; Heilman
and Moore, 1981a and 1981b; Salomonson, 1983). Radar has an all-
weather capability and can be used to detect subtle geomorphic fea
tures even over forested terrain (Parry and Piper, 1981). It is capable of
penetrating dry sand sheets to disclose abandoned drainage channels
(McCauley et al., 1982, 1986), and can also provide information on
soil moisture (Harris et al., 1984). Remote sensing may be used in con
junction with other regional information to construct a hydro-
geological guide map (Zall and Russell, 1979; Kruck, 1981; Salman,
1983) .
Local surveys usually involve the use of low-level aerial photo
graphs, although high-resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM),
Systeme Probatoire de 1’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) data or other
special imagery types can sometimes provide useful additional
information. These are used to target specific features of the landscape
such as dykes, fractures, sinkholes, landslip areas, zones of thicker
regolith and dambos, often as part of an integrated field programme.
The benefits that accrue from the use of remote sensing are greatest
when applied early in a study. In Burkino Faso and Niger, remote sen
sing over basement areas was found to improve drilling success rates by
40% and reduce overall exploration costs by 35% (Amesz and Lausink,
1984) . According to Tomes (1975) “. . . photomapping, by itself
cannot supply adequate detail but can supplement reconnaissance
mapping.” This view seems to be widely held, and numerous
publications on groundwater investigations give evidence of using
photo- or image-analysis during the early stages in the programme
(Clark, 1981; Jeurissen and Kruseman, 1984; Benson and Scaife, 1987;
Warwick et al., 1987). Jeurissen and Kruseman (1984), for example
make little reference to remote sensing, but their first Figure (page
218) is a well inventory data sheet that shows that aerial photograph
interpretation is carried out routinely during the initial phase of an
investigation. Other investigators combine remote sensing information
226 P. WATERS etal.
with the results of a geomorphic analysis in preparation for field
investigations (Fourniquet et al., 1984).
In the following sections the major applications of remote sensing to
groundwater hydrology studies are examined.
2 APPLICATIONS TO GROUNDWATER EXPLORATION
There are basically two approaches to the use of remote sensing as a
groundwater exploration technique. The first is generally applied to
carbonate and basement aquifers, where fracture flow is the character
istic mode of water movement and some linear features of the image or
photograph correspond to fractures that correlate with the occurrence
of groundwater. Well yields often show a positive correlation with
linear features or with the intersection between two features (Siegal and
Gillespie, 1980). However, some results are inconclusive and the rela
tionship probably depends on the geological nature and the hydrologi
cal function of the feature or “lineament”. The second approach is
applicable to all reservoirs and integrates remotely-sensed data with
other sources of information to create hydrogeological thematic maps
for groundwater exploration. Figure 1 is a schematic cross-section of
some hydrogeologic features of the main types of aquifers discussed in
this review.
2.1 Lineament studies
2.1.1 General concepts of lineaments
It is generally accepted that the term “lineament” was originally used
by Hobbs (1904; 1912), to describe linear features that are “significant
lines of landscape”, although linear features had been discussed since
the 1800s (Hodgson, 1974). With the advent of high altitude earth
observation the term “lineament” has assumed a greater significance.
O’Leary et al. (1976) defined a “lineament” as “a mappable, simple or
composite linear feature of a surface, whose parts are aligned in a
rectilinear or slightly curvilinear relationship, which differs distinctly
from the patterns of adjacent features and which presumably reflects a
subsurface phenomenon”. This tends to be the usually accepted
definition. However, a data set will initially include geological, cultural
(man-made) and spurious (e.g. system artifacts) features. It is clear that
GROUNDWATER HYDROLOGY 227
Structurally
Controlled
Facies Change
1. Basement Aquifer-Fissure How [ -F I Crystalline Basement
2. Carbonate Aquifer - Conduit / fissure How [ ' I Limestone
3. Clastic Aquifer - Diffuse / intergranular How
4. Unconsolidated Aquifer - Diffuse flow o Sandstone
5. Aquitard
Sands S Gravels
- Top of saturated zone Mylonile Zone
• Faults Igneous Dyke
FIGURE 1 Schematic cross section showing some hydrogeologic features.
although many authors quote the definition of O’Leary et al. they then
use the term to describe all the linear features of an image or photo
graph. Also this definition may not include edge features, that could
indicate lithological boundaries, and subtle linear features that are
commonly the main expression of buried geological features.
Therefore, if the term “lineament” is used strictly in accordance with
the definition of O’Leary and co-workers, it should be confined to the
description of distinct line-type features with a probable geological
content. Clearly this is not the case and the term is now used in a
general sense. So we suggest that the term “lineament” is used for any
straight, or slightly curved feature or alignment of discontinuous
features that are apparent on a map, image or photograph of an area
and, in accordance with Gold (1980), when the feature has been
interpreted, the appropriate qualifying adjective can be given e.g.
geological lineament, topographic lineament, cultural lineament, etc.
It is in this context that lineament is used in this review, but we have
tried to differentiate between features expressed as lineaments on
satellite imagery from those on aerial photographs because they
represent features of different scale that may also have a different
