[54] METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING ANOMALOUS TERRESTRIAL HEAT FLOWS
[75] Inventor: Nancy Kerr Del Grande, San Lcandro, Calif.
[73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Energy Research and Development Administration, Washington, D.C.
[22] Filed: Jan. 5, 1976
[21] Appl. No.: 646,444
[52] U.S. CI 250/253; 250/339
[51] Int. CI.2 G01V 5/00
[58] Field of Search 250/253, 339
[56] References Cited
UNITED STATES PATENTS
3,278,746 10/1966 Fiat 250/253
3,373,281 3/1968 McAlister 250/253
Primary Examiner—Davis L. Willis
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Dean E. Carlson; Roger S.
Gaither; Clifton E. Clouse
A method for locating and mapping the magnitude and extent of terrestrial heat-flow anomalies from 5 to 50 times average with a tenfold improved sensitivity over orthodox applications of aerial temperature-sensing surveys as used for geotherrnal reconnaissance. The method remotely senses surface temperature anomalies such as occur from geotherrnal resources or oxidizing ore bodies by: measuring the spectral, spatial, statistical, thermal, and temporal features characterizing infrared radiation emitted by natural terrestrial surfaces; deriving from these measurements the true surface temperature with uncertainties as small as 0.05 to 0.5 K; removing effects related to natural temperature variations of topographic, hydrologic, or meteoric origin, the surface composition, detector noise, and atmospheric conditions; factoring out the ambient normalsurface temperature for non-thermally enhanced areas surveyed under otherwise identical environmental conditions; distinguishing significant residual temperature enhancements characteristic of anomalous heat flows and mapping the extent and magnitude of anomalous heat flows where they occur.
7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures
