Analysis of the ERTS-1 imagery and high-altitude infrared photography indicates that useful fracture data can be obtained in Indiana and Illinois despite a glacial till cover. ERTS MSS bands 5 and 7 have proven most useful for fracture mapping in coal-bearing rocks in this region. Preliminary results suggest a reasonable correlation between image-detected fractures and mine roof-fall accidents. Information related to surface mined land, such as disturbed area, water bodies, and kind of reclamation, has been derived from the analysis of ERTS imagery

Amato, R. V.

Russell, O. R.

Wier, C. W.

Wobber, F. J.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

FRACTURE MAPPINO AND STRIP MINE INVENTORY IN THE NllOWEClT BY 
USING ERTS-1 IMAGERY 
Charlm W. Wier, Indiana G~ological Sumy, Blwminqton, Indiana; Frank J .  Wobber, 
Orville R. Russell and Rogar V. Amato, Earth Satsllih Cbrpontion, Wes.$ington, 
D. C. 
ABSTRACT 
Anrlyrir o f  the mT8-1 lam@- md high-alt i tude 
i n i r r r o d  'photogtughy indicator thrt wdW. i r w t u r a  data 
o m  bo obt- tn mdiurr md IlUwir dorgito r g l r c i r l  
till oov#l. m0 MSS budr 3 ud 7 hmm prwa momt w o r u l  
for f r ra tu ro  miag kr oorfrb- roakr in thir wgiom, 
Pro- remaltr -oat roamnabla o o m k t i O l l  b&wm 
*-b&ootod fraoturer and iuho roof-irll aooibrrufr. 
Xnfonu8tio~s n l r t r d  t o  ~ u r f a a o  nrinrd l ~ d ,  nrch u d i m -  
twbod  =, -tor M e a ,  m4 kiad of meolrsnrtiosr, hrr 
boon dorivod frau tho w r l r  o f  ERTB iplrsory. 
Efine rafaty in W a r m  coal mhbg hu received cbnriderrbla 
publ ic  at tent ion becuue roaf fUr b unbargmmd mine8 o f ion  remalt 
b l o r r o f  Uir. R o o i i a l l r a n d r o c k b u r r t r ~ r e c o u n t f o r o n 3 y o ~ o r  
two f a t a l l t i e r  in any uudargmmd mino over e m o d  o f  amora l  -6, 
but tha O C m a C e  ~ t 0  i 8  d hme tw ~ c l d e 8  ??O&tW 
OthOr CBU8@8* around tnrth rtudi08 b fhe m&Xbird w O 8  U V U l  
Caurrfy, 1Cndiuu, &mod fhrf roof f u l m  in the Coal V I  uudrriao\od work- 
b#r mr c lo ro l y  u r o o i r t o d  wlth 8onor of w m b o r r  profhad by tho  o a k  
b in r t l oa  o f  mining w b l v l t y  Ud tho  M- f r w t u r a r  in  tho roof roak 
&ova tho ooal  b o w  mlaed, Di moat auor ,  tho  PdlU maitor catmot p 
d i e t  tho p n r u m o  and ma@fu40 of tho f m a h m a  in dvulco, ud it $8 
only lhbll dSb@ ~ ~ l t 0 8  BUUh UI (iCU ~d f O O d - f u  pc0b- U 0  O I W ~  
tha t  thorn frmtumr ma be w. MmmUla it i r  aatrand~ hsrcdour 
t o t h s r P F n c r 1 4 d b . ~ r ~ i t n t o t h r ~ r t m o d - *  
mqu3rad rooi ~ g p o r t  aad, m r ,  djwt  M i o a  o f  m e  m i a i ~ #  en t r ie r  
or W w  o t h u  wor Plodifioutioar t o  tho rknQrd aninin# plan. J(lthmeb 
tho coal a m o r  & artomin aoro d A U a g  bdbm puff- in 
a l a r g o u n d ~ ~ , t b i r ~ ~ p ~ d c n r w t ~ ~  
the proran00 of fkmtumr 8omm tho inatun sow l r  umUy 8 frw 
Ixwbor or brr in thialmrrr. Era if tho eoro i a tmr rw ta  a frwharo 
roDI oru o d d  nut datumim tho o~IentatioLI of tho fkwhm uuhrr tho 
[ ~ p + . ' ~ ; !  >hc!cgraphy nay be p-urcbred b m i  
. + I . : 
.A 
4:. I Y  I ,  .; center 
. t . I *  ilnhata Avenue 
Si i~dr  :tits, SO 57198 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19730019533 2020-03-17T08:43:15+00:00Z
dri l l ing aethod included acquiring expensive oriented cons. The authors 
maintain i n  this experiment that uaef'ul fmcture data can be acquired 
frosa aircraft and ERTS-1 remote sensing records. Such imagery has not 
been routinely used by the mining industry for fracture mapping in cod- 
producing areas. Equally significant, the discriminstion of fractures in 
areas with thlck averburden has not been widely imtestigated. The oppor- 
tunities provided by repetitive aerial and/or orbital coverage to  detect 
d t l e  lineaments that are indicative of deeply buried bedrock fractures 
is just now being explored. 
2. FRACTVliE P A m S  FROM WTS 
NASA's ERTS-1 program provided an opportunity to utilize repetitive 
uymptic coverage to  dawlop fracture mapp- techniques in areas where 
bedrock i s  obscured by thlck overburden of unconsolidated deposit8 and 
to  r@Xly acquire mch data 'a .a area of active auface  ard a- 
coal mining. An $RSl w e  (1070-16050-5) ilawn October 1, 1972, and 
located near the cent- of the Eastern mtarior C o a l  Region (mttoon, 
U o i c ,  fo Vincsanea, lMlana) 8hcm i h r p l y  pronaxnced fracture trendr. 
A p m k a h m t  trend of about 1P 30° E is mout obvlous near the center of 
the picture (Figure 1). Fracture satr extending N 60" W alao are obvious. 
*e on MSS baud 5 (red) ww acquk.ed a t  the crit ical  t h e  intarvsl 
when fannlaud vegetation was largely dead or plawad urder and the natural 
vegetation along the drainage system wae still  vigorous. Dead a&cul- 
t u r d  vegetation iiuages lighter in tone than the green (dark toned) w e -  
tation along the natural & m e  ayutans. The contraat batween the two 
emhoments reveals the structure control exerted upon the & w e  
systma by fractures in the underlyiag bedrock evan though i n  phcer it 
i r  burled by more than 100 f& of glacial drlf't. The ixmgs immadiately 
to  the north of this area (10889-5, 19 October 1972) in the vlcinity 
of Terre Haute, RuliaDs, and I B n W ,  W i s ,  also K, s t r m  frac- 
tun trends devslopad on the drainage pattern. Here the preddnant 
ion of the fractures is IV 100-40 w with s secoDdary trend of IV ?0@..800 
Iha Paw of the repetitive m e  of eRTS i n  obviou~l when one 
caqpsrer the way of the amne area flown on other date.. 'Ihs fractum 
pattame so well deve&ped on ?Qgure 1 are dur icu l t  t o  iderrtiry and trace on 
w e 8  of the name area on 16 A r (~34-16050-5), 13 WTt- (1052-l6050-5), 6 M - 9  1YP (U -;]6054-5). 
Ihur, thin -1 wery in band 5 ahcnm a flat ghcirl  drift-covered 
are8 rhich is deamly cultivated amapt for w that are dissected by 
incire dr&mga agstem. 'Pwo -or vegetal ca-eo occur in the area: 
1) rhort-Uwd cultivated craps and 2) lndlgamaa~ tree and bu6h camr 
the rrtmam. The cultivstad craps mature .ad die or hew d-t early 
in the fall, whenam the other vqetrt ioa rclasinr crad (rLQplPGU for 
a 8amhat bqpr period. lbilective dlffmmcer th. dads Utb 
 etat ti on i r  proemmeed at fbir t5m period. IZ@S -08 auqulmd Uuzdmg 
the rbort duration tranaitlomd p.riod -lac pattrmr uhhb 
i n m n y p 1 . c e s a r e ~ o o n t r d l k d a o a r l d ~ o d W ~ r d  
lheu-lty or in echelm pwttemr. 
554 
Another aspect of seasonal influences on fracture detection i s  
illustrated i n  imagerj acquired on 5 November 1972 in southwestern Indi- 
ana (UO5-15595-7). Indiana l i es  in a temperate climatic zone that 
receives substantial rainfall and i s  vegetation-covered m s t  of the year. 
Band 7 (near infrared) imagery acquired dtring the gruwing season displays 
relatively uniform vegetative tones, and shows few surface details except 
for water courses and water bodies. When the vegetation has died back in 
early winter, band 7 pmvides greater detai l  and more nearly resembles 
band 5 imagery. Figure 2 reveals a lack of highly reflective vegetation 
which, when combined with the low sun sngle of winter, enphasizes the 
intricate fracture pattern in Umestone upland areas. !the lineaments 
shown on th i s  imagery reflect both straight sections of upland stream 
patterns and long narrow ridges. Most of the 1Fneaments shown are In up- 
land areas and the bedrock i s  not covered by glacial drift but flvrm one 
t o  30 feet of residual limestone soil. Zhe preferred orientation direc- 
tion of N 4d3-50' E and N 60' W are also demonstrated in ground truth 
measurements of Umestone jointing in road cuts and quarries. 
M a n y  caves have been mapped i n  the limestone area t o  the southwest 
of Bloanington and extending southward into Kent'1cby. Sane of these cave 
maps show an elongated developpent along f r sdures  that  closely parallel 
the direction and the position of lineaments noted on Figure 2. Perhaps 
the best known of these caves i s  Wyandotte Cave that is just north of the 
Ohio River in Crawford County and extends for nearly b m  miles in a N b0 
E direction. Blue Springs Cave, in southern lhmnce  County, extends 
about two miles in a H 55O W direction. 
A trace of the  Mt. Carme1 Fault also i s  shown where it cuts through 
the Borden siltstones to  the east of EUoanington. Although the position 
of the Mt, Camel Fault aa shown on the imagery already had been mapped in 
the field, the imagery show8 same indication of additional fault  fractures. 
lhe8e are being checked i n  the field t o  ascertain uhether they are related 
t o  the Mt. Canael Fault or t o  the regional f'ractme system. 
The physiographic pruvinces of southwestern Indiana are readily 
identifiable on Figure 2. The Norman Upland, dending  southnrrd between 
Columbus and B l ~ o n ,  f~ a highly dissected and large& uncultivated 
area developed on the Borden siltstone. The lighter textuud nrea ex- 
ten- rroutherly through Bhmhgtan is  predcminmtly paabxe laud rurd 
cultimted field8 of the Mitchel; PLain that is develaped on Mlddle Missi- 
ssippian limestones, B e  darker toned ams to the aoufihvest of -L 
end extsadiag i n  a mtherly direction is the di8seded and largely un- 
cultivated Crawford Uplrrnd that Is dePelaped on Vppcr Mssisrippiau bedr 
of alternatiag shale, sandstone, and lhnem. To the weat the broad 
area occ- about the western half of the is the Wabash  Iaw- 
laad crad is  dm- -1 e e  -apt f ~ r  tb art- 
~ c m p a r t , t h e W ~ I a v ~ i r c o w r a d w i t h a t h i c k ~  lcof 
u n m ~ ~ l l d a t a d  material. More thm 100 feet of @acial outw . ;de. 
and gravel6 covured by Race& allmi- occupy the W o ?  valleys. Fut 
l a w a d  areas are covered w i t h  lacustrir~e deposits. Ihe upland areas are 
cov-ed by several tens of feet of glacisl till, overlain by a tk!n veneer 
of lmss. It i s  in the area of the Wabast Iawland where the majority of 
the s t r ip  mining and underground mining of coal has occurred. 
4. FRACTURE PATTERNS FROM A I R C m  PHOTOGRAPHY 
k.acF,ure information also i s  beiag acquired fmm color infrared 
photography a t  the scale of 1:12@,000. lh i s  maU-scale photography was 
flown in May, June, and August, 1971, t o  stu4y the corn blight. Ihe May 
f l ight  proved of greatest u t i l i t y  because vegetative cwer i s  limited and 
subtle so i l  variations indicative of b u i d  bedrock fractures can be seen. 
Vegetative growth present at the time of W e  andAugust photographies 
seriously handicapped f'racture atmJy8i.s. Plis  altitude color infra- 
red photography provldes an area overview a t  a scale intermediate between 
EEITS imagery and the low altitude aircraft photography (1:20,()0) that i s  
gen- available i n  the state. E(eny more sets or fractures can be 
delineated on th i s  anall-scale phatogwphy than has been sham on avail- 
able ERTS imagery. Althagh fracture patterns i n  the exact s- position 
on each set  of imagery are not always noted, it appears that  additional 
ZRTS imagery i s  received and interpreted there vlll be a good general 
correlation in direction and density. Where Un-ts were indicated on 
the high altitude color infrared photography which intercepts bedrock 
exposures in active and abandoned s t r ip  mines, the measurc3d direction of 
fractures in the mines show8 a close correspondence t o  the direction indi- 
cated on the photography ( ~ i g u r e  3). 
Studies of the relative abundance of &qped t h c t u r e e  i n  Yarim 
ptwt.8 of southwestern Ihdlana show that there are c9nsiducr3Iy more Frac- 
tures that can be detected i n  the glaciated area thtcl in the mmghciated 
area of the coal fields. ~~, the area  COY^ by the younger 
Wisconsinan drift t o  the north -*its a greater nmber of fracture 
traces than does the area to the ecruth which is covered only by the older 
nlinnian drift. !&is redationship has also been nuted oa the blaclr and 
white aerial photogreghy at the scale oi 1:20,000. 
Same color infrared photagmphy a t  1 : 2 0 , ~  rrcalc wam avdlable. It 
was studied to  detect ahort (probably rsomhry) f rahme sgstim~. Rat- 
ture andysis using this photoeTspby -zed the utility of an lute- 
grated nuiLtilevsl adtibard appmach to fmchwa datactlon, that is, 
.Ummmts ident-e using 1:20,600 ralo src nut dwrryr 
detectable on the 1:12~),000 & -. Comglaly, l inammtr  
f o u n d o n t h e ~ s c a l e ~ ~ b r r v a a f o o ~ r ~ t ~ f o  i 
be detected uaw large-rcale pbbgm&r. lh gQard, ariaitdim c+ the 
Ummmnta and relative duultier are SM&E at the h m  scaler. 
intermittently in the northwestern part of the mine during the past 10 
years of operation. The 1:120,000 color i w e d  photography of th is  
area shows several prominent linear patterns expressed as so i l  (tonal; 
anamalies or straight streern segments. Intersecting fracture systems i n  
the vicinity of the accident s i t e  are of particular interest as they r.?pre- 
sent probable zones of structural weakness, A preliminary analysis of the 
fracture data a t  the King Station m e  shows the major fracture trends as 
N 70 W and N 50' E (~ igu re  3A). The greatest fracture density as shown on 
the photography i s  approximately in  the area of the greatest concentrat ion 
of roof fa l ls .  Additional ground truth information must be obtained under- 
ground in the mine i n  order t o  better canFirm these findings. 
5 .  MINED fAM1 INVEXIORY FfEOM ERTS PIAGERY 
Although the msin purpose of this experiment i s  t o  relate lineaments 
on the imagery t o  fractures in the roof rock over coal beds, it was obvi- 
ous that one could do a creditable job in plotting the area of &ace 
mini;lg (str ip mining) of coal (Figure 4). Seasonal conditions influence 
the amount of information which can be obtained; for instance, band 7 
acquired during the growing season in Indiana sharply contrasts the nearly 
bare disturbed mine lands f x a n  the nearby undisturbed and vegetated termme. 
O l d e r  s t r ip  mine areas that were ungraded end planted i n  trees are, i n  
genemil., easy t o  identiry kt areas that  have been leveled and converted 
t o  pasture land and row crops are more difficult t o  ou tme.  After an 
inventory of a dnhg area has been made, the new surface mining area can 
readily be recognized and outlined. Ihe repetitive ERTS caverage wculd 
provide en excellent monitoring system t o  map the new s t r ip  mining area 
on a three-months or a year basis. Isolsted s t r i p  mine areas containing 
more than ten acres can be easily identified and mapped, but t v a  with hi@ 
cant& conditions probably isolated areas of less  than five acres cannot 
be identified and mapped, The mined land inventory map prepwed (Figure 4) 
nrs carefully checked w i t h  the s t r ip  mine maps obtained Avrm the individual 
coal campanies. Zhe mapped area fran ER3S imagery (1033-15591-7 and 1033- 
~594-7 )  matched clo&e&- with the ground truth mapping. 
The authors conclude that repetitive -1 mery i s  a uef'ul tool  
for mappiag regional A.act.ms in the arcas rovered .by thick g lach l  drift 
and far d t o r a  recent mined land6 in coal producing areas. Seasonally 
deqendent MSS bands 5 and 7 imagery is most uaefW. f'or fhcture  detection. 
mere appears to be good correlation betncn fractu~.cs mqped on 
altitude color iaffartd -phs ead fractures in the fldd. 
I h e U h c l l h o o d c t f a p p l y i n g ~ e r i v e d f ' r a c t u r e d a t a t o ~ d m i n e  
8oicty in the &ira Eastern Ihtarior C o a l  Reglo11 t~pears practical flxm 
the currant studies bdag coaduded in Ibdiam. Band 7 appears to be 
be& for regkmlrainad hnd lmeatorier. Mappin# chmger of oaly a few 
acre8 in the ca?lgumtioa of laxgo surface Pdrrnd land8 appear mal ls t ic  
wltb ccrmpcurrtitn aMly8ir of tb-lrrgm -. 
Figure 1. ERTS-1 image (1070-16050-5, 1 October 72) of parts of Indiana 
&nd I l l i n o i s ,  showing Trzcture trends along drainage patterns. 
U 25 MILES 
Figure 2 .  E!!'IS-1 imwe (1105-15595-7, 5 Novenber 72) of southwestern 
Indiana, showing fracture pat terns L ocg 4rainegeways and 
ridge? i n  upland areas underlain by Mississippian limestone 
and s i l t s  tcae . 
T. 2 S., R. l l W. SEC. 32, T. 8 N., R. 8 W. 
i'igure 3. Roee aiagraw showing orientation of fracturee. A .  Direction 
and length of rlacturea u p p e d  Gii  ceriai pnotograpns. 
B. 3irection of rracturee mapped along a atrip mine highwall. 
Figure 4 .  Map of part8 of Pikb and Gibron Countier in routhwertem 
Indiana, rhowing qtrip mine wear previouly mapped and that 
area mapped frm ERTS-1 imagery. 
5 6C 


Fracture mapping and strip mine inventory in the Midwest by using ERTS-1 imagery

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