Remote sensing airborne surveys were conducted, as part of the plan of rehabilitation, of the Suez Canal Zone using I2S multispectral camera and Bendix LN-3 infrared passive scanner. The multispectral camera gives four separate photographs for the same scene in the blue, green, red, and near infrared bands. The scanner was operated in the microwave bands of 8 to 14 microns and the thermal surveying was carried out both at night and in the day time. The surveys, coupled with intensive ground investigations, were utilized in the construction of new geological, structural lineation and drainage maps for the Suez Canal Zone on a scale of approximately 1:20,000, which are superior to the maps made by normal aerial photography. A considerable number of anomalies belonging to various types were revealed through the interpretation of the executed multispectral and infrared thermal surveys

Alaassy, I. E. E.

Elrakaiby, M. M.

Elshazly, E. M.

Hady, M. A. A. H.

Hafez, M. A. A.

Kamel, A. F.

Morsy, M. A.

Salman, A. B.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

N78-14599
INTERPRETATION OF MULTISPECTRAL AND
INFRARED THERMAL SURVEYS
OF THE SUEZ CANAL ZONE, E5YPT
E. M. EL SHAZLY, M. A. ABDEL HADY, M. A. ABDEL
HAFEZ, A. B. SALMAN, M. A. MORSY, M. M. EL RAKAIBY,
I. E. E. AL AASSY, § A. F. KAMEL
REMOTE SENSING CENTER AND ATOMIC ENERGY ESTABLISHMENT,
CAIRO, EGYPT
SUMMARY
Remote sensing airborne surveys have been conducted, as part of the plan of
rehabilitation, of the Suez Canal Zone using I^S multispectral camera and Bendix
LN-3 infrared passive scanner. The multispectral camera gives four separate
photographs for the same scene in the blue, green, red and near infrared bands.
The scanner has been operated in the microwave bands of 8 to 14 microns and the
thermal surveying has been carried out both at night and in the day time.
The surveys, coupled with intensive ground investigations, have been utili-
zed in the construction of new geological, structural lineation and drainage
maps for the Suez Canal Zone on a scale of approximately 1:20,000, which are
superior to the maps made by normal aerial photography. A considerable number
of anomalies belonging to various types have been revealed through the inter-
pretation of the executed multispectral and infrared thermal surveys. These
anomalous features are related to faults and fractures, salt crusts and salini-
zation, buried channels, surface and subsurface drainage lines, wetness, culti-
vated lands, sediments submerged under water, suspended sediments, and water
bodies. The defined features have been of particular importance in the design-
ing of engineering projects, and in studying the natural resources and envi-
ronment of the Suez Canal Zone.
A buried channel which is almost completely buried under accumulating wind
blown dune sands has been delineated by the multispectral photography and the
infrared thermal imagery. The dune sands are also covering the surrounding
terrain. The distinction between the dune sands filling the channel and those
covering its surroundings is mainly due to the wetness of the sands in the for-
mer case while they are dry in the latter.
The distinction of salt crust and other exhibitions of salinization are very
important criteria of land management in the Suez Canal Zone, as well as in arid
regions at large especially those endangered by saline water intrusion. The
Suez Canal Zone is subjected to the invasion of saline water from the Red Sea,
Mediterranean Sea and other saline lakes covering large surfaces in the Zone
and its environs. Infrared thermal imagery and multispectral photography have
proved to be excellent tools in studying the various manifestations of salini-
zation in comparison to normal aerial photography.
INFRARED THERMAL AND MULTISPECTRAL SURVEYS
The Suez Canal Zone in Egypt (Figure 1) has been surveyed in the night time
and day time by the Bendix thermal mapper LN-3 and in the day time by the I^S
multispectral aerial camera Mark-I. Both are mounted on a twin-engine aircraft
AN-2 operating at a speed of 180 km/h. LN-3 is an airborne infrared passive
scanner which has been operated during the survey in the microwave bands of 8
to 14 microns, and the thermal anomalies are recorded in a visual fashion on
photographic films. On the other hand, the multispectral camera gives for the
same scene four photographs simultaneously in four bands of the electromagnetic
spectrum, namely the blue (band 1), green (band 2), red (band 3) and near inf-
rared (band 4).
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The surveys of the Suez Canal Zone have been conducted in parallel flight
lines in an approximate NE-SW direction across the Suez Canal, and the result-
ing photographs and images are on a scale of about 1:20,000. New maps for the
geological and environmental units, structural and other lineaments, and drai-
nage on a scale of 1:25,000 have been prepared for the Suez Canal Zone based on
the previously mentioned surveys, as well as on the normal black and white
aerial photographs (El Shazly, et al., 1975). Mosaics have been prepared from
the photographs of band 4 of the muTtispectral camera and from the night time
infrared thermal images of the thermal mapper to help in the construction of the
maps in question, while other images and photographs have been utilized in the
mapping separately.
In the present work examples are given illustrating the advantages of using
the multispectral photography and infrared thermal imagery in an environment
such as that prevailing in the Suez Canal Zone, which is covered by an arid
desert with cultivated lands irrigated by fresh Nile water introduced into the
Zone through artificially dug canals. Notable features in the Zone are manifes-
ted by salinization and salt water intrusion from the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea
and various saline water bodies including Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah and the Bit-
ter Lakes (Figure 1). The examples are classified into those illustrating li-
thology and environment, structural lineaments, and drainage (wetness) features.
The classification of the thermal anomalies is in agreement with that proposed
by El Shazly, Abdel Hady and Morsy (1974).
DRAINAGE FEATURES AND BURIED CHANNEL
The drainage systems are very important features in the Suez Canal Zone as
in most deserts of the world where they act as channels for rainfall and thus
they play a significant role in groundwater accumulation and distribution. The
multispectral and infrared thermal surveys have been found to be of particular
use in delineating the drainage systems of the Suez Canal Zone especially where
the land surface is dominated by featureless plains. The utilization of air-
borne infrared techniques in elucidating surface and subsurface drainage lines
have been demonstrated by Abdel Hady, Abdel Hafez and Karbas (1970); El Shazly,
Abdel Hady and Morsy (1974); etc. In multispectral photography not all the
bands are equally good for this purpose. It has been demonstrated in this
respect that the drainage lines are most clear in the photographs of band 1
(Figure 2), less clear in those of bands 2 and 4, and least defined in those
of band 3 (Figure 3).
In El Devreswar west locality, an artificial channel has been discovered by
the night time infrared thermal and multispectral aerial techniques. This
channel was almost completely buried under dune sands and the same materials
cover the surrounding terrain. The sands filling parts of the buried channel
are wet, while they are dry in the surrounding sand dunes. In the multispectral
aerial photograph of band 2, the wet parts in that buried channel show dark tone
in contrast to the lighter tone of the surrounding sand dunes, while the dry
parts show light grey tone with a notable trace following the trend of the bu-
ried channel (Figure 4). In the infrared thermal image the wet parts of the
buried channel show dissected patches in white tone arranged in a nearly
straight line, while the dry parts show dark tone indicating colder temperature
at about 2 a. m. which is the time of the night time thermal imagery. The di-
rection of the buried channel is shown by an arrow in the image (Figure 5).
The estimated width of the buried channel is about 10 to 12 m, its trend is NW-
SE and it is located 7 km to the north west of the Serabeum Station. The other
white patches appearing in the same figure are wet land sometimes covered by a
thin layer of water and vegetation^ a broad light tone patch appearing in the
image corresponds to cultivated land.
STRUCTURAL FEATURES
Although the night time is sometimes superior for conducting infrared ther-
mal imagery because it produces an end product free of extraneous solar inter-
ferences and has proved to be suitable for detecting anomalies related to geo-
logical structures, the day time, especially the late afternoon imagery, however,
1534
may display good enhancement of topography and linear elements such as faults
which often show in clear manner at that time. An example of day time imagery
of linear features is the delineation of two faults of NW-SE trend which attain
lengths of 2 and 2.5 km respectively on the infrared thermal image of a locality
lying on the eastern side of the Little Bitter Lake (Figure 7). On the other
hand, these faults are hardly recognizable on the normal aerial photograph of
the same locality (Figure 6). In the day time infrared thermal images, the
topographic features are notable and the land-water interface is also clearer
as the water appears black or with darker tone while the land shows lighter
tone.
LITHOLOGIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES
There are many examples to illustrate such features in the Suez Canal Zone.
One of these is demonstrated by comparing a night time as well as a day time in-
frared thermal image with a normal aerial photograph at El Ballah Island where
a layer of rock salt and wet salty mud are present in association with other
sediments and water bodies to the west of El Ballah Island in the Suez Canal
Zone. In the normal aerial photograph (Figure 8), the rock salt layer which is
some 10 to 20 cm thick is hardly seen and it is also difficult to distinguish
between wet salty mud and the surrounding sediments and water bodies. In the
day time infrared thermal image of the same locality (Figure 9), the rock salt
layer and wet salty mud are clearly visible from the other surrounding sediments
or water bodies. The salty layer and wet salty mud show with lighter tone in
contrast to the darker tone of the water and other wet sediments because of
their thermal anomalies. On the other hand, the night time infrared thermal
image of the same locality (Figure 10) clearly shows the difference between the
rock salt layer and the wet salty mud. In the latter image, the rock salt layer
appears white due to its higher temperature, while the wet salty mud shows with
light grey tone in contrast to the bright white tone of the water bodies.
The applicability of day time and night time infrared thermal imagery in
studying the small water bodies in the Suez Canal Zone is demonstrated also by
examining the previously mentioned images of El Ballah Island. The configura-
tion of the boundary of the water body including its very shallow marginal
parts is well defined in the night time image (Figure 10), while only the rela-
tively deep part is shown in the day time image (Figure 9).
The multispectral photographs, especially of bands 2 and 1, proved to be of
particular use in revealing submerged sediments under the water surface to va-
rious depths and suspended sediments in the water, while certain depth of the
water bodies and shorelines are clearly recognized. These features are import-
ant for studying recent sedimentation in the lakes in the Suez Canal Zone, and
they are illustrated by comparing a multispectral aerial photograph of band 2 of
the western shore of the Little Bitter Lake (Figure 12) with a normal black and
white photograph of the same locality (Figure 11).
Another interesting example of the application of multispectral photography
in revealing lithologic and environmental units is the recognition of white li-
mestone outcrops in low relief hills belonging to the Middle Miocene El Shatt
Formation in the multispectral photograph of band 2 eastwards of Lake Timsah
(Figure 14), while they can be hardly recognized in the normal aerial photograph
(Figure 13). Further important uses of multispectral photography especially in
band 4 incorporate the distinction between already cultivated lands which appear
in white to light grey tones and those being prepared for cultivation which
appear divided in divisions of dark gray or grey tones depending on the availa-
bility of water in each division.
REFERENCES
ABDEL HADY, M. A., ABDEL HAFEZ, M. A., § KARBAS, H. H. (1970). Subsurface
drainage mapping by airborne infrared imagery technique. Proc. Okla. Acad.
Sci. _5_0, pp.10-18.
1535
EL SHAZLY, E. M. , ABDEL HADY, M. A., § MORSY, M. A. (1974). Geologic interpre-
tation of crared thermal images in East Qatrani area, Western Desert,
Egypt. Pr . Ninth International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environ-
ment, Ann JOT, Michigan, pp.1877-1889.
EL SHAZLY, E. M., e_t al. (1975). Geological and geophysical investigations of
the Suez Canal Zone. Remote Sensing Research Project, Academy of Scientific
Research and Technology, Cairo, Egypt.
ME 01 TERRAN E AN
\
10 0 10 20 30 tOKm
FIGURE 1. LOCATION MAP OF THE SUEZ CANAL ZONE, EGYPT.
1536
ORIGINAE PAGE ft
OF POOR QUALITY
ORIGINAL
OF POOR QUALITY
FIGURE 2. MULTISPECTRAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH, BAND 3 (1974) WHERE THE DRAINAGE
LINES ARE NOT WELL DEFINED. WESTWARD OF SUEZ. APPROXIMATE SCALE
1:20,000.
FIGURE 3. MULTISPECTRAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH, BAND 1 (1974) OF THE SAME LOCALITY
SHOWN IN FIGURE 2 WITH THE DRAINAGE LINES SHARPLY DEFINED.
1537
FIGURE 4. MULTISPECTRAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH, BAND 2 (1974) WHERE THE BURIED
CHANNEL IS CLEARLY DEFINED. EL DEVRESWAR WEST LOCALITY. APPROXI-
MATE SCALE 1:20,000.
FIGURE 5. NIGHT TIME INFRARED THERMAL IMAGE (1974) FOR THE SAME LOCALITY
SHOWN IN FIGURE 4 WHERE THE BURIED CHANNEL POINTED TO BY AN ARROW
(1), WET LAND WITH VEGETATION (2), SAND DUNES (3), CULTIVATED LAND
(4), DIVIDED UNCULTIVATED LAND (5) AND MARSHES ARE EASY TO DIF-
FERENTIATE.
1538
ORIGINAL PAGE it
OF POOR QUALITY
.
FIGURE 6. NORMAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH (1956) WHERE FAULTS ARE NOT CLEARLY OBSER-
VED. EASTERN SIDE OF LITTLE BITTER LAKE. APPROXIMATE SCALE
1:20,000.
FIGURE 7. DAY TIME INFRARED THERMAL IMAGE (1974) OF THE SAME LOCALITY SHOWN
IN FIGURE 6 WHERE FAULTS POINTED TO BY ARROWS ARE EASY TO DISTIN-
GUISH.
1539
FIGURE 8. NORMAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH (1956) WHERE THE ROCK SALT LAYER IS NOT
CLEARLY DELINEATED. WEST EL BALLAH ISLAND. APPROXIMATE SCALE
1:20,000.
FIGURE 9. DAY TIME INFRARED THERMAL IMAGE (1974) WHERE THE ROCK SALT LAYER (S)
AND THE WET SALTY MUD (M) ARE NOTED BUT NOT POSSESSING SHARP CON-
TACTS. THE RELATIVELY DEEP PART OF THE WATER BODY (W) IS ONLY
SHOWING. WEST EL BALLAH ISLAND.
FIGURE 10. NIGHT TIME INFRARED THERMAL IMAGE (1974) WHERE THE ROCK SALT
LAYER (S), THE WET SALTY MUD (M) AND THE WATER BODY (W) ARE
IDENTIFIABLE WITH SHARP BOUNDARIES. SAND DUNES (D) AND WET
DRAINAGE LINES POINTED TO BY ARROWS ARE CLEARLY DIFFERENTIATED.
WEST EL BALLAH ISLAND.
1540
ORIGINAL
OF POOR QUALITY
ORIGINAL PAGE IS
POOR QUALITY
FIGURE 11. NORMAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH (1956) FOR THE WESTERN SHORE OF LITTLE
BITTER LAKE. APPROXIMATE SCALE 1:20,000.
FIGURE 12. MULTISPECTRAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH, BAND 2(1974) SHOWING NOTABLE
SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS NEAR THE WESTERN SHORE OF LITTLE BITTER LAKE.
THE CONFIGURATION OF THE ISLAND IN THE LAKE IS DIFFERENT IN 1974
AS COMPARED TO 1956 DUE TO THE EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION PHENOMENA.
APPROXIMATE SCALE 1:20,000.
1541
FIGURE 13. WHITE LIMESTONE OUTCROPS OF LOW RELIEF APPEARING HAZY IN NORMAL AE-
RIAL PHOTOGRAPH. EASTWARD OF LAKE TIMSAH. APPROXIMATE SCALE
1:20,000.
FIGURE 14. THE SAME WHITE LIMESTONE OUTCROPS IN FIGURE 13 ARE CLEARLY OBSERVED
IN MULTISPECTRAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH, BAND 2. APPROXIMATE SCALE
1:20,000.
1542


Interpretation of multispectral and infrared thermal surveys of the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt

Interpretation of multispectral and infrared thermal surveys of the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt

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