Catherine L. Hanks (UAF) and Richard M. Guritz (Alaska SAR Facility)
Satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can provide a relatively inexpensive remote- sensing tool for regional geologic studies in arctic regions such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) of the northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska. In ERS-1 SAR data from the northeastern Brooks Range, carbonate and clastic rocks involved in regional-scale folding give remarkably different radar responses and can easily be distinguished on minimally reprocessed SAR data. Additional post-acquisition processing, such as terrain correction and normalization of the incidence angle, can both remove many of the negative terrain effects common in SAR data and enhance contrasts in bedrock lithology. The observed variation in radar response between different lithologies probably is due to variations in surface roughness, specifically the size and angularity of scree in talus slopes.
The ERS-1 SAR data provide both a regional, synoptic view of ANWR and detailed images of specific areas. A mosaic of SAR images of the entire ANWR region provides a regional view of structures, such as the anticlinoria of northern ANWR, the terranes of central and southern ANWR, and the boundary between the two. A higher resolution SAR image of this major structural boundary in the Porcupine Lake area highlights the structural and stratigraphic problems in defining the boundary between the autochthonous rocks of northern ANWR and allochthonous rocks of central and southern ANWR.
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This site is maintained by C. L. Hanks Catherine.Hanks@gi.alaska.edu
Last updated on March 28, 1997