PublicInterestEnergyResearch(PIER)Program FINALPROJECTREPORT

GEOTHERMALEXPLORATIONIN EASTERNCALIFORNIAUSING ASTERTHERMALINFRAREDDATA

Preparedfor: CaliforniaEnergyCommission Preparedby: Imageair,Inc.

A PR IL 2010 C EC 500 2012 005

Prepared by: Primary Author: Mariana Eneva Imageair, Inc. San Diego, California 92126 Contract Number: PIR-04-006

Prepared for: California Energy Commission Pablo Gutierrez

Project Manager

Linda Spiegel
Office Manager Energy Generation Research Office

Laurie ten Hope

Deputy Director RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

Robert P. Oglesby Executive Director

DISCLAIMER
This report was prepared as the result of work sponsored by the California Energy Commission. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Energy Commission, its employees or the State of California. The Energy Commission, the State of California, its employees, contractors and subcontractors make no warrant, express or implied, and assume no legal liability for the information in this report; nor does any party represent that the uses of this information will not infringe upon privately owned rights. This report has not been approved or disapproved by the California Energy Commission nor has the California Energy Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the information in this report.

Acknowledgements
Thisprojectgreatlybenefitedfromtheparticipationofthefollowingindividualsandorgan izations: GeothermalProgramOffice/U.S.Navy,ChinaLake,CAFrankMonastero(aformerhead ofGPO)madeitpossibletocollectfielddataattheCosogeothermalfieldduringtwofield tripsinthesummerof2006.ManylaborhourswerecontributedbyGPOstaff,representing theequivalentofasignificantfinancialcontributiontotheproject,atnocosttotheCalifor niaEnergyCommission.Inparticular,SteveBjornstadhelpedsignificantlywithinstalling andmonitoringtemperatureprobes,accompanyingthePIinthefield,andspendingtime forextensivediscussions.ChrisPageandDaveMeadealsohelpedwiththefieldtrips. XiaoliangWu(DepartmentofMathematics,Informatics,andStatistics,Commonwealth ScientificandIndustrialResearchOrganizationCSIRO,Australia)performsorthorectifi cationofASTERscenes,atnocosttotheCommission. MarkCoolbaugh(GreatBasinCenterforGeothermalEnergy,UniversityofNevadaReno) helpedwithchoosingtheASTERscenesforanalysis,determinationofgroundcontrol points(GCP)thatarebeingusedbyDr.Wuintheorthorectification,identifyingthebest proceduresforthedataanalysis,andplanningandexecutionoffieldtripsineasternCali forniatomeasuretemperatureswith2mprobes(MayJune2009). ChrisKratt(DesertResearchInstitute,Nevada,Reno)performedmeasurementswith2m temperatureprobesduringfieldtripsineasternCalifornia(MayJune2009). BhaskarRamachandran(LandProcessesDistributedActiveArchiveCenter(LPDAAC)/ U.S.GeologicalSurvey,SiouxFalls,SD)helpedwithacquiringnumerousASTERscenes. HeinvestedtimeandeffortsatnocosttotheCommission. ASTERteamcurrentandformermembersprovidedhelptothePIinconnectiontotheob tainingandtheanalysisofASTERdata,andafieldtriptoCosoinJuly2006.Inparticular, theU.S.ScienceTeamLeader,MichaelAbramsfromtheJetPropulsionLaboratory(JPL), allowedtheuseofresourcesatnocosttotheCommission.LeonMaldonado(JPL)helped withDataAcquisitionRequests(DAR)tocollectASTERdataovereasternCalifornia,par ticularlynighttimescenesthatwererelativelylacking,anddaytimenighttimepairsthatare veryrareunlessspecificallyscheduled.ElsaAbbott(JPL)helpedwithradiosondemea surementsduringaJuly2006fieldtriptoCoso.HideyukiTonookafromtheDepartmentof ComputerandInformationSciences,IbarakiUniversity(Japan)andAndrewFrenchfrom theU.S.DepartmentofAgriculturehelpedwithdiscussionsontheuseoftheASTERther malinfrared(TIR)dataandrantheiralgorithmsonsomesamplescenes. JimCombshelpedwiththeorganizationofandmeasurementsduringaJuly2006field triptotheCosogeothermalfield.

DougStowandPeteCoulter(GeographyDepartment,SanDiegoStateUniversitySDSU) providedanASDFieldSpecspectroradiometerforreflectionmeasurementsduringfield tripstotheCosogeothermalfieldinthesummerof2006. Pleasecitethisreportasfollows: Eneva,M.2010.GeothermalExplorationinEasternCaliforniaUsingASTERThermal InfraredData,CaliforniaEnergyCommission,PIERProgram,CEC5002012005.

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Preface
TheCaliforniaEnergyCommissionsPublicInterestEnergyResearch(PIER)Programsup portspublicinterestenergyresearchanddevelopmentthatwillhelpimprovethequalityof lifeinCaliforniabybringingenvironmentallysafe,affordable,andreliableenergyservices andproductstothemarketplace. ThePIERProgramconductspublicinterestresearch,development,anddemonstration (RD&D)projectstobenefitCalifornia. ThePIERProgramstrivestoconductthemostpromisingpublicinterestenergyresearchby partneringwithRD&Dentities,includingindividuals,businesses,utilities,andpublicor privateresearchinstitutions. PIERfundingeffortsarefocusedonthefollowingRD&Dprogramareas: BuildingsEndUseEnergyEfficiency EnergyInnovationsSmallGrants EnergyRelatedEnvironmentalResearch EnergySystemsIntegration EnvironmentallyPreferredAdvancedGeneration Industrial/Agricultural/WaterEndUseEnergyEfficiency RenewableEnergyTechnologies Transportation

GeothermalExplorationinEasternCaliforniaUsingASTERThermalInfraredDataisthefinalre portforthePIERproject(grantnumberPIR04006)conductedbyImageairInc.Theinfor mationfromthisprojectcontributestoPIERsRenewableEnergyTechnologiesProgram. FormoreinformationaboutthePIERProgram,pleasevisittheEnergyCommissionsweb siteatwww.energy.ca.gov/research/orcontacttheEnergyCommissionat9163271551.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ix Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 2.0. Project Methods ............................................................................................................ 9 2.1. Data.......................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Removal of Artifacts ............................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Effect of Topographic Slope Aspect................................................................... 10 2.2.2. Effect of Albedo ................................................................................................. 11 2.2.3. Effect of Thermal Inertia .................................................................................... 11 2.2.4. Methodology to Correct for Slope Aspect, Albedo and Thermal Inertia ........... 11 2.2.5. Effect of Elevation and Thermal Inversions ....................................................... 14 2.3. Orthorectification .................................................................................................... 15 2.4. Field Trips ............................................................................................................... 16 3.0 Project Results .............................................................................................................. 17 3.1. Choice of ASTER Data ........................................................................................... 17 3.2. Orthorectification .................................................................................................... 18 3.3. Imagery Corrections ................................................................................................ 20 3.4. Effects of Elevation and Temperature Inversions ................................................... 27 3.5. Field Trips ............................................................................................................... 32 3.5.1. July 2006 ............................................................................................................. 32 3.5.2. August 2006 ........................................................................................................ 35 3.5.3. May and June 2009 ............................................................................................. 38 4.0 Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................. 47 5.0 References ..................................................................................................................... 48

List of Figures
Figure 1-1. Map of geothermal resources in eastern California. .............................................. 5 Figure 1-2. Study region shown on Google Earth image ......................................................... 6 Figure 1-3. Coso geothermal field within the boundaries of the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, California. ..................................................................................................... 7 Figure 1-4. Mineral alteration and hot surface features at the Coso geothermal field, California ........................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 1-5. Tufa formations at Mono Lake, California ............................................................ 7 Figure 1-6. Mineral alteration near Hot Creek, California ....................................................... 8 Figure 2-1. Effect of topographic slope aspect on a daytime thermal image. ........................ 10 v

Figure 2-2. Albedo effect. ....................................................................................................... 12 Figure 2-3. Thermal inertia effect. .......................................................................................... 13 Figure 3-1. Spatial coverage from the bets available daytime/nighttime ASTER image pairs. ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 3-2. Topographic variability in the Coso Geothermal area. ........................................ 19 Figure 3-3. Level 1B TIR band 14, daytime (08/24/2001) and nighttime (08/22/2001). ....... 20 Figure 3-4. Daytime AST_08 collected over the Coso geothermal field in August 2006. ..... 21 Figure 3-5. Nighttime AST_08 collected over the Coso geothermal field in August 2006. .. 21 Figure 3-6. Example of changes in solar irradiation in the course of a day, depending on the topographic slope aspect.................................................................................................. 22 Figure 3-7. Comparison of the uncorrected nighttime AST_08 with the corrected one, from the overlapping area of the image pair shown in Fig. 3-3. .............................................. 23 Figure 3-8. Level 1B VNIR radiance in RGB (red-green-blue) for the area of overlap between the daytime and nighttime TIR scenes from Fig. 3-3........................................ 23 Figure 3-9. Comparison of the nighttime uncorrected and corrected AST_08 images (surface temperature) for the same five areas (here outlines with white) in the Coso geothermal field, marked in Fig. 3-8. ................................................................................................. 24 Figure 3-10. Corrected AST_08 (surface temperature) in the overlapping area of the daytime/nighttime pair from August 2006. ........................................................................... 25 Figure 3-11. Vegetation index, NDVI = (band3-band2)/(band3+band2), for the Coso area. 26 Figure 3-12. ASTER Level 1B VNIR (shown in RGB) from the Mammoth area. ............... 26 Figure 3-13. Nighttime AST_08 (surface temperature) images over inset from Fig. 3-12. ... 27 Figure 3-14. Nighttime density plot of surface temperature versus elevation extracted from a nighttime AST_08 image collected over Coso in August 2006. ..................................... 28 Figure 3-15. Daytime density plot of surface temperature versus elevation extracted from a daytime AST_08 image covering the same area as in Fig.3-14. ..................................... 29 Figure 3-16. Map representation of the nighttime temperature inversions............................. 30 Figure 3-17. Examples of nighttime temperature inversions from ASTER TIR imagery. ..... 31 Figure 3-18. Subsurface temperatures measured at 13 locations (blue circles in map insets) across hydrothermal features, as indicated ...................................................................... 33 Figure 3-19. Thermal images taken in the field during the night with a FLIR-P65 infrared camera.............................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 3-20. Surface temperature measured with a hand-held FLIR-P65 infrared camera close to the times of satellite passages. ........................................................................... 35 Figure 3-21. Launching a radiosonde for atmospheric measurements. .................................. 35 Figure 3-22. ASTER coverage of the Coso KGRA extracted from two Level 1B VNIR images collected on August 22, 2006. ............................................................................. 36 Figure 3-23. Examples of reflec-tion spectra collected in the field with an ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometer. ........................................................................................................... 37 Figure 3-24. Reflectance measured at various locations with a hand-held ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometer. ........................................................................................................... 37 Figure 3-25. Surface temperature measurements with an infrared thermometer over two days in August 2006. ............................................................................................................... 38 Figure 3-26. Deploying of 2-temperature probes. .................................................................. 39 Figure 3-27. Shaded relief image showing location of areas where 2-m temperature probes were deployed.................................................................................................................. 40 vi

Figure 3-28. Measurements of 2-m temperatures. .................................................................. 42 Figure 3-29. Example of a pattern of shallow temperature measurements delineating a geothermal anomaly. ............................................................................................................. 44 Figure 3-30. Example from Owens Valley, where lower albedo causes greater absorption of solar energy and therefore warmer 2-meter background tempera-tures. ......................... 46 Figure 3-31. Example from Fremont Valley, where data significantly below the albedotemperature background line are associated with shallow groundwater in the valley bottom near irrigated fields. ............................................................................................ 46 Figure 3-32. 2-meter temperatures and associated albedos from the Columbus Marsh playa, Nevada. ............................................................................................................................ 46

List of Tables
Table 3-1. A list of best ASTER image pairs for the study region ......................................... 17 Table 3-2. Examples of residuals and RMS from orthorectification ...................................... 19

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Abstract
Remotesensingisacosteffectivetoolthatcanbeusedtocoverlargeareasforthepurpose ofgeothermalexploration.Aparticularapplicationistheuseofsatellitethermalinfrared (TIR)imageryfromtheAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmissionandReflectionRadiometer (ASTER)instrumentaboardanorbitingsatellite.Itcanbeusedtosearchremotelyforele vatedsurfacetemperatures,whichmaybeassociatedwithgeothermalresources.Thestudy regionisinthecentralpartofeasternCalifornia,withemphasisontheCosogeothermal field.Nighttimescenesaremostuseful,becauseofthesignificantlydiminishedeffectofso larirradiationcomparedwithdaytime.However,daytimescenesarealsousedforcorrec tionpurposes.ItisshownthatTIRimagerycannotbeinterpretedcorrectlywithoutproper removalofvariouseffectsthatarenotrelatedtogeothermalcharacteristics.Theseeffects arecausedbyfactorssuchasterraindistortionduetotopographicvariability,topographic slopeaspect(southernslopesarewarmerthannorthernslopes),albedo(darkcoloredsur facesarewarmerthanlightcoloredones),thermalinertia(surfaceswithlowthermalinertia cooloffmoreatnight),elevation(areasatloweraltitudesarewarmerthanthoseathigher altitudes),andtemperatureinversions(localmeteorologicalconditionssometimescause coolertemperaturesatthebottomofvalleysandwarmertemperatureshigherup).Taking theseeffectsintoaccountmakesitpossibletorevealtemperatureanomalies,whichareoth erwisenotdistinguishableintheuncorrectedimagery.Groundbasedmeasurementswere alsocarriedoutduringseveralfieldtrips,someofwhichtookplaceconcurrentlywiththe satellitepassagesandASTERdatacollection.Theintegrationofremotesensingwithfield observationsispromisingforfutureexplorationstudies. Keywords:Remotesensing,thermalinfrared,TIR,ASTER,temperatureanomalies,thermal anomalies,geothermal,Coso,easternCalifornia

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Executive Summary
Introduction
Remotesensingrepresentsobservationsfromairplanesandsatellitescarryinginstruments onboardthatmeasurepropertiesoftheEarthsurface.Measurementscanbedonewithdif ferentwavelengths,suchasopticalandthermalinfraredremotesensingcanbeusedtode terminesurfacetemperature.Thebestcurrentsatelliteinstrumentforthermalinfraredmea surementsistheAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmissionandReflectionRadiometer,a JapaneseinstrumentmountedontheUnitedStatessatelliteTerra.Thereexistsanarchiveof previouslycollectedAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmissionandReflectionRadiometer data,aswellasitispossibletoorderfuturedataoverchosenareasandtimeperiods.

Purpose
Remotesensingisapromisingtoolingeothermalexplorationforthepurposeofacost effectiveevaluationoftheEarthssurfacepropertiesoverlargeareas.Ifmarkersofgeo thermalresourcesaredetectedwithremotesensing,itisthenpossibletozeroinonpros pectivesmallerareasformoreexpensiveandtargetedgroundbasedstudies.

Project Objectives
TheobjectiveofthisprojectwastouseAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmissionandReflec tionRadiometerthermalinfrareddatatosearchforanomaliesinsurfacetemperaturesthat maybeassociatedwithgeothermalresourcesinthecentralpartofeasternCalifornia.Thisis valuableinviewoftheincreasingroleofrenewableenergy,includingthatfromgeothermal energy.

Project Outcomes
TheprojectwasfocusedoneasternCalifornia,withemphasisontheCosogeothermalfield. Themajoroutcomeisthedetailedunderstandingofthefactorsinfluencingsatellitethermal infraredimagery,sothattruetemperatureanomaliesaredistinguishedfromanomaliesun relatedtogeothermalactivity.Withoutfilteringouttheeffectsofthesefactors,thethermal infraredimagerywouldremainanincomprehensiblemixtureofwarmerandcoolerareas notnecessarilyrelatedtorealsubsurfacefeatures. Mostusefulisnighttimethermalinfraredimagery,becauseitislessaffectedbythesolar irradiationduringtheday.However,daytimethermalinfraredandopticalreflectionim ageryisalsousedinordertotakeintoaccounteffectsthatlastintothenight,eventhough theyarestrongestduringtheday.Inthisconnection,daytime/nighttimepairsofthermal infraredscenescollected12hoursand36hoursapartareutilized.Inadditiontoexisting pairsofthistype,additionalAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmissionandReflectionRadi ometerpairswerespecificallyorderedtobeacquiredduringseveralsatellitepassages.

 Factorsidentifiedanddescribedindetailincludetheeffectsof: terraindistortionwhentopographyinthestudyareaspansalargerangeofeleva tions,itisdifficulttoknowtheexactgeographicpositionoftheindividualpixelsin thesatelliteimageryandtheresultsareskewed;henceageometricalcorrectionis needed.Thiswillcorrecttheaerialphotographssothatitisuniformandcanbe measuredonamap. topographicslopeaspectsouthernslopesarewarmerthannorthernslopes; albedosurfaceswithlightercolorreflectmoreofthesolarirradiationandthusre maincoolerthandarkersurface; thermalinertiasurfaceswithlowerthermalinertiacoolofffasterfromthedayinto thenight; elevationsurfacetemperaturesaregenerallylowerathigheraltitudes;and temperatureinversionslocalmeteorologicalconditionswithareverseelevationef fect,i.e.withlowertemperaturesatloweraltitudes,mostlyobservedatnight.

Noneoftheaboveeffectsarerelatedtosubsurfacegeothermalactivityandtheyhavetobe filteredout.Itisdemonstrated,thataftercertaincorrections,surfacetemperatureanomalies canbeidentifiedthatareotherwisenotseenintheuncorrectedthermalinfraredimagery. Inaddition,fieldtripswereconducted,duringwhichgroundbasedmeasurementswere collected.Someofthesefieldexperimentswerespecificallyplannedtobeconcurrentwith thepassageoftheTerrasatelliteandcollectionofAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmission andReflectionRadiometerthermalinfrareddaytimeandnighttimeimageryatthesame timeasfieldmeasurementsweretaken.Thegroundbasedmeasurementsincludedtheuse oftemperaturesprobesat1meterand2meterdepths,infraredcamera,infraredthermome ter,andspectralradiometer.SomeofthemeasurementswerelimitedtotheCosogeother malfield,whilethe2metertemperaturemeasurementswerecarriedoutineightdifferent valleysineasternCalifornia.

Conclusions
Satellitethermalinfraredimagerycanbepotentiallyveryusefulinoutliningsurfacetem peratureanomaliespossiblyassociatedwithgeothermalresources.However,theTIRim agerycanbeonlyusedafterappropriatecorrections,sothatonlysurfacefeaturesassociated withsubsurfacepropertiesofgeothermalresourcesareidentified,andunrelatedfactorsare filteredout.

Recommendations
OrthorectificationThemajorissuetoberesolvedinfuturesimilarstudiesisthe currentinadequacyofthesegeometriccorrectionmethods.Itwillbeimportanttoas sureeasilyaccessiblegeometriccorrectiontechniquesthatcansuccessfullywork withthesatellitethermalinfraredproductsfromAdvancedSpaceborneThermal EmissionandReflectionRadiometerandsuccessorsatellitesensors.Onlythenwillit bepossibletotackleatoncelargeareaswithsignificanttopographicvariability,ra therthanlaboriouslyanalyzingindividualsmallandrelativelyflatareas.Oncethe propergeometriccorrectionisassured,itisrecommendedthatmoreareasarestu diedusingthemethodologydescribedinthisreport. SearchforunknowngeothermalresourcesAftertemperatureanomaliesareunam biguouslyidentifiedinknowngeothermalareas,itisrecommendedtolookforsimi larmarkersinotherareasthatmaybeprospectivefuturesitesofgeothermalproduc tion. MineralalterationInthefutureitwillbeimportanttoenlargethescopeofthesa tellitethermalinfraredstudiesanduseremotesensingdatatoalsosearchforsigns ofmineralalterationassociatedwithgeothermalresources.Thiswouldassurea morecompleteutilizationoftheavailableremotesensingdataandcapabilities, whichwillaugmentthesearchfortemperatureanomaliesdescribedinthereport.

Benefits to California
TheimmediatebenefittoCaliforniaisthataprospectiveregionofgeothermalresourcesbe gantobeexaminedfortemperatureanomaliesandpossiblepitfallsinsuchstudieswere clearlyidentified.Thiswouldsignificantlyfacilitatefutureexplorationstudiesofthistype, becauseithasbeenalreadyestablishedhowtodistinguishbetweenrealandirrelevanttem peratureanomaliesinsatellitethermalinfraredimagery. ThelongtermbenefittoCaliforniaisthatsuchmethods,inconjunctionwithotherapplica tionsofremotesensing,maycontributetothediscoveryofnewgeothermalresources. Thesenewgeothermalresources,inturn,willbeimportantforthefutureincreaseofthe proportionofrenewableenergyusedinelectricitygeneration,whichisinlinewiththe energyplanningonastatelevel.Openingofnewgeothermalplanswillalsocontributeto creatingnewjobsinthestate.

1.0 Introduction
Remotesensingdatacanbeusedasacosteffectivetooltoexplorelargeareasforgeother malpotentialandpinpointsmallertargetareasforfurtherexplorationusingmoreexpen siveairborneorgroundbasedsurveys.Recentadvancesinthermalinfrared(TIR)remote sensingopennewopportunitiesforgeothermalexploration.Thisprojectfocusesontheuse ofsatelliteimagerycollectedbytheAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmissionandReflection Radiometer(ASTER),mountedontheTerrasatellite.Thestudyregion(Figures11and12) isbetweentheCosoGeothermalPowerProject(Figures13and14)andtheMammoth GeothermalPowerProject,bothlocatedinthecentralpartofeasternCalifornia.Thisregion issuspectedtohavesignificantgeothermalresources.Forexample,thereisevidenceofgeo thermalactivity,suchastufacolumns(Figure15)andmineralalteration(Figures14and1 6).However,duetothelackofaccessinfrastructure,therehasbeenlittlegeothermalexplo rationconductedintheregion.Thepurposeoftheprojectwastoidentifythethermalsigna turesofknowngeothermalsitesandsubsequentlysearchforsimilarfeaturesinunexplored areas.

Figure 1-1. Map of geothermal resources in eastern California. Known geothermal resources areas (KGRAs) are shown in pink. Two production areas (in Coso and Mammoth) are shown in yellow in the midst of the KGRAs. Polygon outlined in red is study region.

Allthisisimportantinviewoftheincreasinginterestinelectricitygenerationfromrenewa bleresourcesand,inparticular,tappingintothepotential4,000megawattsofadditional powerfromgeothermalenergyinCalifornia(SassandPriest2002).Basedonsomeprojec tions,theU.S.willneedtoincreaseitscurrentelectricalpowergeneratingcapacityby40% (~300,000MWe)overthenext15years(Williams2002).TheU.S.GeologicalSurveyhases timatedthatthereisapotentialforabout22,000MWeofelectricalpowergenerationinthe westernU.S.fromidentifiedhightemperature(>150oC)geothermalsystemsatdepthsless than3km.Estimatesofpotentialgeothermalpowerproductionfromundiscoveredre sourcesrangebetween72,000and127,000MWe.Spaceborneremotesensingisparticularly costeffectiveinthesearchfornewgeothermalresources,aslongasattributesassociated withgeothermalfieldscanbeidentified.

NEVADA

CALIFORNIA

Figure 1-2. Study region shown on Google Earth image

AttributestosearchforwithTIRremotesensingwouldberelatedtohighheatflowanoma lies,excessverticaltemperaturegradients,andsurfacethermalmanifestations.Somesur facefeaturesabovegeothermalreservoirsareobviouslyhot,suchasgeysers,hotsprings, fumaroles,andmudpools.Lessobvioussurfaceattributesofgeothermalfieldsamenableto TIRremotesensingincludelocallyelevatedtemperatures(e.g.,Coolbaughetal.2007),geo botanicalcharacteristicssuchasthermallystressedvegetation(e.g.,Martinietal.2000),bare alteredground,hostrockpermeabilityandtopographicrelief,andthepresenceofcertain rocktypesandminerals(e.g.,Krattetal.2006).

Previousapplicationsofopticalandinfraredremotesensingtogeothermalfields,bothair borneandspaceborne,havesoughttocharacterizetheassociatedfracturesystemsandto capturespecificsurfaceexpressionsoftheunderlyinggeothermalreservoirs.Multispectral andhyperspectralairborneremotesensinghasbeenlongusedovergeothermalareas,in cludingTIRscanning(e.g.,Picklesetal.2001;Allisetal.1999;Coolbaughetal.2000;Martini etal.2000).Earlierexamplesofspaceborneremotesensingincludeapplicationsofdatafrom LandsatTM,SPOTXS,andSPOTPANimagery,at30m,20m,and10mspatialresolution (e.g.,Cochraneetal.1994).Calvinetal.(2002)usedday/nightASTERscenesovertheBrady HotSpringsgeothermalarea(Nevada),wheretheyidentifiedathermalanomalyassociated withanearbyfault.Correctionsfortopographicslopeorientation,albedo,andthermaliner tia(Coolbaughetal.2000;Coolbaugh2003)havebeenshowntoincreasethenumberofre motelysensedthermalanomaliesbyanorderofmagnitudecomparedwithremotesensing withoutsuchcorrections.Thistypeofworkwascontinuedaspartofthisproject(Enevaet al.2006,2007;EnevaandCoolbaugh2009)andstillcontinues.

Figure 1-3. Coso geothermal field within the boundaries of the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, California. From Monastero (2002).

Figure 1-4. Mineral alteration and hot surface features at the Coso geothermal field, California
Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

Figure 1-5. Tufa formations at Mono Lake, California

Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair, Inc.

Figure 1-6. Mineral alteration near Hot Creek, California

Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

2.0. Project Methods

2.1. Data
ThesatellitedatausedinthisprojectarefromtheAdvancedSpaceborneThermalEmission andReflectionRadiometer(ASTER)instrument(http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/),withempha sisonthethermalinfrared(TIR)band.ItisauniqueJapaneseinstrumentmountedonthe U.S.TerrasatellitelaunchedinDecember1999.ComparedwithpreviousTIRremotesens ingfromsatellites(e.g.,Landsat,AVHRR),ASTERprovidessignificantlymorepossibilities. Imageryisacquiredovera60kmwideswath;i.e.,everyscenecoversanareaofsize~60km x60km.MultispectralimagesoftheEarthssurfaceareprovidedin14differentbands.The revisittimeintervaloveranygivensiteis16days,althoughdataisnotnecessarilycollected duringeverypassage.Itispossibletoorderdatafromthesetofexistingscenesinthearc hive,aswellastoorderfutureacquisitions.TheASTERchannelsareasfollows:(1)three visibleandnearinfrared(VNIR)bands,withwavelengthsbetween0.5mand0.9m,at 15mspatialresolution;(2)sixshortwaveinfrared(SWIR)bands1.6mto2.43m,at30m resolution;and(3)fivethermalinfrared(TIR)channels,8mto12m,at90mresolution. NootherciviliansatelliteinstrumentprovidesTIRdatainfivebands. EachASTERscenecanbeorderedasseveraldifferentproducts.PerhapsthemostusedAS TERdataproductisLevel1B(radianceatsensor).Higherleveldataproductsareproduced ondemandandincludesurfaceradiancecorrectedforatmosphericeffectsAST_09,reflec tanceAST_07andreflectancewithcrosstalkcorrectionAST_07XT,emissivityAST_05, andsurfacekinetictemperatureAST_08.Temperatureandemissivitycouldbecalculated fromLevel1BTIRasseparateproducts(AST_08andAST_05)onlybecauseASTERhasfive TIRchannelsratherthanonlyone.Thesocalledtemperatureemissivityseparation(TES) algorithmisusedforthispurpose(Gillespieetal.1998).Theprimaryproductsusedinthis projectareAST_08(temperature),andforcorrectionpurposesexplainedbelow,AST_07XT (reflection).AlldatawereorderedfromtheEOSDataGatewayoftheLandProcessesDis tributedActiveArchiveCenter(LPDAAC).Atpresentthesesamedatacanbeordered throughtheWarehouseInventoryResearchTool(WIST)https://wist.echo.nasa.govinthe U.S.orthroughtheJapaneseorderingsystem,GDS(http://www.gds.aster.ersdac.or.jp). TheAST_07XTproduct(reflection)existsonlyfordaytimescenes.However,AST_08(tem perature)canbeproducedforbothdaytimeandnighttimescenes.Ingeneral,nighttimeTIR ismuchmoreinformativewhensearchingfortemperatureanomalies,becausethesolarir radiationoverwhelmsdaytimeTIR.However,daytimeTIRisusefultoapplycertaincorrec tions,asexplainedbelow.Inthisproject,ofparticularinterestaredaytime/nighttimepairs collectedonly12hoursor36hoursapart.Suchpairsarerarelycollectedbychanceand usuallyhavetobeordered.Also,nighttimeTIRineasternCaliforniaisfrequentlycloudy, soinitiallyfewofthenighttimeimagesinthearchiveappeareduseful.Forthisreason,more nighttimeimagesanddaytime/nighttimepairswereordered,usingsocalledDAR(Data AcquisitionRequests),whichwerefacilitatedthroughthehelpofstaffattheJetPropulsion Laboratory(JPL).Asaresult,thedataarchivenowcontainsmorenighttimeimagesand

daytime/nighttimepairscollectedovereasternCaliforniathanwouldhavebeenavailable withouttheeffortsmadeforthisproject. Inadditiontothesatellitedata,digitalelevationmodel(DEM)dataareusedinthisproject forthepurposeoforthorectification(seeSection2.3).Thesedataarewith30mspatialreso lutionandwereorderedfromtheUSGS(http://seamless.usgs.gov). Finally,datawerecollectedduringseveralfieldtrips.Theseincludedtemperaturemea surementsat1mand2mdepths,aswellasreflectionmeasuredonthesurfacetobeused foralbedocorrection,asexplainedinSection2.2.

2.2

Removal of Artifacts

2.2.1 Effect of Topographic Slope Aspect

Topographyandalbedocanhavesignificanteffectinathermalimage,becausetheyinflu encetheoverallamountofenergyavailableforheating.Topographicslopeorientationis veryimportant,withsouthernslopesreceivingmoreofthefluxofsolarirradiancethanthe northernslopes.Thiseffectisstrongerindaytimethermalimages,butenduresatnighttime aswell.

Figure 2-1. Effect of topographic slope aspect on a daytime thermal image. Brighter areas indicate higher surface temperatures. (a) Daytime temperature image AST_08; (b) processed image after corrections for albedo, topographic slope, and thermal inertia. Southeast-facing topographic slopes are warmer in the uncorrected image (a), but in the corrected image (b), residual temperatures are largely a function of elevation and not slope orientation. Example from Nevada, after Coolbaugh et al. (2007a).

Figure21illustratesthiseffectandshowsresultsaftercorrectingit.Thiseffecttranslates intoadjacentwarmerandcoolerareasinthermalremotesensingimages.Figure21ashows adaytimeAST_08imagedepictingsurfacetemperature.Thisimageillustratesastrongto pographicslopeaspecteffectthatcanberemoved(Fig.21b)aftersuitableimageprocessing describedbyCoolbaughetal.(2007a)andappliedinthisproject(Enevaetal.2006,2007).

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2.2.2. Effect of Albedo

Highalbedoisrelatedtohigherreflectanceandlessenergyremainingforheating,solight coloredsurfacesremaincoolercomparedwithdarkerones.Similartotheslopeaspectef fect,thealbedoeffectisstrongerindaytimethermalimages,butenduresatnighttimeas well.Figure22demonstratesthiseffect.Fig.22ashowsaLevel1BASTERimagefromthe VNIR(visiblenearinfrared)bands,wherelightsurfacesindicatehighalbedo.Figs.22bd allshowanAST_08(surfacetemperature)imageofthesamearea.Thehighalbedoareasare relativelycoolerinboththedaytimeandnighttimeAST_08images,withweaker,butstill noticeableeffectatnight.Afterappropriatecorrections,theeffectofalbedocanberemoved (Fig.22d).Notethattheonlyremainingdark(cool)spotintheupperrightcornerofthe correctedimageisduetovegetationandnottohighalbedo,henceitwasnoteliminatedaf terthecorrections.

2.2.3. Effect of Thermal Inertia

Thermalinertiaindicateshowfastamaterialgetsheatedandcoolsoff.Itissignificantlyaf fectedbyporosity.Lowervaluesmeanfastercoolingoffatnight.Estimatingthermalinertia canbeavaluabletooltocharacterizematerialproperties.However,hereitismoreimpor tanttoremovetheeffectofthermalinertiainordertorevealorenhancethermalanomalies (e.g.,whenlookingforgeothermalresources).Thermalinertiacanbeapproximatelyesti matedfromdaytime/nighttimepairsofthermalsatelliteimagesAST_08inthisproject. Figure23illustratestheeffectofthermalinertia.Sandhashighporosity,andhence,low thermalinertia.Thusitisrelativelywarmduringtheday(Fig.23b),andrelativelycooldur ingthenight(Fig.23c).NotethatboththedaytimeandnighttimeAST_08images(Figs.23 bc)arecorrectedfortheeffectsoftopographicslope/aspectandalbedo,butthedifferences inthermalinertiaarestillobvious.

2.2.4. Methodology to Correct for Slope Aspect, Albedo and Thermal Inertia
Albedoandtopographicslopeaspectaretreatedtogetherintermsoftheirinfluenceonthe overallamountofenergyavailableforheating.Asimplifiedheatenergymodelbasedonnet surfaceradiationfluxQ(Watson,1973)isusedasabasistocorrectforalbedoandtopo graphicslopeaspect(Coolbaugh,2003;Coolbaughetal.,2007a):

Q ~ (1-A)*M(Z)*cosZ ,

(1)

whereQisthenetradiationfluxatthesurface,Aisthegroundalbedo,cosZisthecosineof theanglebetweenthesurfacenormalandthesunsrays(calculatedassocalledshadedre lief),Zisthezenithangle,andM(Z)istheatmospherictransmissiondependingonZ(Fin laysonPittsandPitts1999).Theshadedreliefcanbecalculatedfromthesunselevationand declinationforanygivendateandtimeofasatellitepassage.ThealbedoAcanbeobtained from:

11


Figure 2-2. Albedo effect: (a) composite albedo image of ASTER bands 1, 2, and 3 (VNIR); (b) daytime temperature image AST_08; (c) nighttime temperature image; (d) final processed image after corrections for albedo, topographic slope, and thermal inertia. Highly reflective diatomite in three open pits appears cool in (b) and (c), but the temperature anomaly has been largely removed in the final processed image (d). In (b), (c), and (d), brighter areas indicate higher surface temperatures. The cooler area in the northeast corner of (b), (c), and (d) consists of grassy meadows. Example from Nevada, after Coolbaugh et al. (2007).

Rw = kw*Aw*cosZ + bw ,

(2)

whereRistakenfromtheAST_07XTproduct(surfacereflectance)andcosZistheshaded reliefcalculatedforthemomentofsatellitepassage.ThethreedifferentVNIRbandsare

12

markedwithawsubscript.Thefinalalbedoestimateistheweightedaveragefromtheesti matesinthethreeindividualbands.Theconstantskwandbwcanbeestimatedfromfield measurements(seeSection3.5.2),andwouldbe1and0,respectively,iftheAST_07XTim agerywereperfectlycorrectedforatmosphericabsorptionandscatteringeffects.

Figure 2-3. Thermal inertia effect: (a) composite image of ASTER bands 1, 2, and 3 (VNIR); (b) day temperature image AST_08 after corrections for albedo and topographic slope; (c) night temperature image after corrections for albedo and topographic slope; (d) final processed image after corrections for thermal inertia. Because of its lower thermal inertia, sand in valleys appears warm in the daytime image (b) relative to outcropping basalt, and appears relatively cool in the night image. After corrections for thermal inertia in the final enhanced image (d), temperatures appear warmer at lower elevations (meteorological effect). In (b), (c), and (d), brighter areas indicate higher surface temperatures. Example from Nevada, after Coolbaugh et al. (2007a).

13

Theheatfluxequation(1)isintegratedovertimetomodelchangesintheintensityoflight andthepositionofthesunrelativetothetopographicslopesoverthecourseofaday:

E ~ (1-A)*t[M(Z)t*cosZt*Dt]*tt ,

(3)

whereEisthesolarenergyabsorbedperunitareaoverthecourseofaday;ttisthetime intervalforeachcomponentofthesum;Dtisatimedecayfactorrangingfrom0to1,which isinverselyproportionaltothetimegapbetweenagivenpositionofthesunandthetime theimagerywasacquired. Thissimplifiedmodelaccountsapproximatelyforheatdissipationandcanbeusedtocalcu latepseudotemperatureimagestobesubtractedfromtheAST_08(surfacetemperature) daytimeandnighttimeimages.Notethatdespitecoolingoffaftersunset,thenighttime sceneswouldbestillaffectedbydifferentialheatingfromthepreviousday.Thisisespecial lytruebecausetheTerrasatelliteonwhichtheASTERinstrumentismountedpassesonly severalhoursaftersunsetandnotinthepredawnhours.Evenpredowndataneededcor rectionsinordertorevealageothermalanomaly(Coolbaughetal.2007a). Theeffectofthermalinertiacanbeaccountedforbysummingthecorrecteddayandnight temperatureimages,usingappropriateweighingcoefficients.Thesecoefficientswere0.25 and0.75forthedaytimeandnighttimescenesusedbyCoolbaughetal.(2007a).Thecoeffi cientsestimatedfromtheAST_08imagesinsuchaway,thatthevarianceisreducedtoa minimum,turnedouttobeinagreementwiththecoefficientsobtainedfromgroundbased measurementsusingthermocouplesandinfraredthermometers(Coolbaughetal.2007a; Enevaetal.2007).Toevaluateandsubsequentlyremovetheeffectofthermalinertiafrom thesatelliteimages,acombinationofdaytimeandnighttimescenesisusedthatspansas shorttimeaspossible.ASTERpairs12hoursapart(Coolbaughetal.,2007a)and36hours apart(Enevaetal.2006,2007)wereusedforthispurpose. Theproceduredescribediscapableofachievingnoisereductionandenhancementofsome featuresthatarenotseenintheuncorrectedimages.Thusthemodelappliedispotentially veryeffectiveinrevealingand/orenhancingtruethermalanomalies,whilesuppressingarti factsnotrelatedtogeothermalactivity.

2.2.5. Effect of Elevation and Thermal Inversions

Theeffectoftopographyisnotlimitedtotheslopeaspecteffectofsurfacetemperature. Withallotherfactorsequal,bothairandsurfacetemperaturegenerallydecreaseastheele vationincreases.ThisisthereasonthatFigs.21band23d,obtainedafterremovalofthe effectsdescribedinSections2.2.12.2.3above,showwarmertemperaturesatlowereleva tions.Thiseffectismorereadilydiscernableatnight.Duringtheday,hightemperaturecon trastsbetweensunlitandshadedareascancompletelydistorttheeffectofelevation.Atheo reticaladiabaticlapserateof9.8oC/kmiscitedinthemeteorologicalliterature(e.g.,Chap manetal.2001).Socalledenvironmentallapserateislower,duemostlytothepresence ofwatervapor,with6.5oC/kmassumedtobesuitableinmostcases.Thetemperature elevationtrendcanbesopronouncedinsomecasesthatithasbeenpossibletoeffectively useitasasurrogatetocalculatemissingelevationdata(Crippenetal.2007).

14

However,theaboveeffectofelevationonsurfacetemperaturecanbereversedduetothe meteorologicalphenomenonoftemperatureinversion(e.g.,Chapmanetal.2001),morefre quentlyobservedatnightandinthewinter.Inrelativelystableatmosphericconditions(i.e., lowwindspeed),alayerofcoldaircanformclosetothesurfacethatgetspulledbygravity, movingdownwardthroughdrainagechannels(socalledkatabaticflow)untiltopographic ormeteorologicalbarriersarereached.Asaresult,thebottomsofvalleysmaybecomecold ercomparedwithhigherelevationsandthustemperatureinversionstakeplace.Thein creaseoftemperaturewithelevationmaystopatthefootofhillsandmountains,above whichnormaldecreaseoftemperaturewithelevationdevelops.Thismayleadtoformation ofrelativelywarmbeltsatthefootofmountains.Temperatureinversionscanbesustained onlyatlowerwindspeeds,andifthewindsarestronger,theydonotgetformed.Thusthe sameareasmayexhibitsuchinversionsonsomenights,butnotonothers.

2.3. Orthorectification
Theintentioninthisprojectwastostudyrelativelylargeareasatonce,hencethesubjectof orthorectificationbecomesmoreimportantcomparedwithstudiesofrelativelysmallareas withoutmuchelevationchange,asdonebyCoolbaughetal.(2007a).Inthelattercase,one cangetawaywithsimplycoregisteringthevariousimagesused(e.g.,daytimeandnight timeAST_08).However,whenalargerregionwithvariedtopographyisanalyzed,itbe comesmuchmoreobviousthatthetopographicalvariationsofthesurfaceoftheearthand thetiltofthesatellitesensoraffectthedistancewithwhichfeaturesaredisplayedonthe satelliteimage.Themoretopographicallydiversethelandscape,themoredistortion inherentintheimagery.Suchterraindisplacementcanbehundredsofmeters.Inorderto accuratelyremovetheimagedistortions,adigitalelevationmodel(DEM)isusedtoperform imageorthorectification. Theorthorectificationtaskunexpectedlyturnedouttobeamajortechnicalhurdleinthis project.Thesoftwareused,ENVIfromITTVisualInformationSolution(ITTVIS),claimed thatitprovidesorthorectificationofASTERLevel1AandLevel1B.However, orthorectificationofLevel2productswasneeded,i.e.forAST_08(temperature)and AST_07XT(reflection).Atfirst,ITTprovidedtechnicalassistanceintheattemptstousethe orthroectificationofLevel1BasabasisforthatofLevel2.Afternumeroustrials,itbecame clearthattheapproachdidnotworkproperly.ITTthenprovidedapluginspecifically designedforASTERLevel2orthorectification.Initiallyitappearedtowork,butthenit turnedoutthiswasonlytrueincaseswhenthelookangleis0,thatis,whenthesceneis takendirectlyverticallydownfromthesatelliteplatform.However,mostASTERimageryis acquiredatnonzerolookanglesandthenterraindistortionsremainedevenafter orthorectificationattempts.EventhoughITTincludedintheiragendatocorrectthiserrorin ENVIsnextupdate,thishasnotbeendoneyet.Astoothercommercialsoftwarefor processingofremotesensingimages,noattemptshavebeenmadetotackleASTERLevel2 atall(e.g.,PCIGeomatics,ERDAS,ERMapper).AfreelyavailablesoftwarefromCaltech (COSICorrfoundathttp://tecto.gps.caltech.edu/resources/index.htm)alsoprovides orthorectificationofonlyASTERLevel1A.Itappearedthatinallcases,themainproblem wasthatLevel2isalreadygeometricallyaltered,andarigorousgeometricalprocessing

15

suchasorthorectificationwasconsideredunreliable.Also,itappearedtherewereproblems withproperlyprocessingtheorbitalinformation. Afteranextensivesearchofthetechnicalliterature,amethodwasfinallyidentified(Wu 2008),socalledthreemodelmethod,thatpresumablydidnotneedsatelliteorbital informationandcouldperformorthorectificationonlyusingtheimageitselfandground controlpoints(GCPs).Thecodecreator,Dr.WufromCSIRO,Australia,wascontactedand althoughhehadnotworkedwithASTERLevel2databefore,heagreedtotryhiscodeona sampleofthedatausedinthisproject.Itturnedoutthathisprocedureworked,anditis likelytheonlyoneatpresentthatissuccessfulwiththistypeofdata.Dr.Wuhasanother relatedapproach,thesocalledaffinemethod,whichwasalsotriedontheASTERLevel2 dataandseemedtoperformslightlybetterthanthethreemodelmethod.Thereforethe affinemethodwaschosentobeusedinthisproject.ItwasfortunateforthisprojectthatDr. Wuagreedtoparticipate,atnocosttotheCommission,asthisfitwellintheongoingtesting ofhisorthorectificationcodes.However,thisprocessisgoingslowlyandstillcontinues, duetohisinvolvementwithCSIROprojectsthatarehisprimaryobligation.

2.4. Field Trips

Ifanyapparenttemperatureanomaliesareidentifiedfromspace,theultimateverification wouldbeontheground.Forthisreason,severalfieldtripswereplannedinthisproject. SomeofthemwerecarriedoutconcurrentlywiththepassageoftheTerrasatellite,during whichtheASTERinstrumentacquiredimagery.ThiswascoordinatedthroughtheU.S.AS TERteamandtheJetPropulsionLaboratory(JPL).Thegroundbasedmeasurementsthat werecollectedinthefieldincludedsurfacetemperaturemeasurementswithaninfrared camera,measurementswithtemperatureprobesat1mand2mdepths,andsurfacereflec tionmeasurementsforalbedocorrections.Inaddition,atmosphericradiosondemeasure mentswerealsotakenduringoneofthefieldtrips,withtheintentiontocorrectthesatellite imageryforthepresenceofwatervaporintheatmosphere(Tonooka2001).Moredetailsare describedinSection3.5. Itisexpectedthatgroundbasedsurfacetemperaturemeasurementsareinreasonable agreementwiththekineticsurfacetemperaturecalculatedfromthethermalinfrared(TIR) bandsafterseparationfromemissivity.Onlythencanitbeassumedthatsatellitedatamea ningfullyreflectsurfaceandsubsurfaceprocesses.ArationaleforthisisprovidedbyAlliset al.(1999),whocomparedshallowsoiltemperaturemeasurements(at<1mdepth)intheDi xieValleyGeothermalPowerProject(Nevada)withairborneTIRimagery,bothtakenprior todawninordertominimizesolarheatingeffectsfromthepreviousday.Althoughtheair borneTIRtemperatureswereonaveragecoolerthanthesoilmeasurements,goodcorrela tionwasobservedbetweenthetwotypesoftemperatures,indicatingthatanomaliesinsoil temperaturewouldlikelycorrespondtodistinctanomaliesofsimilarmagnitudeintheTIR measurements.ThisreasoningislikelyextendabletosatelliteTIRaswell,suchastheone usedinthisproject.

16

3.0 Project Results

3.1. Choice of ASTER Data
NumerousASTERdatacollectedoverthecentralpartofeasternCaliforniaexistinthedata archive.NighttimeimagesareofparticularinterestasdescribedinSection2.0.However, nighttimeimageswererelativelylackingandmanyoftheexistingnighttimesceneswere rathercloudy.Also,onlyafewnighttime/daytimepairswereidentified,assuchpairsare notcommonlycollectedwithoutspecialordering.Still,apairwasidentifiedovertheCoso geothermalfieldfromAugust2001,andwasthefirsttobeanalyzed.Additionalnighttime imageswerecollectedthroughaDataAcquisitionRequest(DAR)andarrangementswere madeforcollectionofdaytime/nighttimepairsofscenes.Anumberofsceneswerecol lectedanddownloaded,ofwhichthebestsubsetforanalysiswaschosen,withoptimalspa tialanddaytime/nighttimecoverage.Table3.1showsalistofthesechosenscenes.Each scenelistedinthistableisrepresentedbytwoproducts(AST_08andAST_07XT)ifitisa daytimescene,andoneproduct(AST_08)ifitisanighttimescene.Figure3.1showsthe overlappingareasfromthesedaytime/nighttimepairs,withadistinctionbetween12hrand 36hrpairs.
Table 3-1. A list of best ASTER image pairs for the study region Day-Night Overlaps 2006-Aug-21 2006-Aug-21 2006-Aug-21 2006-Aug-21 2006-Aug-22 2006-Aug-22 2006-Aug-22 2006-Aug-22 2001-Jun-28 2001-Jun-28 2001-Jun-29 2001-Jun-29 2008-Jul-1 2008-Jul-2 2008-Jul-2 2000-Jul-12 2000-Jul-12 2000-Jul-13 2000-Jul-13 2000-Jun-10 2000-Jun-10 2000-Jun-11 2000-Jun-11 ASTER ID L1A#00308212006055958 L1A#00308212006060007 L1A#00308212006060015 L1A#00308212006060024 L1A#00308222006184452 L1A#00308222006184501 L1A#00308222006184510 L1A#00308222006184518 L1A#003_06282001185917 L1A#003_06282001185926 L1A#003_06292001060219 L1A#003_06292001060228 L1A#00307012008185126 L1A#00307022008055511 L1A#00307022008055520 L1A#003_07122000060919 L1A#003_07122000060927 L1A#003_07132000185430 L1A#003_07132000185439 L1A#003_06102000060936 L1A#003_06102000060944 L1A#003_06112000185429 L1A#003_06112000185438 Area Coso Coso Coso Coso Coso Coso Coso Coso Monache Monache Monache Monache Long Valley Long Valley Long Valley Panamint Valley Panamint Valley Panamint Valley Panamint Valley Tecopa Tecopa Tecopa Tecopa Time Night Night Night Night Day Day Day Day Day Day Night Night Day Night Night Night Night Day Day Night Night Day Day

17

Figure 3-1. Spatial coverage from the available daytime/nighttime ASTER image pairs. Study area is outlined in black. Red stars mark hot springs. Red boundaries delimit the overlap areas of daytime and nighttime images acquired on the same day (i.e., 12 hours apart). Blue boundaries delimit overlaps of daytime and nighttime images acquired 36 hours apart. Coverage in the hatched blue area is incomplete because of partial clouds. The width of the figure is 450 km.

3.2. Orthorectification
Orthorectificationiscrucialwhenthestudyregionischaracterizedbyvariableelevation. Figure32demonstratesthisvariabilityforthemainstudyareainthisproject,theCosogeo thermalfield.Initially,anapproximatemethodwasusedtoaccommodatethetopographic challenges,whereanorthorectifiedASTERLevel1BTIRwasusedtodeterminetiepointsin apairofdaytimeandnighttimeAST_08,andtheAST_07correspondingtothedaytime AST_08.OnceorthorectificationbecameavailablethroughDr.Wu,thesystematic processingoftheimageslistedinTable31began.Ninegroundcontrolpoints(GCPs)were determinedfortheAST_08andAST_07XTproductsofthesceneslistedinTable31.

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Figure 3-2. Topographic variability in the Coso geothermal area. Elevations from 700 m to 2700 m. White outline marks the KGRA (known geothermal resources area). Red outline marks the production area. Left elevations in color, with increasing elevation from blue to red. Right shaded relief. Size of area shown is 36 km x 36 km. Elevation data from USGS (http://seamless.usgs.gov).

ItwasdeterminedthatnineGCPsdistributedevenlythroughouteachimage,areoptimal forsuccessfulorthorectification.AllAST_07XTandsomeAST_08productsarealreadyor thorectified,butmostAST_08arestillinthepipeline.Table32showsexamplesoftheRMS (rootmeansquares)fortheGCPsintheorthorectifedscenes.Theresidualsfortheindividu alGCPsarealsoshown.Theseresultsarerathergood,becausetheRMSfromallnine points,andmostoftheindividualresiduals(inXandYinthetable),aresmallerthanthe pixelsize,15mfortheAST_07XTand90mfortheAST08products.Althoughlessaccurate thanAST_07XTanddaytimeAST_08,theorthorectificationofthenighttimeAST_08im ageryisstillgood,althoughitismoredifficulttodetermineGCPsinnighttimeimagery.

Table 3-2. Examples of residuals and RMS from orthorectification
Nighttime AST_08 (temperature)
X res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) RMS(X,Y) 62.112 -33.755 -19.118 -17.61 -40.71 19.986 27.211 -3.224 5.1 30.744 Y -41.337 51.779 57.366 -48.824 18.745 -25.765 10.038 -22.359 0.357 36.025 res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) RMS(X,Y)

Daytime AST_08 (temperature)

X 9.889 -5.474 -19.045 -9.413 14.584 -1.904 6.636 -7.299 4.621 10.078 Y -32.201 -22.39 10.874 14.512 5.012 10.916 6.761 4.145 2.37 15.202 res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) res(X,Y) RMS(X,Y)

AST_07XT (reflection)
X 14.894 -4.278 3.24 -12.39 -6.026 7.597 -6.334 3.681 -0.374 7.831 Y -19.53 15.35 13.995 -1.046 -5.949 -2.63 2.47 -1.289 -1.371 9.809

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3.3. Imagery Corrections

Figure33showsASTERLevel1BTIRscenesofsize~60kmx60kmarefromaday time/nighttimepairpartiallycoveringtheCosoGeothermalPowerProject.Thedaytime scenewastakenon08/24/2001,at11:52a.m.localdaylightsavingtime(i.e.,10:52a.m.PST). Thenighttimescenewastakenpriortothedaytimescene,on08/22/2001,at11:06p.m.local daylightsavingtime(i.e.,10:06p.m.PSTand6:06a.m.on08/23/2001GMTtime,hencethe titleofthenighttimesceneinFig.33indicatesthenextday).

Figure 3-3. Level 1B TIR band 14, daytime (08/24/2001) and nighttime (08/22/2001). Coso KGRA and production area are outlined in red and green, respectively.

Figures34and35showdaytimeandnighttimeAST_08images(surfacetemperaturede rivedfromLevel1BTIR)collectedinAugust2006,aspartofafieldtrip,whereground basedmeasurementsweredoneconcurrentlywiththesatellitepassages.Moredetailson thatfieldtriparegiveninSection3.5.2below. Theimportanceoftakingintoaccountthechangingamountofheatthroughthecourseofa dayisdemonstratedinFigure36.Thesocalledshadedreliefiscalculatedfromadigitalele vationmodel(DEM).Theshadedreliefdependsontheincidentangleofsolarirradiation andisthecosineoftheanglebetweenthesurfacenormalandthesunsrays.Itsvalueisbe tween0and1,with1indicatingmaximumpossibleheatflux.ThescenesinFig.36zoomin onanareaaroundasmalltopographicfeature,aQuaternaryrhyolitedome(diameter<1 km),showingtheshadedreliefatdifferenttimes.Itisevidentthatforanygivenpixel,de pendingonitslocationinrespecttothelocaltopography,theamountofsolarheatingcould bedifferentfromthatreceivedbyadjacentpixels,andchangesduringtheday.

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Figure 3-4. Daytime AST_08 collected over the Coso geothermal field in August 2006. Surface temperatures increase from dark to bright (left) or blue to red (right), and range between 21o C and 66o C. The Coso KGRA and the production area are outlined with white and red, respectively.

Figure 3-5. Nighttime AST_08 collected over the Coso geothermal field in August 2006. Surface temperatures range between 5o C and 36o C. Notations like in Fig. 3-4.

ThesimplifiedmodeldescribedinSection2.2.4approximatelyaccountsforheatdissipation andwasusedtocalculatepseudotemperatureimagestobesubtractedfromtheAST_08 (surfacetemperature)imagescollectedon08/24/2001(daytime)and08/22/2001(nighttime). TheuncorrectedandcorrectednighttimeAST_08(surfacetemperature)imagesarecom paredinFigure37.Thewholeareaisknowntocontainsurfacemanifestationsofgeother malenergy,soitisnotsurprisingthatred(i.e.,hot)areasareseenthroughouttheim ages.However,noisereductionisobservedaftercorrectionandseveralfeaturesappearthat

21


Figure 3-6. Example of changes in solar irradiation in the course of a day, depending on the topographic slope aspect. Circular feature is a rhyolite dome with a diameter of ~1 km in the Coso geothermal field. Increasing brightness indicates more solar irradiation, which would result in higher surface temperatures on satellite TIR images. From left to right - shaded relief one hour after sunrise, 6 hours after sunrise/7 hours before sunset, and 4 hours before sunset. Note migration of high temperatures from the eastern, through the southeastern, to the southwestern slopes of the dome. After Eneva et al. (2006).

Figure 3-7. Comparison of the uncorrected nighttime AST_08 (top) with the corrected one (bottom), from the overlapping area of the image pair shown in Fig. 3-3. Red and green outline mark Coso KGRA and the production area, respectively. White arrows show some of the temperature anomalies seen only in the corrected image.

arenotseenintheuncorrected age.Theseresultsshowthat thoughsimplified,themodelap pliedhereispotentiallyveryeffec tiveinrevealingand/orenhancing somethermalanomaliesandsup pressingfalsethermalanomalies. Correction,forthermalinertia,was alsoperformed.Theweighingfactor thatproducedminimumvariance wasfoundtobe0.624forthenight timeimage(andconsequently,0.376 forthedaytimeimage).Thatis,the combinedscenewithminimaleffect ofthermalinertiacontainsabout2/3ofthenighttimeand1/3ofthedaytimescene.Thisis

22

differentfromthe0.75:0.25ratiousedbyCoolbaughetal.(2007a)inNevada,sothesefac torshavetobeidentifiedindividuallyforeachdaytime/nighttimepair. Figures38and39drawattentiontoindividualsmallareasfromFig.37.Revealingof somefeaturesthatarenotseenbeforecorrectionisevident.Figure310showsacorrected AST_08fromAugust2006,wherethemainknownhotareasatCosoareevidentCosoHot Springs(CHS),DevilsKitchen(DK),andWheeler(WH).

5 4 3

2 1

fumaroles

spring

~2 km2

Figure 3-8. Level 1B VNIR radiance in RGB (red-green-blue) for the area of overlap between the daytime and nighttime TIR scenes from Fig. 3-3. R=band 3, G=band 2, and B=band 1. Yellow circles indicate fumaroles and yellow triangle shows a hot spring. Blue squares mark features of interest: 1 two fumaroles and an open pit mine in between; 2, 3, and 5 rhyolite domes; 4 dry lake.

BroadareasofelevatedtemperaturesareseeninFigs.37(August2001)and310(August 2006)thatarenotnecessarilyassociatedwithgeothermalactivity.Suchfeaturesmaybere latedtotheeffectofelevation(generallywarmertemperaturesatlowerelevations)andmi croclimate(e.g.,temperatureinversionsproducingwarmersurfacetemperaturesinvalleys), discussednextinSection3.4.Vegetationcanalsocreateapparentcoolerareasthatmakead jacentbaregroundareaslookwarmer.However,intheCosogeothermalfieldthiseffectis minimal(Figure311). Figures312and313showmoreexamples,fromtheMammothareatothenorth,onthe otheredgeofthestudyregion.Anumberofnighttimeimagesareavailableforthisareathat

23

showsomepersistentwarmfeaturesevenwithchangingseasons,aswellaspossiblesea sonalvariationsand/orchangeswithtime.

uncorrected

corrected

rhyolite dome

dry lake

fumaroles

Figure 3-9. Comparison of nighttime uncorrected and corrected AST_08 images (surface temperature) in the Coso geothermal field for the five areas marked in Fig. 3-8 (here outlined with white). Blue through yellow to red indicate increasing surface temperatures. Dark green outline denotes the production area. Note the differences around the two fumaroles and the dry lake, where elevated temperatures are only seen in the corrected image.

24

10 km

DK

CHS WH

Figure 3-10. Corrected AST_08 (surface temperature) in the overlapping area of the daytime/nighttime pair from August 2006 (Figs. 3-4 and 3-5). White and red outlines mark KGRA and production areas, respectively. Blue to red indicate increasing temperatures. The CHS and WH areas are clearly captured as anomalies with elevated temperatures (yellow arrows), and the DK area is also suggested. Broad areas of higher temperatures are associated with topographic planes and valleys with likely nighttime temperature inversions (see Section 3.4 below).

25

10

Frequency (%)

green vegetation
2

0 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 NDVI 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80

Figure 3-11. Vegetation index, NDVI = (band3 band2)/(band3 + band2), for the Coso area. Most values are below 0.2 indicating little green vegetation. Top right shaded relief. Bottom right map of NDVI showing areas with NDVI > 0.2 in green. KGRA and production area are outlined with white and red, respectively.

Figure 3-12. ASTER Level 1B VNIR (shown in RGB) from the Mammoth area. Image from September 2005. KGRA and production area outlined in red and green, respectively.

26

01/26/2003

03/17/2004

06/16/2002

08/02/2005

09/24/2001

10/16/2000

Figure 3-13. Nighttime AST_08 (surface temperature) images over inset from Fig. 3-12. Dates of image collection are marked in upper right corner of each plot. Green outlines mark production area. Temperature increases from blue to red.

3.4. Effects of Elevation and Temperature Inversions

Withallotherfactorsequal,bothairandsurfacetemperaturesgenerallydecreaseastheele vationincreases.Thiseffectismorereadilydiscernableatnight.Duringthedayhightem peraturecontrastsbetweensunlitandshadedareascansignificantlydistorttheeffectofele vation.Therefore,itislikelybesttocorrectfortheelevationeffectaftertheeffectsofalbedo andtopographicslopeandaspectareremoved.Atheoreticaladiabaticlapserateiscom monlycitedinthemeteorologicalliteratureas9.8oC/km(e.g.,Chapmanetal.,2001).The socalledenvironmentallapserategenerallyobservedinnatureislower,duemostlyto thepresenceofwatervapor,with6.5oC/kmassumedtobesuitableinmostcases.Thetem peratureelevationtrendcanbesopronouncedinsomecasesthatithasbeenpossibletoef fectivelyuseitasasurrogatetocalculatemissingdataindigitalelevationmodels(Crippen etal.2007). Figures314to317acshowtemperatureelevationplotsfromtheCosogeothermalfield,in whichthedecreaseofsurfacetemperaturewithelevationisadominanttrend.Thesurface temperaturesaretakenfromAST_08imageswithspatialresolutionof90m,whiletheele vationsarefromUSGSdigitalelevationmodels(DEM)withspatialresolutionof30m (downloadedfromhttp://seamless.usgs.gov).NighttimeanddaytimeAST_08coveringthe sameareaareshowninFigs.314and315,respectively.Thenighttimelapserateofabout 50/kmindicatedbytheslopeofthestraightlineinFig.314islowerthantheexpectedenvi

27

Figure 3-14. Nighttime density plot of surface temperature versus elevation extracted from a nighttime AST_08 image collected over Coso in August 2006. Temperature inversions (yellow outlines) are superimposed on the normal temperature decrease with elevation (average trend is approximated by the light blue straight line). Hot springs and fumaroles have a distinct range of high temperatures not dependent on elevation (pink outline). From Eneva and Coolbaugh (2009) and Quattrochi et al. (2009).

ronmentallapserateof6.5oC/km(e.g.,Crippenetal.2007),likelyduetotemperaturein versions(discussedbelow)superimposedontheusualtemperatureelevationtrend.Away fromtemperatureinversions,thelapseratesarespatiallyvarying,between5.40/kmandas highas9.80/km,whichistheadiabaticlapserate. Fig.315showsasimilarplot,butfromthedaytimeAST_08.Inthiscasetheaveragelapse rateoverthewholearearepresentedbytheslopeofthestraightlineis8.4oC/km.However, duetohighcontrastsinsolarirradiationforsomeportionsoftheareacoveredbyAST_08, therearesomeverysteeptemperatureelevationrelationships,withslopesupto30oC/km. Thisunderlinesthenecessitytoeliminatethedifferentialeffectsofslopeandaspectbefore attemptingtoderivecrediblelapseratesfromdaytimeTIRimagery.Unlikethenighttime, thedaytimetemperatureelevationrelationshipisnotcontaminatedbytemperatureinver sions.

28


Figure 3-15. Daytime density plot of surface temperature versus elevation extracted from a daytime AST_08 image covering the same area as in Fig.3-14. Normal temperature decrease with elevation (average trend is approximated by light blue straight line) is not contaminated by temperature inversions. Hot springs are not evident either. A river valley is represented by a range of low temperatures not dependent on elevation.

Thenormaleffectofelevationonsurfacetemperaturecanbereversedduetothemeteoro logicalphenomenonoftemperatureinversions(e.g.,Chapmanetal.2001),morefrequently observedatnightandinthewinter.Figures314,316,and317illustratetheseeffects,as derivedfromnighttimeAST_08.Suchinversionsarepossibleduringthedayaswell,but mostlyinwinter.TheAST_08imagesusedherearefromthesummer(monthofAugust),so thedaytimeAST_08doesnotshowthepresenceoftemperatureinversions(Fig.315). Fig.314showsseveraltemperatureinversionssuperimposedonthenormaltemperature elevationtrend.Italsoshowshowhotspringsappearinthistypeofrepresentation,asa widerangeofhighsurfacetemperaturesataconstantelevation.Onecanenvisionusing suchquicktemperatureelevationplotsinasearchforhotspringsinnighttimeTIRimages overisolatedanddifficulttoaccessareas.Suchplotsmaybealsohelpfulevenifgeothermal temperatureanomaliesaremoresubtle,buttheeffectsofalbedoandtopographic slope/aspectwouldhavetoberemoved,inordertoreducethescatterseeninFig.314.

29


Figure 3-16. Map representation of the nighttime temperature inversions. Temperatureelevation plot is same as in Fig. 3-14, but divided in color sections to identify corresponding areas on map. Inset in the top right shows map of shaded relief in the area of the Coso geothermal field. Inset in the top left shows the same map but with color coded temperatures from the nighttime AST_08 image, with temperatures increasing from blue to red.

ThetemperatureelevationscatterplotshowninFig.316isthesameasthatinFig.314, howeverdifferentpartsarecoloredwiththesamecolorsastheareasinamapthatcorres pondtothesepartsoftheplot.Itisevidentthatcertainportionsoftheplot,includingthe temperatureinversionbranches,correspondtospatiallycoherentareasinthemaprather thanbeingspatiallyscatteredthroughouttheimage. Threeexamplesofindividualsubareaswithnighttimetemperatureinversionsareshownin Fig.317.ThetwodistinctinvertedbranchesAandBcomingprominentlyoutofanormal temperatureelevationtrend(Fig.317a),correspondtoareasonbothsidesofaridge.The samehotspringanomalyseeninthemoregeneralizedplotinFig.314iseasilyattributable heretotheCosoHotSpringsarea(Fig.317b).Thethirdexampleisfromapartofthearea withthelowestelevations,whereavalleytransitionsintohigherelevations(Fig.317c). Theaboveexamplesshowthatnighttimetemperatureinversionsarequitecommon.Itis thusimperativetotakethemintoaccount,alongwiththeeffectsofelevation,whensatellite thermalinfraredimageryisusedtosearchforsurfacetemperatureanomaliesattributableto subsurfaceprocesses,suchasgeothermalactivity.

30

a
Figure 3-17. Examples of nighttime temperature inversions from ASTER TIR imagery. Plot to the right shows a map of shaded relief at the Coso geothermal field (same as in Fig. 3-16). White and red outlines mark the KGRA and the production area, respectively. Colored rectangles denote areas with nighttime inversions; temperatures increase from blue to red. Plot to the left shows temperature versus elevation, with the colored areas corresponding to the colors from the map of shaded relief. (a) An area east and north-east from Sugar Mountain. Note two distinct branches A and B superimposed on normal decrease of temperature with elevation. These temperature inversions developed on both sides of a ridge as seen from the map. (b) An area including the Coso Hot Springs (CHS) marked by pink color for the highest temperatures (also seen in Fig. 3-14). (c) A valley in the south-eastern corner of the map.

b
Figure 3-17 continued (b)

31

c
Figure 3.17 continued (c)

3.5. Field Trips

Twofieldtripstookplaceinthesummerof2006,whileattemptingtomakegroundbased measurementsconcurrentlywiththepassageoftheTerrasatellite,whenASTERacquired imageryovertheCosogeothermalfield.ArrangementsweremadewiththeJetPropulsion Laboratory(JPL)forcollectionsofdaytime/nighttimepairs,36hoursapart.Thefirstfield datawerecollectedinJuly2006.Becauseofthepoorqualityoftheconcurrentlycollected ASTERimagesatthattime,asimilarfieldtripwasscheduled32dayslater,duringanother passageofthesatelliteinAugust2006.Inaddition,twocampaignsof2mtemperature probemeasurementstookplaceineightvalleysinasternCalifornia,inMayandJuneof 2009.

3.5.1. July 2006

DuetothecloudyASTERdatacollectedduringthefirstfieldtrip,theimagerycouldnotbe used.However,severalconcurrentgroundbasedmeasurementstookplaceatthattime, andwhiletherewasnogoodsatelliteimagerytocomparethemwith,theydepictinteresting aspectsoftheCosogeothermalfield.Also,thesemeasurementsareinstructionalforwhatis possible,andwhatcouldbedoneinfuturefieldexperimentsofthistype. Temperatureloggerswereusedtorecordsubsurfacetemperaturesin13locationsgrouped alongthreelinesacrossdistincthydrothermalfeaturesintheCosoHotSprings(CHS),De vilsKitchen(DK),andWheeler(WH)areas.Thelocationsofthethreelinesaremarked withyellowarrowsinFigure318.Thetemperatureprobeswereinstalledatdepths0.70to

32

1 km

120

Probe Temperature (oC)

100

80
1 km

60

40

CHS DK WH 0 50 100 150 200

1 km

20 250 300 350 Distance (m)

Figure 3-18. Subsurface temperatures measured at 13 locations (blue circles in map insets) across hydrothermal features, as indicated: CHS Coso Hot Springs, DK Devels Kitchen, and WH Wheeler. Distance is measured from the first probe along each line, starting within features and moving outwards. Photo insets show a probe and the surroundings of the CHS-2 probe. Map insets, courtesy of Bethiah Hall, formerly at the US Navy Geothermal Program Office (China Lake, CA). Steve Bjornstad from GPO was in charge of the installation of and data collection from the temperature probes.
Photo Credit: Steve Bjornstad, GPO (two insets in upper right)

0.90m,asrockpermitted,50mapartforeachline.Therecordingslastedaboutaweekdur ingwhichsubsurfacetemperaturesremainedconstantforanygivensite.Ascouldbeex pected,ineachofthethreegroups,thetemperaturesdecreaseinthedirectionfromthecen terofahydrothermalfeaturetowardsitsperiphery. ThesurfacetemperaturewasalsomeasuredwitharentedhandheldinfraredcameraFLIR P65,atthetimeofthesatellitepassage,aroundnoonduringthedayand11pmduringthe night.Thiswasmostlydoneatdistances2to3mfromthelocationswherethetemperature probeswereinstalled,aswellasfromadistancetowardsthesurroundingrhyolitedomes andhills.AlthoughtheFLIRimagescouldnotbecomparedwiththecloudyASTERdata collectedatthesametime,theyareratheruniqueanditisinstructionaltoexaminethe smallscalespatialdistributionofsurfacetemperature(Figures319and320). AlthoughtheAST_08andAST_07XTproductsincorporateastandardatmosphericcorrec tion,abettercorrectionmaybeachievedifspecificprofilesofatmospherictemperature,wa tervapor,andpressureareavailableatthetimeofoverflightofthesatellite.Forthisreason,

33

suchdatawerecollectedbylaunchingradiosondesabouthalfanhourbeforethetwosatel litepassages,duringtheday,andatnight.ThiswasdonewiththeassistanceoftheASTER teamattheJetPropulsionLaboratory(JPL).

Figure 3-19. Thermal images taken in the field during the night with a FLIR-P65 infrared camera. Color bars show temperature in oC. Clockwise from upper left,: a bush in front of rocks, one of the known hot areas, dry brush and gravel, mud bubbles at the Coso Hot Springs area, electricity producing plant, and location of one of the temperature probes (see hotter surface where the probe is stuck in the ground).
Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

CHS-1, day
Figure 3-20. Surface temperature measured with a hand-held FLIRP65 infrared camera close to the times of satellite passages. Left nighttime images; right daytime images. Top vicinity of the CHS-1 probe. Note that probe and demarcation pole are cooler, while surface around probe is hotter due to ground disturbance. Bottom mud pots near the CHS-2 probe. CHS Coso Hot Springs. Color bars o show temperature in C.
Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

CHS-1, night

mud pot near CHS-2, night

mud pot near CHS-2, day

34

Figure 3-21. Launching a radiosonde for atmospheric measurements.

Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

Steve Bjornstad

Elsa Abbott
Jim Combs

Frank Monastero

3.5.2. August 2006

SincetheASTERimagescollectedinJuly2006wereverycloudy,anotherfieldtriptook placeinAugust2006.ThistimeclearASTERimageswerecollected,bothduringtheday andatnight(Figure322).Duetoexpenseandlogisticdifficulties,radiosondeswerenotre launched,andneitherwasathermalinfraredcameraused. AhandheldASDFieldSpecspectroradiometer,borrowedfromtheDepartmentofGeogra phy,SanDiegoStateUniversity(SDSU),wasusedtomeasurethereflectanceofcontrasting surfacessuchasbaresoil,volcanicrock,redcinder,gravel,dirtroad,anddryandlivesage bush.EventhoughthespectroradiometerwasavailableduringtheJuly2006tripaswell,it couldnotbeutilizedinthepresenceofclouds.ThepurposeinAugust2006wastocollect reflectancedatainordertocorrecttheAST_08imagesforalbedo.Reflectancemeasurements werecollectedat15locationsoversurfacesofdifferentcolorandtexture,aroundthetimeof daytimesatellitepassage.ThelocationsofreflectancemeasurementsaremarkedinFigure 322withgreenarrows.ExamplesofreflectancespectraareshowninFigure323.These fielddatawereusedtoevaluatethekwandbwcoefficientsineq.2(Section2.2.4)intherela tionshipbetweenthespacebornereflectancedata(AST_07XT)andtheproductofalbedo andtopographicslopes(Coolbaughetal.2007a).Itwasestimatedthatkwisbetween0.50 and0.55andbwbetween0.11and0.16forthethreeVNIRbands(Figure324). Inaddition,anOmegaOS534EinfraredthermometerwasinstalledintheareaoftheCoso Wash,pointedatbaresoilandloggingdataoveratwodayperiod.Figure322showsits location(pinkarrow)andFigure325showstherecordedsurfacetemperatures,aswellas imagesofthethermometerinstallation.Thediurnalchangeofobservedtemperaturewas usedtoestimatecoefficientsforthecombinationofdaytimeandnighttimeAST_08inorder toremovetheeffectofthermalinertia.Thesecoefficientswereinagreementwiththeones

35

determinedfromtheminimumvariancewhencombiningthetwoimages(nighttime/day timeratio~0.6/0.4).

DK

CHS

WH

10 km

Figure 3-22. ASTER coverage of the Coso KGRA (white polygon) extracted from two Level 1B VNIR images collected at 11:45 am (local daylight savings time) on August 22, 2006 (RGB: R=band 3, G=band 2, B=band 1). Production area is shown with a red outline. Yellow arrows point to locations of temperature probes along three lines in the Coso Hot Springs (CHS), Devils Kitchen (DK), and Wheeler (WH) areas. Green arrows show locations of reflectance measurements. Magenta arrow points to the location where an infrared thermometer was installed.

36

Figure 3-23. Examples of reflection spectra collected in the field with an ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometer. Light-colored surfaces give off more reflection, hence the albedo is higher.
Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

0.80 0.70 0.60 Relative Reflectance 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00 300

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

Wavelength (nm)

Figure 3-24. Reflectance measured at various locations with a handheld ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometer. Wavebands 1 to 3 correspond to ASTER VNIR. (a) Individual reflectance curves at various locations. Dark to light surfaces are represented by increasing reflectance. (b) ASTER reflectance versus product of shaded relief (related to topographic slope) and albedo measured in the field. Fitted straight lines are used to estimate coefficients as described in the text.

0.5

b
0.4

AST_07

0.3

0.2

ast07_b1 ast07_b2 ast07_b3

0.1

0 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 A*cosZ'

37

0.7

70 65 60 55 50

Temperature, C

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
8/20/06 21:00 8/21/06 21:00 8/21/06 12:00 8/21/06 15:00 8/21/06 18:00 8/22/06 0:00 8/22/06 12:00 8/20/06 15:00 8/20/06 18:00 8/21/06 0:00 8/21/06 3:00 8/21/06 6:00 8/21/06 9:00 8/22/06 3:00 8/22/06 6:00 8/22/06 9:00

Figure 3-25. Surface temperature measurements with an infrared thermometer over two days in August 2006. Grey diamonds indicate temperatures at the times of satellite passage. Insets show thermometer installation, with a portable power supply and a fence and ribbons to deter burros.
Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

3.5.3. May and June 2009

Shallowtemperaturesurveys(Figure326)wereconductedineightdifferentvalleysineast ernCalifornia(Figure327).Theequipmentandtechniquesusedtomaketwometerdeep temperaturemeasurementsarediscussedindetailbyCoolbaughetal.(2007b)andSladeket al.(2007).Krattetal.(2008,2009)discussedatleastfourhiddengeothermalsystemsthat werediscoveredwiththismethodasaresultofprevioussurveys. ThemethodologyinvolvestheuseofanAllTerrainVehicle(ATV)totransportagenerator andallequipment(Fig.326).Ademolitionhammerisusedtodrivea~5/8wide,tungsten carbidesteeltippedhollowrodintotheground,ResistanceTemperatureDevices(RTDs) areinsertedintoeachrod,andafteratleastaonehourequilibrationtimethetemperatureis recorded.Duringtheinitialpartofsuchasurvey,measurementsaremadeatapproximate ly1kmintervals,andiftemperatureanomaliesarefound,additionalmeasurementsare takenwithcloserspacing. Duetotheeaseoftravelandpossiblelanduseregulations,itispreferabletouseexisting roadsthatgenerallyparallelarangefrontortransectotherstructurallyfavorableareas. Suchroadstypicallytraversealluvialfansorlacustrinedepositsthataremoreeasilypene tratedwiththehammerandrods.

38

Figure 3-26. Deployment of 2-m temperature probes. Operators Chris Kratt (on top of ATV) from the Desert Research Institute and Mark Coolbaugh from the University of Nevada Reno.
Photo Credit: Mariana Eneva, Imageair Inc.

Over160measurementsweremade,coveringatotaldistanceofover160km.Figure328 showsthe2mtemperaturedataforeachoftheeightvalleys.Duringthistypeofsurveys, variationsinlocalbackgroundtemperaturesareoftenencountered,astemperaturesvary

39

Figure 3-27. Shaded relief image showing location of areas where 2-m temperature probes were deployed. AV - Adobe Valley, LV - Long Valley, BV - Benton Valley, QV - Queen Valley, DS - Deep Springs Valley, OL - Owens Lake, SL - Searles Lake, FV - Fremont Valley.

bothwithseasonandlatitude.Severalotherfactorsalsocreateinterandintravalleyvaria bilityamongbackgroundmeasurements.Forexample,shallowdepthstogroundwaterand increasedsoilmoisturecausebackgroundtemperaturestobelower,unlesstheyaremeas uredinadistinctthermalzone.Inaddition,albedo(i.e.,thedarknessorbrightnessofasur face),canalsocauseshallowtemperaturestobewarmerunderdarkersurfacesandcooler

40

underlightercoloredones.Finally,differencesinthethermalinertiaofvariousgeologic unitscanalsoinfluence2mtemperatures.Thesefactorsarethesameastheonesdiscussed inconnectiontothesatelliteTIRimagery(Section2.2).Thusalargeportionofthevariability amongthedatainsuchsurveyscanbeexplainedbythesefactors.Thetaskistoevaluateif therearevariationsthatgobeyondsuchartifacts,possiblyconnectedwithgeothermalsys tems. Datafrombasinswithsimilarlatitudesandelevationsweresometimesexaminedcollective lyinordertoascertainbackgroundtemperatures.Otherwise,datafromeachvalleywere analyzedseparatelyforthermalanomalies.Inpreviouswork(Krattetal.2008,2009),ther malanomalieswererecognizedinpartbyapatternoftemperatureobservationsthatcool offinalldirectionsfromthelocationofacentralpeaktemperature(e.g.,Figure329).Here, thesoutheastcornerofOwensLakeValleywastheonlysurveylocationwithatemperature patternpotentiallycharacteristicofapossiblegeothermalsystem.Thetemperaturessteadily increasefromabout19oCinanortheasterlydirectiontoapeakof23.6oC,afterwhichthey begintosteadilycooldownasthetransectparallelstherangefronttothenortheast.How ever,when2mtemperaturesfortheOwensLakeValleysurveyareplottedagainstground albedosestimatedfromdaytimeAST_07XTimagery(Figure330),itbecomesapparentthat thehighertemperaturesinthesoutheastcornerofthevalleyarelikelyattributabletogreat erabsorptionofsolarradiation(i.e.darkersurfaces),andnotduetogeothermalheatflux. Forseveraloftheothersurveys,includingthoseatFremontValleyandDeepSpringsVal ley,2mtemperaturesdecreaseasthesurveylinesapproachplayasorareaswithshallow groundwater.ThisisespeciallyevidentinFremontValley,wheretemperaturesbelowthe backgroundalbedotemperaturelinemarkareasofshallowgroundwaterand/orhighersoil moisturecontentatthevalleybottomnearirrigatedfields(Figure331).Suchtemperature anomaliesareeasilydistinguishedfromgeothermalheatfluxanomalies,whichincontrast, showabovethebackgroundtemperaturealbedoline(Figure332),asexemplifiedbyCo lumbusMarshinNevada(Krattetal.2009,Sladeketal.2009). Thusthe2mtemperaturesurveysdidnotrevealanyobviousareasofpossiblegeothermal resources.Thisdoesnotprecludethatgeothermalresourceswithsurfacetemperatureex pressionmayexistelsewhereintheregion.

41


Figure 3-28. Measurements of 2-m temperatures. Locations are marked with pink circles. The temperatures in oC are marked next to the circles. (a) Benton Valley. (b) Long Valley. (c) Adobe Valley. (d) Owens Lake Valley.

42

Figure 3-28 continued. (e) Searles Lake Valley. (f) Queen Valley. (g) Fremont Valley. (h) Deep Springs Valley.

43

Figure 3-29. Example of a pattern of shallow temperature measurements delineating a geothermal anomaly.

44

Owens Valley
24 y = -0.2266x + 27.645 R2 = 0.6647 23

2-meter Temperature (deg C)

22

21

20

19

18

17 20 25 30 35 40 45

Albedo (percent reflectance)

Figure 3-30. Example from Owens Valley, where lower albedo causes greater absorption of solar energy and therefore warmer 2-meter background temperaFremont Valley tures.
27 26 25 2-meter Temperature (deg C) 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 Albedo (percent reflectance)
y = -0.1768x + 27.151 R2 = 0.1212

Figure 3-31. Example from Fremont Valley, where data significantly below the albedo-temperature background line are associated with shallow groundwater in the valley bottom near irrigated fields.

45

17

16

15

Anomaly "A"

Uncorrected 2-meter temp (C)

14

13
y = -20.955x + 17.758 2 R = 0.7521

12

11 Southwest Anomaly 10 Redlich Anomaly Southeast Anomaly 9 Other Linear (Other) 8 0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

Albedo
Figure 3-32. 2-meter temperatures and associated albedos from the Columbus Marsh playa, Nevada. Temperature data are from Kratt et al. (2009). Albedos were taken from band 2 of an atmospherically corrected AST_07XT satellite image. Albedos from the image at selected locations were compared to equivalent values measured in the field with a spectrometer to ensure that the image data were scaled properly to represent albedo. Topographic slope aspects were near horizontal in all parts of the survey.

46

4.0 Conclusions and Recommendations

Satellitethermalinfrared(TIR)imagerycanbepotentiallyveryusefulasacosteffectivetool tosearchforgeothermalresourcesassociatedwithincreasedsurfacetemperatures.Howev er,adequateinterpretationforthepurposeofexplorationisonlypossibleiftheTIRimagery iscorrectedforseveraleffectsunrelatedtogeothermalcharacteristics.Groundbasedfield measurementscansignificantlycontributetocomplementtheresultsofremotesensing. Itisrecommendedthatfuturestudiesfirstfocusonresolvingthecurrentinadequacyofor thorecificationmethodsneededtoremovetheterraindistortionsinthethermalinfrared (TIR)imagery.Itwillbeimportanttoassureeasilyaccessibleorthroectifcationtechniques thatcansuccessfullyworkwiththesatelliteTIRproductsfromASTERandsuccessorsatel litesensors.Thiswillmakeitpossibletoefficientlystudylargeareaswithsignificanttopo graphicvariability. Aftertemperatureanomaliesareunambiguouslyidentifiedinknowngeothermalareas,itis furtherrecommendedtolookforsimilarmarkersinotherareasthatmaybeprospectivefu turesitesofgeothermalproduction. Furthermore,itwillbeimportanttoassureinthefutureamorecompleteutilizationofthe availableremotesensingdataandcapabilities,byaugmentingthesatelliteTIRstudieswith asearchformineralalterationassociatedwithgeothermalresources.Thisisnecessary,be causenotallgeothermalresourcesareassociatedwithelevatedsurfacetemperatures. TheimmediatebenefittoCaliforniaisthatthisstudyhasstartedthesearchfortemperature anomaliesinaprospectiveregionofgeothermalresources.Mostpossiblepitfallshavebeen identifiedandamethodologyhasbeenestablishedtodistinguishbetweenrealandirrele vanttemperatureanomaliesinsatelliteTIRimagery.Thiswouldsignificantlyfacilitatefu tureexplorationstudiesofthistype. AsalongertermbenefittoCalifornia,suchmethods,inconjunctionwithotherapplications ofremotesensing,willcontributetothefuturediscoveryofnewgeothermalresources.This isimportantinviewoftheplannedincreaseofrenewableenergyusedforelectricitygenera tionandrelatedcreationofmorejobsinCalifornia.

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5.0 References
Allis,R.G.,G.D.Nash,andS.D.Johnson,1999.Conversionofthermalinfraredsurveysto heatflow:ComparisonfromDixieValley,Nevada,andWairakei,NewZealand. GeothermalResourcesCouncilTransactions,v.23,p.499504. Calvin,W.,M.Coolbaugh,andR.G.Vaughan,2002.Geothermalsitecharacterizationusing multiandhyperspectralimagery.GeothermalResourcesCouncilTransactions,v.26, p.483484. Chapman,L.,J.E.Thornes,andA.V.Bradley,2001.Statisticalmodelingofroadsurface temperaturefromageographicalparameterdatabase,MeteorologicalApplications,v. 8,p.409419. Cochrane,G.R.,M.A.Mongillo,P.R.L.Browne,andJ.P.Deroin,1994.Satellitestudiesof theWaimanguandWaiotapugeothermalareas,TVZ.InProceed.16thNZGeother malWorkshop,p.181198. Coolbaugh,M.F.,2003.ThePredictionandDetectionofGeothermalSystemsatRegionalandLocal ScalesinNevadaUsingaGeographicInformationSystem,SpatialStatistics,andThermal InfraredImagery.Ph.D.Thesis,UniversityofNevadaReno.

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