Contribution of the synergy of RADARSAT-1 and seismic imagery interpretation in the structural geology of the Central Alberta Foothills, Canada, as an aid for oil and gas exploration

Abstract

The synergy of RADARSAT-1 and seismic imagery interpretation has been applied in the Blackstone area of the Central Alberta Foothills in the Canadian Cordillera thrust and fold belt to map the continuity of geological structures, which are of importance for oil and gas exploration. The surface features located in the radar images have been confirmed through seismic imaging, which helped in the definition of the deep expression of thrusts and related fold structures. RADARSAT-1 imaging provided important information for the connection along strike of geological structures with subtle surface expression. The reconstruction of the continuity of thrust‐fold related major structures known in the area has been successful. Moreover, transverse faults and lineaments with east-northeast‐west-southwest, northeast‐southwest, and north-northeast‐south-southwest trends have been delineated in the radar images. The east-northeast‐west-southwest transverse faults have an extensional character, cut across the inner and outer Foothills, and are persistent at the regional scale. The northeast‐southwest and north-northeast‐south-southwest transverse faults are wrench-type faults, which are mainly localized in the inner Foothills. These structures have been identified for the first time in the area and are possibly a third-generation fault-play type for oil and gas exploration. The results of this work show that satellite radar imagery can greatly contribute to the structural and geological mapping of the Foothills terrain and is therefore a valuable aid for oil and gas exploration in analogous tectonic environments.