Photolineament factor: a new computer-aided method for remotely sensing the degree to which bedrock is fractured : K. C. Hardcastle, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 61(6), 1995, pp 739–747

Abstract

Photolineaments are often utilized during exploration for groundwater resources in fractured bedrock; photolineaments are thought to denote areas where the bedrock may be relatively more fractured and, therefore, capable of storing and transproting significant volumes of groundwater. It is suggested that three key characteristics can be used to rank an area's potential to store and transmit large volutmes of groundwater: (1) the number of photolineaments, (2) the number of directional photolineament families, and (3) the total length of photolineaments which occur within or traverse an area of defined radius. The normalized sum of these three photolineament parameters is referred to here as a photolineament factor value. A new computerized approach for processing the thousands of photolineaments typically collected for large strudy sites (>10 km 2 or 2500 acres) yields a contourable grid of photolineament factor values. Such a contour map facilitates rapid quantitative ranking and selection of discrete areas for further evaluation. Results from a 900km 2 (220,000 acre) study area in the Geargia Piedmont illustrate this new approach