The benefits of remote sensing

Remote sensing alows a spatially dense look into the near surface (Sabins, 1996).  By utilising technology such as multispectral satellite data, experienced users can create maps that aid logistics planning for surface seismic data acquisition and give an estimation of data quality that can be achieved. This article draws upon examples from a seismic survey in a coastal area of the UAE. The integration of Landsat 7 enhanced thermatic mapper (ETM) imagery calibrated by selected surface geology sampling makes it possible to predict probable instances of wet sabkha (the commonly used Arabic name to describe a relatively flat saline area of sand or silt that typically forms above the water table), investigate the correlation between the multispectral remote sensing data and correlate the vibrator sweep performance data with the near surface. The integration of the data is aided by a geographic information system (GIS) database.