Optimisation des methodes d'exploration hydrogeologique des ressources en eaux souterraines au moyen de I'imagerie RADARSAT-1 dans les pays en voie de developpement

摘要

The contract, obtained within the framework of the RADARSAT User Development Program (RUDP), allowed Tecsult to successfully use Fine beam mode RADARSAT-1 imagery in order to optimize current groundwater resource exploration methods in Africa. Three study areas, one in Mali and two in Burkina Faso, were selected to develop and validate the approach. These areas are characterized by rock formations, where the groundwater resources are mainly contained in the faults and the fractures of the rock. RADARSAT-1 images allow the determination of linear structures, referred to as lineaments, by distinguishing natural topographic variations. Those lineaments can represent the expression, to the surface of the ground, of buried large geological structures suggesting potentially interesting sites for the implementation of productive wells. The analysis of the results and comparisons indicate that the use of images RADARSAT-1 is an excellent complement to hydrogeological exploration campaigns of fractured-rock aquifers. The technology allows the rather fast and easy identification of lineaments on the territory and thus providing additional information to air photographs. Geomatics tools, such as geographical information systems (GIS), were successfully used to combine the information extracted from RADARSAT-1 images with the hydrogeological parameters favourable to the implementation of wells in order to produce maps of the aquifer potential.