signature=effe156476c13aa5f2f50ca7ab2a0614,Mapping active fault-induced changes in soil and vegetati...

摘要：

The recent seismic activity of the border faults of the Roer Graben has regional and local effects on topography as well as on the composition, chemistry and wetness of soils and on the vegetation overburden. Though so metimes quite important and visible on air photos and satel lite imagery, these effects are most often quite su btle and a high spectral resolution is necessary to detect them. Th e objectives of our investigation were to map and q uantify the variations in topography, soils and vegetation at t he limit of the crustal blocs separated by known fa ults and to study the causes of these variations in relation wi th the fault activity, geometry and deformational m echanism. We focussed our analysis on the following phenomena: (1) change in soil mineralogical and physical compos ition (lithology) due to the vertical or lateral displace ment of the faults that produce a contact between d ifferent lithological units, (2) change in soil moisture whe n a fault is acting as a dam, (3) change in the nat ure and density of vegetation related to soil composition or wetness a nd (4) vegetal stress related to water or to soil c hemistry. After calibration of the image data and a field spectral measurement campaign, the hyperspectral data have been processed with different techniques, mainly based o n ENVI concepts of minimum noise fractions (MNF), pixel purity index (PPI), n-dimensional visualizer and an alyser, spectral endmembers, spectral unmixing and SAM classifications, in interactive and automatic "hour glass" modes. Due to the very specific local effect s of the presence of a fault trace, the images have been spl it in local subsets. Hyperspectral data proved effe ctive to discriminate or identify small changes in the spect ral properties of the surfaces. A high spatial reso lution was needed to delineate detailed changes in the landsca pe. It is well accepted by the scientific community studying structural geological effects that a pixel size of 3m x 3m is optimal. Thermal images have been used in the study of soil wetness and vegetation wetness (evapotranspira tion). A detailed LIDAR DEM provided by the Ondersteunend Centrum GIS-Vlaanderen of the Vlaamse Landmaatschappij was used to study the topographic effect of fau lting when present. A particularly fruitful approach is t he combination of topography and spectral imagery t o delineate the expression of the faults. Testing this in an ar ea submitted to periglacial geomorphology where the faults were already studied in detail with the combination of g eomorphological, geophysical and geological (trenching) investigations, brings new information on the effec ts of these specific faults on their surrounding en vironment. The effects of the faulting on spectral signatures of v egetation inside single plots of land have been evi denced where the faults traces were known or interpolated. However, the anthropogenic effects outrange the geologic rel ated effects, and it was not possible to propose new fault traces in general. However, candidates for fault-related hyperspectral variations were proposed where no other indices in morphology were evidenced.

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