Hyperspectral remote sensing detection of methane plumes in the VNIR-SWIR range: field experiment and case study

• Grant number: 18/12969-0
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): September 17, 2018
• Effective date (End): May 21, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal researcher: Carlos Roberto de Souza Filho
• Grantee: Rebecca Del Papa Moreira Scafutto
• Supervisor abroad: Freek Van Der Meer
• Home Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Twente (UT), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/19842-7 - Evaluation of Hyperspectral Images in the Thermal Infrared for Detection and Characterization of Thermogenic Gas Seepages in Continental Areas, BP.PD

Abstract

The development of techniques able to assist the oil industry on the evaluation of the exploration potential of greenfield basins in Brazil is essential to attract investors. Remote sensing tools have been proven its efficacy as a prospecting method, especially publications demonstrating applications through the infrared range (1 - 15 µm). At onshore areas, the occurrence of natural gas (CH4) seeps is a strong indicative of the presence of hydrocarbons undersurface. In this research project, we propose the processing of near and shortwave infrared (NIR-SWIR) airborne hyperspectral data for the detection of CH4 plumes in continental areas. First, the data acquired with the ProSpecTIR-VS sensor from a field experiment of controlled CH4 releases performed in Casper (USA) will be processed. Then, the developed methodology will be applied to a case study, through the processing of an image acquired from Remanso do Fogo, region famous for large gas seeps that occur along the Paracatu River. The aim of this research proposal consisting of evaluating the detection limits of ProSpecTIR-VS to map emission sources of CH4, and the applicability of the methodology in tropical areas, analyzing the interference from vegetation and thicker atmosphere in the data processing. The work to be developed on this research have the potential to be used as an operating tool in the oil industry, since the ProSpecTIR-VS is the only hyperspectral airborne sensor operating in Brazil. Moreover, future orbital sensors planned to be launched shortly opens the possibility to extrapolate the methodology to orbital scale, allowing the periodic monitoring of target areas. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SCAFUTTO, REBECCA DEL'PAPA MOREIRA; LIEVENS, CAROLINE; HECKER, CHRISTOPHER; MEER, FREEK D. VAN DER; FILHO, CARLOS ROBERTO DE SOUZA. Detection of petroleum hydrocarbons in continental areas using airborne hyperspectral thermal infrared data (SEBASS). REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT, v. 256, APR 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

MOREIRA SCAFUTTO, REBECCA DEL'PAPA; VAN DER WERFF, HARALD; BAKKER, WIM H.; VAN DER MEER, FREEK; DE SOUZA FILHO, CARLOS ROBERTO. An evaluation of airborne SWIR imaging spectrometers for CH4 mapping: Implications of band positioning, spectral sampling and noise. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, v. 94, FEB 2021. Web of Science Citations: 1.