GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF LANDSAT IMAGERY

FOR THE SANDHURST ROXANA EXPLORATION PERMIT

NEAR
FLAT BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND
December 1995
By
Frederick N. Murray
Consulting Geologist
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1
LANDSAT SCENE............................................. 4
STRATIGRAPHY........................................ 5
STRUCTURE................................................. 7
STRESSED VEGETATION....................................... 20
CONCLUSIONS............................................. 22
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................... 24
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE PAGE
I. Index map of Newfoundland illustrating the
location of Exploration Permit 93-101 .............. 2
2. One-quarter Landsat scene centered at
approximately 580 411 West Longitude and
48 22 North Latitude .............................. 13
3. Landsat true--color image of Exploration
Permit 93-101 ...................................... 14
4. Landsat infrared image of Exploration
Permit 93-101 ...................................... 15
5. Landsat infrared image of Exploration
Permit 93-101 illustrating important
geological information .............................. 16
6. Landsat, Kauth-Thomas transformation
image of Exploration Permit 93-101 ................... 17
INTRODUCTION
This report on Landsat imagery is written at the request of Mr.
Gary Johnson of Sandhurst Roxana Exploration Ltd., P.O. Box 2707,
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101. The study includes the area of Exploration
Permit 93-101, Department of Natural Resources, Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador, and surrounding areas.
The northern boundary of the Exploration Permit lies 2 kilometers
south of Flat Bay, Newfoundland, a coastal town on the southeast
side of St. George's Bay. Essentially the permit area is a square 20
kilometers on a side, excluding the oceanic area of the northwest
corner, and containing approximately 36,000 hectares (89,000 Ac).
The permit is located on the basis of Universal Transverse Mercator
Grid with the southeast corner of the 20 kilometer by 20 kilometer
permit placed at reference point 390000 m East and 5340000 m
North. The permit boundary is aligned with the UTM grid. An
approximate location for the southeast corner is 58 12.5' West
Longitude and 48 29 North latitude. Thirteen kilometers of Atlantic
coastline delineate the northwest corner of the Permit (Figure 1).
-1-
Figure 1. Index map of Newfoundland illustrating the location of
Exploration Permit 93-101.
-2-
The purpose of this report is to evaluate Landsat imagery and
relate it to surface geology in order to determine the petroleum
potential of Exploration Permit 93-101. The imagery also provides
information on roads and vegetation cover. Vegetation is important in
that it relates to surface geology and accessibility for seismic crews
and other equipment. Information for this report was interpreted from
Landsat imagery or obtained from various geologic literature sources.
No field check or ground truthing was accomplished.
The Department of Natural Resources, Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador at St. John's Newfoundland were
helpful in locating information, references, and maps for this report.
Messieurs Ian Knight and Dave Hawkins were most helpful in this
respect. Also, Mr. Fred Thistle, Forestry Management Division of the
Department of Natural Resources, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, was
very helpful in furnishing forest inventory maps which were used as
an aid for interpreting landsat imagery.
-3-
LANDSAT IMAGERY
The Landsat imagery of this report was purchased from
radarsat, 3851 Shell Road, Suite 200, Richmond, British Columbia,
Canada V6X 2W2. A one-quarter scene dated August 9, 1991 was
chosen to avoid winter snow conditions and place emphasis on
the "leaves on trees" growing season-when stressed vegetation
would be most evident. The region covered by the one-quarter scene
was centered at approximately 580 411 West Longitude and 48'D
221 North Latitude and covered an area 88 kilometers (north-south)
by 92 kilometers (east-west). A few small cumulus clouds were
present in the southern part of the one-quarter scene, but none within
the Exploration Permit area (Figure 2). Landsat imagery was received
from Radarsat in digital form in order to process the one-
quarter scene by computer. A path oriented image was
requested from Radarsat to eliminate any possible loss of resolution
which could occur with reprocessing of data values. The one-quarter
scene is a part of full Landsat scene which has the general
designation of Row 26, Path 05.
The Landsat data was received from Radarsat in the form of a
single CD-ROM disk containing Landsat-5, Thematic Mapper, digital
data. The data consisted of a full set of seven Thematic Mapper
bands for each pixel. Three of the bands are in the visible part of the
spectrum and represent colors; blue, green and red. The infrared part
of the spectrum is represented by three bands; one near-infrared and
two middle-infrared. One band records how objects radiate heat and
is referred to as the thermal band.
The imagery was viewed on a Viewsonic 17G, 1280 X 1024,
monitor; using a 486/33DX central processing unit; with a 540
megabyte hard disk drive; 8 megabyte RAM; and other appropriate
hardware. ERDAS 7.5 software was used for processing the Landsat,
Thematic Mapper, digital data using various combinations of bands
and band ratios.
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STRATIGRAPHY
The Exploration Permit of this study lies within the Bay St.
George subbasin which formed during the late Devonian and
Carboniferous time. The part of the subbasin that is currently on land
is roughly 125 kilometers long and 25 to 30 kilometers wide and
parallels the western coast line of southwestern Newfoundland. This
land area portion of the subbasin extends from Cape Anguille at the
southwest end to approximately 25 kilometers northeast of
Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland at the northeast end. A part of
the subbasin probably lies beneath St. George's Bay where
deposition of sediments occurred as the basin opened-up during and
after Late Devonian.
Sedimentary rocks of the Bay St. George subbasin are known
to range in age from Late Devonian through Carboniferous. The three
intervals of strata deposited in the subbasin from lowest to highest
are the Anguille Group, the Codroy Group, and the Barachois Group.
Original thicknesses of these three groups in the Flat Bay - Barachois
synclinorium area are approximated to be: 2,700 feet, 7,500 feet, and
6,000 feet, respectively. However, the maximum thickness of the
combined intervals along the axis of the Barachois synclinarium is
estimated to be 13,500 feet. The thickness of strata exposed above
basement rock along the axis of Flat Bay anticline ranges from an
estimated 600 feet at the south end to 0 feet at the north end. The
Fischells conglomerate of the Anguille Group unconformably overlies
basement rock along the axis of the anticline. A distinction between
groups of strata and formation boundaries could not be definitely
made by Landsat imagery.
However, the bedded gypsum and possible rock salt deposits
of the Codroy Group often displayed lakes, sinkholes, and an
irregular vegetation areas which could be traced on the imagery. This
evaporitic strata of the Codroy Group forms an outcrop belt .5
kilometer to 1.25 kilometer in width along both flanks of Flat Bay
anticline.
-5-
Sedimentary rocks in the Bay St. George subbasin consist
primarily of continental deposits. Marine sedimentation is associated
with deposition of evaporates in the lower part of the Codroy Group.
The Anguille Group is make up of redbeds, sandstone, conglomerate,
shale, and mudstone of fluvial, deltaic, lacustrine, and alluvial fan
origin. The Codroy Group consists of gypsum, rock salt, limestone,
siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate; and redbeds of evaporate basin,
shallow marine, deltaic, and fluvial origin. The Barachois Group
consists of typical Middle Pennsylvanian strata (Westphalian). It is
made up of sandstone, siltstone, shale, thin coal beds, and local
conglomerates deposited in fluvial and shallow swamp environments.
-6-
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
The Long Range fault, a possible extension of the Cabot fault,
bounds the Bay St. George subbasin on most of the southeast side.
The up-faulted Steel Mountain anorthosite bounds the basin on the
northern part of the southeast side. Structurally, the subbasin has had
a long developmental history, starting with basin filling and formation
during Late Devonian and culminating in Late Carboniferous with
moderate to strong deformation of the subbasin strata to form many
of the evident structural features. Movement along the Long Range
fault has been varied. Vertical movement is associated with basin
filling and right-lateral wrench fault movement is associated with the
deformation of the subbasin.
Knight (1983, p. 273-287) discusses the structural geology of
the Bay St. George subbasin and relates faulting and folding of the
basin strata to right-lateral 'wrench fault movement on the Long
Range fault. The Long Range fault is considered to be the main
regional fault to which subsidiary deformation can be related. In the
wrench fault system, the synthetic faults encounter the main fault at
an angle of 00 to 250. The Crabbes Brook fault, and the Snakes Bight
fault are considered to be examples of synthetic faults. These faults
demonstrate right-lateral displacement. Antithetic faults occur in
association with deformation of the Anguille anticline in the southern
part of the Bay St. George subbasin. None of the antithetic faults
have been definitely identified in the Exploration Permit area or the
general vicinity as illustrated in Plate 1. Where antithetic faults are
present, in the southern part of the subbasin, they form an acute
angle of 600 to 70'D with the synthetic faults and their movement is
left-lateral in relation to the long Range wrench fault which is right-
lateral.
-7-
Several east-west lineaments observed on Landsat imagery
cross the Bay St. George subbasin. The lineaments are relatively
straight line-like features which are believed to be structurally
controlled. These lineaments are probably faults; however, specific
displacements could not be identified from Landsat imagery. All of
these lineaments, with the possible exception of the Dribble Brook
lineament, seem to extend westward beyond the current coast line of
St. George's Bay. The presence of a major fault paralleling the coast
line a few kilometers seaward from the coast line has been inferred to
be present (Webb, 1969, p. 775;
Belt, 1969, p. 745; Langdon and Hall, 1994, fig. 5). This fault is
called the St. George's Bay fault. It crosses the north coast line of St.
George's Bay on the east edge of the granitic and mafic rocks of the
Indian Head Range complex (Geological map of Newfoundland,
1955, 1967) and extends to the northeast on a N 450 E trend.
Landsat imagery confirms the trend on land but only the coast line at
Bank Head and a parallel relationship with the shore line seem to
control the direction to the southwest in the bay area.
From north to south, the trends of the lineaments and their
angular relationship with the St. George's Bay fault are as follows:
Angle with
St. George's
Trend Bay Fault
Flat Island lineament N 65 E 20
Little Barachois Brook
lineament N 75 E 30
Dribble Brook lineament N 75 E 30
Journois Brook lineament N 80 E 35
Rattling Brook lineament N 80 E 35
-8-
Big Otter Pond lineament N 90 E 45
Mitchells Pond lineament N 90 E 45
Shoal Point lineament N 90 E 45
The northern five lineaments are relatively straight. However,
the southern three lineaments curve toward the Long Range fault with
trends of S 80 E when approaching the fault. In the case of the Otter
Pond lineament and the Mitchells Pond lineament the curve reverses
to a trend of N 80 E at intersection with the Long Range fault.
The following indicators are used to identify lineaments:
1. Chains of lakes.
2. Elongated lakes.
3. Promontories or embayments in lake shore-lines that
suggest fault location.
4. Changes in stream direction.
5. Constant direction for a stream over a kilometer or more.
6. Fault scarps.
7. Change in stream appearance from meandering to braided.
8. The presence of bays and coves along the southeast coast
line of St. George's Bay.
The bay and cove coast line, which is considered to be an
indicator, is in marked contrast to the straight, smooth coast formed
along the northwest side of the Anguille Mountains immediately to the
south.
-9-
The lineaments may be the east-west trending faults of
Langdon and Hall (1994, p. 1760-1761) that have been recognized by
marine seismic work in the Cabot Strait and St. George's Day. Belt
(1969, p. 743-744) presents evidence for a major east-west trending
fault at locality "W on his map, which seems to correspond with the
Shoal Creek fault and Shoal Creek lineament. Aeromagnetic data are
said to indicate a major east-,west structure at this locality.
Three explanations for the series of eight lineaments are offered.
1. The lineaments could be a series of splay faults off the St.
George's Bay fault or
2. The lineaments are synthetic faults caused by right- lateral
movement on the St. George's Day faults or
3. The lineaments are east-west faults, some of which have
been reoriented. In this case lineaments are considered to
be unrelated to wrench fault movement.
None of these explanations seems to fit the geometry of
faulting. However, deformation of the subbasin has been long and
complex and it is suggested that a combination of these explanations
would be the best fit.
The Crabbes Brook fault (Knight, 1983, fig.42) bounds the
Barachois synclinorium on the northwest side. Only very minimal
evidence for this fault could be identified on Landsat imagery. Also,
en echelon folds and other surface mapped faults (Knight, 1983,
geologic map) in the Barachois synclinorium were not evident on
Landsat. The northern end of the Snakes Bight fault and the axis of
the associated anticline were readily identifiable by topography and
imagery.
-10-
Lineament trends are generally evident in the color patterns of
the Landsat imagery. Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate images with
different band arrangements, using the three principal colors of red,
green, and blue (RGB), to generate the colored image. Selection of
the bands to be used for red, green, and blue is arbitrary. However,
three numerical values must be scaled, one for each of the three
principal colors. Three principal color values are used for each pixel
in order to generate the raster image which is made up of all the
pixels. Algebra computations may be used in various ways to create
the three numerical values used. Obviously, there are a great number
of colored images which can be created. Those images which portray
the geology best are those sought after for interpretation.
-11-
Figure 2. One-quarter Landsat scene centered at approximately
580 411 West Longitude and 48 22, North Latitude. The area
covered is 88 kilometers north-south and 92 kilometers east-
west, with north toward the top of the photograph. This is a
true-color image made by combining TM-5 bands 3, 2, 1 (RGB).
Date: 8-9-91.
-12-
Figure 3. Landsat true-color image of Exploration permit 93-101
Photograph illustrates: forest and vegetation, green; bogs,
grayish-purple; fresh water lakes, black; gypsum mine, 'white
area at top--center; anorthosite, gray nobs in upper right corner;
and Trans-Canada highway, white line. TM-5 bands 3, 2, 1
(RGB). Date 8-9-91.
-13-
Figure 4- Landsat infrared image Of ExpIoration permit 93-101.
Photograph illustrates-, healthy vegetation, various shades of red;
stressed vegetation, dark green; and various roads and tracks, pale
blue lines. TM-5 bands 4, 3, 2 (RGB). Date: 8-9-91.
-14-
-15-
Figure 5. Landsat infrared image of Exploration Permit 93-101
illustrating important geological information. Photograph
illustrates: Dribble Brook lineament, DB; Journois 'Brook
lineament, JB; Rattling Brook lineament, RB; Otter Pond
lineament, OP; Mitchells Pond lineament, MP; Long Range
fault, LR; Crabbes Brook fault, CB; stressed vegetation, SV;
Anorthosite, A; and evaporitic strata of Codroy Group, E. TM-5
bands 4, 3, 2 (RGB). Date: 8-9-91.
-16-
Figure 6. Landsat, Kauth-Thomas transformation image of
Exploration Permit 93-101. Stressed vegetation forms the dark
brown area in the center of the photograph. The image is
determined by a so called "tassel cap" transformation in which
each principal color (RGB) is determined by its own individual
equation with the solution to each equation being a function of
the six Landsat reflectance band values. This image displays
soil brightness. Date: B-9-91.
-17-
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the Exploration Permit area and
vicinity in true-.color. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate infrared imagery with
the positions of important geological features and stressed
vegetation. Figure 6 illustrates a tasseled cap transformation image
which seems to show stressed vegetation as well as soil brightness.
The most evident fold in the Exploration Permit area is Flat Bay
anticline. This anticline is 25 kilometers long and 7 kilometers wide. It
trends N 40'0 E and roughly parallels the St. George's Bay coast line.
The anticline is separated into a northern dome and a southern dome
by two lineaments which cross the anticlinal axis at acute angles of
about 40(. Landsat imagery displays a sequence of lakes, sink holes,
and vegetation variation which follow the outcrop of the Codroy
Group evaporates around the flanks of the anticline. Strata dips on
the flanks of the anticline have been reported by Knight (1983,
geologic map) to be in the order of 15 to 30 degrees with a scarcity of
attitudes along the axis of the anticline where the Fischells
conglomerate crops out. In places flank dips of 40 to 50 degrees have
been reported. The anticline is doubly plunging; however, no specific
information on the angle of plunge is available.
Basement rock of probable Precambrian age has been reported
at the center of the northern dome of Flat Bay anticline. Knight
(1983, geologic map) illustrates an outcrop of pre-Carboniferous
basement centering the northern dome which is 4 to 5 kilometers long
and l kilometers wide. A single attitude on foliation was evidently
measured in this basement rock. This basement rock is considered to
be Grenvillian, of Late Precambrian age (Knight, 1983, p. 13). On his
map, Belt (1969, p. 743-744) indicates basement rock crops out at
locality "X (northern dome) and that only a few hundred feet of
conglomerate are present above basement at locality 'IF" (southern
dome) according to aeromagnetic data. However, no specific drilling
information seems to be available on the rocks along the axis of Flat
'Bay anticline. Also, Landsat imagery displays no outcrop in the
center of the northern dome with definite texture of Precambrian
crystalline rocks as is evident in the area of anorthosite at the
northeastern side of the subbasin (Plate I). If exposures of
-18-
Precambrian crystalline rocks are present at the northern dome, they
are poorly exposed and could be covered with glacial drift in most
places.
Flat Bay anticline and Anguille anticline, to the south, have
been interpreted as en echelon folds related to right-lateral wrench
movement on the Long Range fault. Similarly, the smaller more
localized anticlines and synclines in the Barachois synclinorium may
also be en echelon and related to movement on the Long Range
fault. The smaller folds trend N 20 E to N 30 E and are only one or
two kilometers in length. These folds have been identified in surface
mapping and are not recognizable on Landsat imagery. The axis of
the Barachois synclinorium parallels the general trend of the en
echelon folds. The synclinorium is roughly 32 kilometers long and 14
kilometers wide with the axis trending diagonally across the
synclinorium on an average trend of N 25 E. The Barachois Group,
consisting of sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal primarily of Middle
Pennsylvanian age, crops out in the central part of the synclinorium.
-19-
STRESSED VEGETATION
Geobotanical anomalies may exist in areas where the soil
contains unusually high concentrations of the certain elements or
compounds. The excess amount of these elements and compounds
may be harmful to plants growing in the overlying soil causing stress
(Lillesand and Kiefer, 1994, p. 180). Thus, the term "stressed
vegetation" has been used by geologists when searching for such
anomalies. In some cases plant varieties change in the anomalous
areas because some plant types are unaffected by certain seemingly
toxic concentrations. Settle (1984, p. 19-25) discusses the stressed
vegetation conditions in a Wyoming oil field, that could be caused by
natural gas seeping from and underlying oil and gas reservoir rock.
Ratioing and principal component analysis methods are used to
identify an anomalous area from airborne multispectral imagery.
Conclusions from soil tests indicated that anomalously alkaline soils
had restricted the growth of the stunted sagebrush even though there
were enhanced concentrations of hydrocarbon gases in and around
the affected area. The extent to which the acidity of the local soils
were modified by the gases was unknown. Conclusions were that the
stressed conditions could not be related genetically to the seepage of
hydrocarbons from the underlying reservoir. Although, the tests from
Wyoming and another area in West Virginia were not conclusive, it
was concluded that botanical information obtained from remotely
sensed imagery may be geologically significant under certain
circumstances.
The Exploration Permit area demonstrated one area, one
kilometer square in extent, which may have stressed vegetation. This
spot is located at the intersection of Crabbes Brook fault with
Fischells Brook and centered around UTM grid point 382500 m East
and 5350000 m North. The area is indicated on Figure 5, Plate 1, and
the central brown area on Figure 6.
-20-
Forestry inventory maps for the southwestern part of
Newfoundland, which are four years or more older than the landsat
imagery, indicate 31.9 hectares (.319 kilometer-square) of insect
infested forest where Crabbes Brook fault crosses Fischells Brook.
This suggests that insects are responsible for the stressed
vegetation. Another area, near Flat Bay, Newfoundland but outside
the study area, displayed a similar anomalous spot of stressed
vegetation which corresponded with an insect infested area on the
forest-inventory maps. However, all insect infested areas on the
inventory maps did not display stressed vegetation on imagery. The
tree types which display stressed vegetation are mostly balsam fir
and/or black spruce.
The following possibilities seem evident:
1. Stressed vegetation resulted only from insects.
2. Stressed vegetation is due to harmful soil and the forest inventory
maps misidentified the area as insect infestation.
3. Stressed vegetation resulted from harmful soil which weakened
vegetation so that trees became infested.
4. Neither insects nor soil are responsible for the stressed vegetation
on the imagery.
If the soil of the stressed vegetation area tested positive on a
hydrocarbon survey then, either 2 or 3 above might be the case.
This could lead to the conclusion that hydrocarbons were seeping to
the surface along the Crabbes Brook fault which traverses the
stressed vegetation area.
-21-
CONCLUSIONS
Certain structural, stratigraphic, and vegetation characteristics
were evident on the Landsat imagery for Exploration Permit 93-101 in
relation to petroleum evaluation. Conclusions concerning these
characteristics are as follows:
1. The Bay St. George subbasin is crossed by eight lineaments with
trends ranging from N 900 E to N 65" E, which extend across the
basin from the shore of St. George's Bay to the Long Range fault
or other east-side bounding faults.
2. If the St. George's Bay fault is present, its extension on land lies
immediately east of the Indian Head Range Complex on the north
shore of St. George's Bay.
3. The E-W faults of the Cabot Strait identified by earlier marine
seismic work, may be related to the eight lineaments which trend
across Bay of St. George subbasin. However, no specific
conclusions were made concerning the origin of the lineaments.
4. Coves and heads along the southeast shore of St. Ceorge's Bay
are related to the places where the lineaments cut across the
shore line.
5. The evaporitic strata, consisting of gypsum and rock salt, crop out
on the flanks of Flat Bay anticline and can be recognized on Landsat
imagery.
6. An area of stressed vegetation, of approximately one square-
kilometer, lies over the Crabbes Brook fault near the place where
the fault crosses Fischells Brook. Insect infestation may be either a
factor or a cause in vegetation stress.
-22-
Respectfully submitted,
-23-
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Belt, E.S., 1969, Newfoundland Carboniferous stratigraphy and its
relation to the Maritimes and Ireland, in North Atlantic geology
and continental drift, a symposium: Am. Assoc. Petroleum
Geologists Memoir 12, p. 734-753.
Geological map of Newfoundland, 1955, Map 1043A: Geological
Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, scale 1:760,320.
Geological map of Newfoundland, 1967, Map 1231A: Geological
Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, scale 1:1,000,000.
Langdon, G.S., and Hall, J., 1994, DL-vonian-Carboniferous tectonics
and basin deformation in the Cabot Strait area, eastern
Canada: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologist Bull., v. 78, no. 11,
p. 1748-1774.
Lillesand, T.M., and Kiefer, R.W., 1994, Remote sensing and image
interpretation, 3rd ed.: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 750 p.
Knight, Ian, 1983, Geology of the Carboniferous Bay St. George
subbasin, Western Newfoundland: Department of Mines and
Energy, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Memoir 1,
358 p.; geologic map, Map 82-1.
Settle, Mark, 1984, The joint NASA/Ceosat test case project,
executive summary: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists
Bookstore, Tulsa, OK, 30 P.
Webb, G.W., 1969, Paleozoic wrench faults in Canadian
Appalachians, in North Atlantic geology and continental drift, a
symposium: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Memoir 12, p.
754-786.
-24-