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Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817

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Exploring for natural gas using reflectance spectra of surface soils

a,b
Da-Qi Xu , Guo-Qiang Ni a,*, Li-Li Jiang a, Yuan-Ting Shen c,
Ting Li a, Shu-Le Ge a, Xian-Biao Shu a
a
Department of Optical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
b
China Centre for Resources Satellite Data and Application, Beijing 100073, China
c
Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academic of Sciences, China

Received 18 August 2006; received in revised form 21 May 2007; accepted 25 May 2007

Abstract

Reflectance spectra in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths provide a rapid and inexpensive means for determining the mineralogy
of samples and obtaining information on chemical composition. Hydrocarbon microseepage theory establishes a cause-and-effect
relation between oil and gas reservoirs and some special surface anomalies, which mainly include surface hydrocarbon microseepage
and related alterations. Therefore, we can explore for oil, gas by determining reflectance spectra of surface anomalies. This idea has been
applied to the R&D project of exploring for natural gas in Qinghai province of China using NASA EO-1 satellite with the Hyperion
sensor (June 2005 to June 2006). In this project, in order to improve the accuracy of exploration targets of natural gas mapped in the
field studied, an integrated practical system of exploration of oil and gas was built by the analysis of not only hyperspectral remote
sensing data but also data provided from field work. In this paper, our efforts were focused on the analysis of the 799 reflectance spectra
provided from the field work. In order to properly define the typical form of hydrocarbon microseepage with spectroscopy and fulfill the
data analysis, it was necessary to build a spectral model. In this spectral model the most important features of hydrocarbon microseepage
in the surface of our study area, i.e., diagnostic spectral macroscopic features and diagnostic spectral absorption features, were proposed
and extracted, respectively. The distribution of coexisting anomalies, which results from both alteration minerals and hydrocarbons, is
estimated by the diagnostic macroscopic features mainly using Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) classifier. On the other hand, the diagnos-
tic absorption features of two main absorption bands presented abundant local information, based on deep analysis of which, we are able
to map the anomalies of alteration minerals and hydrocarbons, respectively. Additionally, a general framework of analysis and key clas-
sification algorithms applied to the Hyperion data have been introduced briefly. In our work, three exploration targets of natural gas
were identified from the study area which covers 2100 km2. In the three exploration targets, three wildcats have been drilled by China
National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) since July 2006, and all the three wells have been proven some industrial reserves.
 2007 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Reflectance spectra; Hyperspectral remote sensing; Explore for natural gas; Absorption-band parameters; Spectral library; Hydrocarbon
absorption bands

1. Introduction infrared and short wave-infrared light, providing vast

Hyperspectral imaging sensors have sufficient spectral
resolution to identify different surface materials based
solely on spectral characteristics. They record narrow
wavelength bands of visible light as well as longer, near-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 013581975576.
E-mail addresses: rufus7@cresda.com, rufus7@bit.edu.cn (G.-Q. Ni).
amounts of spectral information at the sub-pixel level.
Now significant gas fields are found in subtle strati-
graphic traps in addition to structural traps. Both may be
detectable by measuring surface hydrocarbon microsee-
page and related anomalies. In order to decrease cost of
exploration and improve wildcat success rates, various
combinations of surface methods have been used to locate
those wildcat tests (Thompson et al., 1994).

0273-1177/$34.00  2007 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2007.05.073
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817 1801

Exploration of oil, gas using hyperspectral remote sens-
ing methodologies is based on reflectance spectroscopy and
hydrocarbon microseepage theory (Cloutis, 1989; Goetz
et al., 1985).
Remote sensing for hydrocarbon exploration generally
focuses on the identification of indirect evidence of hydro-
carbons. In addition, it is possible to map indirect evidence
of seeps, using the spectra of stressed vegetation (Everett
et al., 2002; Yang et al., 1998), or through the identification
of alteration minerals associated with seeps. In rare cases, it
may even be possible to identify hydrocarbons directly, if
they accumulate on the surface in sufficient quantities
(Freeman, 2003).
In 1999, a cooperative R&D project organized by Geo-
sat proved that sophisticated airborne and ground hyper-
spectral sensors were capable of detecting oil seeps and
oil-impacted soils (Ellis, 2003). Some promising research
results (Ellis et al., 2001; Freeman, 2003; Hörig et al.,
2001) have been acquired recently in the projects or exper-
iments of exploring for oil, natural gas using airborne

Fig. 1. Integrated practical system of exploration of oil and gas.

1802 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
hyperspectral sensors; however, so far, rare literature
shows the effectiveness by satellite sensors such as Hype-
rion for successful exploration of oil and gas.
From June 2005 to June 2006, we worked on the R&D
project of exploring for natural gas in Qinghai province,
China, using NASA EO-1 satellite with the Hyperion sen-
sor. In our project, great efforts were focused on the spec-
tral model of hydrocarbon microseepage and Hyperion
data classification algorithms. In order to improve the
accuracy of exploration targets of natural gas mapped in
the field studied, an integrated practical system (see
Fig. 1) of exploration of oil and gas is built by the analysis
of not only hyperspectral remote sensing data but also data
provided from field work by experts. In our work, three
exploration targets of natural gas were identified from
the study area which covers 2100 km2.
The data provided from field work mainly includes
reflectance spectra determined in the field, mineral samples
collected throughout the study area, location data, photos,
geologic surveys, and so on. In particular, the reflectance
spectra determined in the field have much higher SNR (Sig-
nal Noise Ratio) and better spectral resolution than Hype-
rion data. Furthermore, the impact of atmospheric
conditions, such as the amount of water vapor and distri-
bution of aerosols, can be almost ignored completely in
the process of spectrum determination in the field. These
are significant for us in order to acquire accurate reflec-
tance spectra, and build up a spectral model for hydrocar-
bon microseepage in our study area with good accuracy.
However, the data provided by field work are of low spatial
resolution, which can degrade the recognition precision of
surface anomalies. Meanwhile, the relative higher cost and
lower efficiency of the field work hampers its practical
applicability. To overcome these difficulty, hyperspectral
data acquired by Hyperion sensors were also exploited
for the design of a classifier to detect the oil and gas distri-
bution in the area studied, as Hyperion have greater spatial
resolution (30 m) and can provide more continuous distri-
bution of anomalies efficiently. In conclusion, on the com-
parison and integrated analysis of classification results
provided by the two data sources discussed above, we
could better map anomaly zones in the area observed.
In this paper, our efforts were focused on the analysis of
the data provided from the field work. In order to properly
define the typical form of hydrocarbon microseepage with
spectroscopy and fulfill the data analysis, it is necessary
to build a spectral model. In this spectral model the most
important features of hydrocarbon microseepage in the
surface of our study area, i.e., diagnostic spectral macro-
scopic features and diagnostic spectral absorption features,
were proposed and extracted, which is discussed in detail in
Sections 4 and 5 of this paper, respectively.
The distribution of coexisting anomalies, which results
from both alteration minerals and hydrocarbons, is esti-
mated by the diagnostic macroscopic features in the band
region of 2.0–2.396 lm mainly using Spectral Angle Map-
per (SAM) classifier. On the other hand, the diagnostic
absorption features of two main absorption bands of 2.1–
2.26 and 2.24–2.39 lm presented abundant local informa-
tion, based on deep analysis of which, we are able to
map the anomalies of alteration minerals and hydrocar-
bons separately.
2. Theory and methods
2.1. Reflectance spectroscopy
Reflectance spectroscopy is the study of light as a func-
tion of wavelength that has been reflected or scattered from
a solid, liquid, or gas.
More recently, the sensitivity of spectroscopy to subtle
changes in crystal structure or chemistry has been recog-
nized as a powerful means of studying the structure and
composition of minerals, and it is because of this sensitivity
that spectroscopy has great potential as a diagnostic tool
(Clark, 1995).
2.2. Hydrocarbon microseepage
Hydrocarbon microseepage involves buoyant, relatively
rapid, vertical ascent of ultra-small gas bubbles of light
hydrocarbons (primarily methane through the butanes)
through a network of interconnected, groundwater-filled
joints and bedding planes.
As hydrocarbons rise toward the surface, sulfate reduc-
ing bacteria may consume them and produce hydrogen sul-
fide (H2S), carbon dioxide (CO2), and secondary carbonate
mineralization (CaCO3). Carbon dioxide in groundwater
forms carbonic acid (H2CO3), which can react with clay
minerals to create more secondary pore-filling calcium car-
bonate mineralization and silicification (SiO2). This can
result in rendering the near-surface materials more dense
and resistant to erosion (Saunders et al., 1993).
The production of CO2, H2S, and organic acids resulting
from the microbial oxidation of hydrocarbons in near sur-
face soils and sediments can create reducing, slightly acidic
conditions that promote the diagenetic weathering of feld-
spars to produce clays (Schumacher, 1996). Clay minerals
thus formed remain chemically stable unless their environ-
ment is changed. Pyrite can be precipitated in this reducing
environment too.
2.3. Geochemical signatures
Unlike macroseeps, which manifest themselves as pools
of oil or tar on the surface, microseeps leave no visible or
easily discernable direct evidence of their occurrence. There
are many significant, well-documented hydrocarbon-
induced anomalies in both the soils and sediments
surrounding microseeps that are attributable to leaking
hydrocarbons. These anomalies can be divided into two
types of microseepage detection, i.e., direct and indirect.
Direct detection is defined as those techniques that actually
measure hydrocarbons, in the form of hydrocarbon
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
molecules adsorbed to soil particles or hydrocarbon con-
centrations of escaping vapor, such as methane. Indirect
detection is the measurement of secondary effects resulting
from the seepage of light hydrocarbons, such as mineral
alterations (Van der Meer et al., 2000).
Consequently, diagnostic spectral features of hydrocar-
bons and mineral alterations compose reliable evidences
in the exploration of oil, gas.
2.3.1. Diagnostic spectral features of hydrocarbons
The diagnostic spectral features of methane and crude
oil consist of four distinct hydrocarbon absorption bands.
Two bands, 1.18 and 1.380 lm, are narrow and sharply
defined, though fairly weak. The other two, 1.68–1.72
and 2.3–2.45 lm, are broader, but much stronger (McCoy
et al., 2001).
2.3.2. Diagnostic spectral features of alterations and some
surface anomalies
Hydrocarbon-induced alterations associated with indi-
rect detection can express themselves in a variety of forms,
such as mineralogical changes (calcium carbonate mineral-
ization: near 2.35 lm), bleaching of red beds (near 1.0 lm),
clay minerals alterations (near 2.2 lm), electrochemical
changes, radiation anomalies, microbial anomalies, as well
as biogeochemical and geobotanical anomalies (Schumach-
er, 1996).
3. Field and lab description
3.1. Geologic setting
In our project, the study area covers 2100 km2
(42 km · 52 km) and lies in the middle of Caidam Basin.
Fig. 2. Data map of the field work.
1803
This area has a great temperature difference between day
and night, and annual average temperature is about
3.7 C. Annual average rainfall is around 120 mm, and
annual evaporation is about 2050 mm. There is relative
stronger wind in the period of April and May of a year
in the area studied. The surface mainly is Gobi almost
without any vegetation. The average altitude is about
2750 m.
The study area is located on the north slope of a depres-
sion basin. Most of structures in this area are internal
structures of Quaternary system. The lithologies are mainly
dark gray arenaceous mudstones, with a few dark gray
argillaceous siltstones and brown carbonaceous mud-
stones. Neogene Shizigou Formation is underlying. Thick-
ness of gas source bed is about 1800 m, and depth of gas
bearing reservoir is only about 723–1330 m. The unconsol-
idated sands and the shallow gas bearing reservoir in the
study area facilitate the vertical ascent of light
hydrocarbons.
Exploration of oil and gas in this area on a large scale
started from 1970s, and at present, seismic survey grid
has arrived at 2 · 2–4 · 4 (km · km) in the study area.
There are four existing gas fields, i.e., No. 0, No. 1, No.
2, and No. 3 gas field from west to east in the study area.
3.2. Field work
The data map of the field work is shown in Fig. 2. In the
direction of EO-1 satellite track, 26 reference lines were
arranged every 2 km in the study area, and on each refer-
ence line 21 observation points were arranged at intervals
of about 2 km. However, in the existing gas fields, the mesh
was made denser and reached about 1 · 1 (km · km).
Therefore, the observation points (circles in Fig. 2)
1804 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Table 1
Key specifications of ASD FieldSpec Pro FR portable spectroradiometers
Spectral range (nm) Spectral resolution (nm)
350–2500 3 (350–1050)
10 (1000–2500)
amounted to 601. Furthermore, 144 field samples (triangles
in Fig. 2) have been collected throughout the study area.
Initially, our field sampling scheme is devised as the survey
mesh about 4 · 4 (km · km), however, in the process of
field work we decided to modulate it according to the geo-
logic complexity of site’s surface. In the observation points
with the same lithology, e.g., the surface of about a quarter
of the study area is very hard salt crust, the mesh was made
relative sparser. On the other hand, in the area with com-
plex lithologies as well as in the existing gas fields, the sur-
vey mesh was densified.
Accurate geologic locations of these observation points
and samples are necessary in order to locate pixels in the
remote sensing images. For this project, location data has
been acquired using the Trimble GeoXT Global Position-
ing System (GPS).
In the field work, reflectance spectra have been obtained
using two ASD’s FieldSpec Pro field portable spectrome-
ters, which are classic products of Analytical Spectral
Devices, Inc. (ASD). ASD’s FieldSpec Pro field portable
spectrometers are widely used for geologic remote sensing
applications. Geologists have recognized that the same
methods of reflectance spectroscopy have far reaching
applications beyond remote sensing, especially in mineral
exploration, core logging, alteration zone delineation, and
lithology mapping (Waiser et al., 2007). Key specifications
of ASD’s FieldSpec Pro field portable spectrometers are
listed in Table 1, and the SNR is determined under normal
solar illumination conditions. Thus, superior sensitivity
combined with a 0.1 s scan time permits greater data collec-
tion in a shorter amount of time and faster movement
between sites for us in the field, and the SNR of radiance
signal measured by the ASD spectroradiometer is able to
meet the requirement of the feature extraction and analysis
methods in this project.
The measurement number of the reflectance spectra at
each observation point depended on the geologic complex-
ity of site’s surface. Thus, 799 reflectance spectra have been
acquired throughout the study area. In this project, all
reflectance spectra were denoted in the form of ‘‘reference
line’’ _‘‘observation point’’ _ ‘‘number’’, and, for example,
‘‘L7_14_0’’ indicated the first reflectance spectrum deter-
mined at the 14th observation point of the 7th reference
line.
Additionally, digital photos have been taken, and geo-
logic surveys have been recorded at each observation point.
Finally a field determination database was designed to con-
tain all the reflectance spectra, location data, photos, and
geologic surveys.
Noise equivalent radiance (W/cm2 nm sr) Signal Noise Ratio (nm)
9
1.4 · 10 at 700 nm 15,000:1 at 700
9
2.4 · 10 at 1400 nm 5000:1 at 1400
9
8.8 · 10 at 2100 nm 2000:1 at 2100
3.3. Lab work: mineralogy/geochemistry
Hydrocarbons are constantly undergoing chemical reac-
tions in a variety of pressure/temperature settings. These
reactions can result in many different alterations that can
be detected by remote sensing. To be able to obtain the typ-
ical form of hydrocarbon microseepage in the surface of
the area studied and further confirm hydrocarbon-induced
microseepage alteration recognized from spectral data, 144
field samples have been analyzed using X-ray diffraction
(XRD) in laboratory.
Based on the analysis report of field samples, we can
conclude that: (1) the average content of clay minerals of
samples collected from the existing gas fields is 25.3%,
and that of samples collected from the other area is
16.7%; (2) the average content of carbonates of samples
collected from the existing gas fields is 25.4%, and that of
samples collected from the other area is 17.1%; (3) the aver-
age content of halite equals to 29.0%; (4) the main compo-
nents of clays are illite and chlorite, whose average content
in clays equals to 63.2% and 17.8% separately.
Thus, we can make a conclusion: the existing gas fields
in our study area have the typical features of high concen-
trations of clays and carbonates.
4. Analysis based on spectral macroscopic features
In order to build the spectral model of the hydrocarbon
microseepage in our study area, the diagnostic spectral
macroscopic features were studied and proposed in this
section. Furthermore, we depended on the similarity of
the macroscopic features of reflectance spectra to fulfill
spectral classification. 2.0–2.396 lm was chosen for the
study band region, allowing for diagnostic spectral features
of main minerals in the study area as well as the spectral
range of the portable spectroradiometer and Hyperion
sensor.
4.1. Spectral macroscopic features of hydrocarbon
microseepage
Reflectance spectra of typical observation points in gas
fields and the other area of the study area are shown in
Fig. 3.
A soil reflectance spectrum is the superimposition of
spectra of the soil mineral components, so in order to
extract the spectral macroscopic features of hydrocarbon
microseepage in our study area, the contents of the field
determination database, such as reflectance spectra,
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Fig. 3. Typical reflectance spectra of observation points.
location data, photos, and geologic surveys, and analysis
report of 144 samples should be studied carefully. At last,
diagnostic spectral macroscopic features of hydrocarbon
microseepage in our study area were proposed: (1) there
are two broad and strong absorption bands near 2.2 and
2.33 lm with complex shapes, whose absorption-band
width is about 40 nm; (2) there is a slightly positive slope
in the region of 2.3–2.4 lm. The slightly positive slope in
this region is not characteristic of clays, which shows a neg-
ative slope. However this slope suggests that hydrocarbons
are overriding the spectral signature of the clays in this
region. The increase in absorption in this region is also a
manifestation of the increasing hydrocarbon content
(Cloutis, 1989).
4.2. Analysis methods
4.2.1. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on wavelet
transform
Hyperspectral data can provide very rich information on
materials. However, it also presents many challenges in
data analysis and interpretation, due to the large amount
of data collected. By carefully combining PCA and wavelet
techniques, a new method that can help in better identifica-
tion of classes in supervised classifications was engendered
(Kaewpijit et al., 2002).
PCA has been widely used for decades to reduce dimen-
sionality, and it is a useful technique if the spectral class
structure of the transformed data is such that it is distrib-
uted along the first few axes. Otherwise, the transformed
data may be similar to the original data. In such a case,
the wavelet decomposition technique might be a better
approach. Wavelet decomposition can reduce hyperspec-
tral data in the spectral domain. This will not only reduce
the data volume, but will also preserve the distinction
1805
among spectral signatures. This characteristic is related to
the intrinsic property of wavelet transforms that preserve
high-frequency and low-frequency features during the sig-
nal decomposition, and therefore preserve peaks and val-
leys found in typical spectra. In general, most
classification errors occur at the boundary between classes.
Since wavelet decomposition is applied to each local test
data, a wavelet-based reduction might not well-differentiate
classes among neighboring test data in the spatial domain.
PCA, however, can provide more local spatial information
among neighboring class than wavelet. The Flowchart of
PCA based on wavelet transform is shown in Fig. 4.
4.2.2. SAM
SAM is an automated method for comparing testing
spectra to individual spectra or a spectral library. SAM
assumes that the data have been reduced to apparent reflec-
tance (true reflectance multiplied by some unknown gain
factor controlled by topography and shadows). The
method determines the similarity between two spectra by
calculating the ‘‘spectral angle’’ between them, treating
them as vectors in a space with dimensionality equal to
the number of bands (Kruse et al., 1993). Because it uses
only the ‘‘direction’’ of the spectra, and not their ‘‘length’’,
the method is insensitive to the unknown gain factor, and
all possible illuminations are treated equally. The ‘‘color’’
of a material is defined by the direction of its unit vector.
Notice that the angle between the vectors is the same
regardless of the length. The length of the vector relates
only to how fully the observation point is illuminated.
The main disadvantage of most of the classification algo-
rithms in spectroscopy, including SAM, is that they do
not consider the sub-pixel value. The spectral mixture
problem can become problematic because most of the
Earth’s surface is heterogeneous.
1806 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Fig. 4. Flowchart of PCA based on wavelet transform.
It is significant to exclude the unknown gain factor and
possible illuminations in our field work, because spectra
cannot be determined in the same conditions in the field.
For example, moisture of soil can intensively influence
albedo of reflectance spectra (Leblon, 1997), which is
shown in Fig. 5. The south of study area abuts on a few
big salt lakes, and it is much moister than the north, so that
the albedo of the 799 spectra changes a lot. Obviously
moisture is a disadvantageous factor for the classification
and its influence must be removed.
In the process of classification, we have experimented
with Spectral Feature Fitting (SFF), Binary Encoding,
Maximum Likelihood (ML) and SAM, the classification
Fig. 5. Spectral reflectance curves for Newtonia silt loam at various
moisture contents (after Bowers and Hanks, 1965).
results with the former three methods were influenced by
illuminations strongly. With the three methods, the obser-
vation points with anomaly were distributed irregularly in
the study area, and the four existing gas fields were not
mapped clearly in the classification results. Specially, the
moisture distribution was revealed evidently in the classifi-
cation results with Binary Encoding. At last, it was with
SAM that we have obtained the best classification results,
which will be introduced in detail in the following sections
of this paper.
4.3. Spectra classification
The flowchart of classifier based on spectral macro-
scopic features is shown in Fig. 6.
4.3.1. Broad classification
A broad unsupervised classification of 799 reflectance
spectra has been developed using PCA based on wavelet
transform and k-mean cluster. In the process of broad clas-
sification, the photos, geologic surveys of 601 observation
points, and the analysis report of 144 field samples were
paid close attention to. It is the main idea of broad classi-
fication to remove the reflectance spectra with gross error.
These reflectance spectra almost have no any useful infor-
mation, and are inclined to increase the classifier complex-
ity and impact the classification results of the subsequent
close classification.
Sources of the gross error include: (1) field determina-
tion in wrong way; (2) the content of halite being so high
as to conceal the feature of the other components (such
as L12_19+_5, the content of halite reaches 57.3%); (3)
the observation points located near gas wells being cleared
up, and thus primary anomaly information being lost (such
as L15+_10_0).
4.3.2. Close classification of each reference line
After broad classification, in each reference line, typical
reflectance spectra determined in gas fields and the other
area were chosen, respectively, as classification samples,
which were used to close supervised classification with
SAM. We repeated this process several times so as to find
the observation points with relatively more strong features
of anomalies resulted from gas reservoirs in a reference
line. Consequently, distribution of coexisting anomalies
in the N–S transects, i.e., reference lines, through the area
studied was revealed.
4.3.3. Global close classification
After broad classification, some typical reflectance spec-
tra determined in the existing gas fields were chosen as glo-
bal classification samples, i.e., reference reflectance spectra.
By calculating the spectral similarity between all the 799
reflectance spectra and the reference reflectance spectra
with SAM in higher accuracy, global close classification
was fulfilled. Therefore with the same standard, including
the same reference reflectance spectra and threshold (spec-
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817 1807

Fig. 6. Flowchart of classifier based on spectral macroscopic features.

tral angle), a more objective and convincible classification thresholds have been chosen in the process of global close
results, i.e., distribution of coexisting anomalies, which classification (Table 2). XRD analysis report of the global
results from both alteration minerals and hydrocarbons, classification samples are shown in Table 3, and the aver-
have been obtained. age content of clays and calcite of all the 144 samples col-
The global classification samples must have such charac- lected from the field is 19.1% and 6.9%, respectively.
ters as: (1) high content of clays and carbonates; (2) lying in
the existing gas fields; (3) and diagnostic spectral macro- Table 2
scopic features discussed above. Different combinations of classification parameters
Methods Samples Threshold (rad) Band (lm)
4.3.4. Intersection SAM1 L7_14_1 0.01, 0.02 2.0–2.396
Intersection of results acquired by the two close classifi- SAM2 L7_14_1 0.01, 0.02 2.1–2.396
cation methods presented above only contains those spec- SAM3 L11_11+_1 0.01–0.015 2.0–2.396
tra that possess abundant features of coexisting SAM4 L11_11+_1 0.01, 0.02 2.1–2.396
anomalies, which results from both alteration minerals SAM5 L5_14_1 0.01, 0.02 2.0–2.396
SAM6 L6_14_0 0.01, 0.02 2.0–2.396
and hydrocarbons, and are called Gas-Anomaly-Spectra
(GAS). The observation points where GAS were deter-
mined are named Gas-Anomaly-Points (GAP) in this
paper. Table 3
Analysis report of global classification samples
4.4. Experimental setup and result analysis Samples Clays (%) Calcite (%)
L7_14_1 35.7 9.2
4.4.1. Experimental setup L11_11+_1 34.3 12.4
In order to evaluate robustness of the method, different L5_14_1 30.6 14.4
L6_14_0 41.2 9.0
global classification samples, study band regions and
1808 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Fig. 7 shows the classification results with four different
samples, the same study band region (2.0–2.396 lm) and
threshold (0.01 rad) being chosen. By choosing the combi-
nation of parameters named SAM3 in Table 2, we obtained
the classification results (see Fig. 8).
In Figs. 7 and 8, round labels represent GAP derived
from the classification, and the zones where the distribu-
tion of GAP is relatively dense are named coexisting anom-
aly zones. The four zones marked by broken lines show
No. 0, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 gas field from left to right.
4.4.2. Result analysis
(1) When four different samples, the same study band
region and threshold are chosen, GAP tally with
three bigger existing gas fields in the study area
(i.e., No. 0, No. 1, and No. 2 gas field), which proves
that the method discussed above have detected gas
fields successfully (see Fig. 7).
(2) The reasons that No. 3 gas field lying in the north east
of the study area was not detected can be concluded
that (1) based on the analysis report of field samples,
all the samples collected in No. 3 gas field (such as
L19_17_0, the content of clays reaches 17.0%, and
the content of carbonates is only 6.5%) possess low
content of clay minerals and carbonates, and (2)
No. 3 gas field reserves are estimated to 0.05 billion
cubic meters, which is far less than the other three
gas fields in the study area.
Fig. 7. Influence of samples upon classification results of data provided by field work: (a) L11_11+_1; (b) L7_14_1; (c) L6_14_0; (d) L5_14_1.
(3) Based on the analysis report of field samples, the con-
tent of halite is very high in entire study area. In the
study band region (2.0–2.396 lm), reflectance value
of halite is high and even. We can draw a conclusion
that the high content of halite can make spectral
shape relatively even, weaken the diagnostic spectral
features of anomalies, and lead to some miss detec-
tion rates of GAP.
(4) Surface of study area mainly is Gobi almost without
any vegetation, which benefits not only the determi-
nation of reflectance spectra in field work and remote
sensing, but also the analysis of them.
(5) With the increase of threshold, besides GAP in the
existing gas fields, GAP in the other zones augments
regularly (see Fig. 8). The new GAP mainly concen-
trate in the south west, north west, and north of the
study area, where high content of clays and carbon-
ates has been found based on the analysis report of
field samples. Therefore, besides the existing gas
fields, the three zones in the study area mentioned
above are considered as coexisting anomaly zones
A, B, and C, respectively.
With the increase of threshold, first, GAP occur in
the three bigger existing gas fields and the anomaly
zone C (see Fig. 8(a)), and then GAP occur in the
anomaly zone A (see Fig. 8(b) and (c)) and the anom-
aly zone B (see Fig. 8(d)–(f)) in turn, thus, the relative
anomaly intensity of these anomaly zones can be
observed clearly.
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817 1809

Fig. 8. Influence of threshold upon classification results of data provided by field work: (a) threshold = 0.01 rad; (b) threshold = 0.011 rad; (c)
threshold = 0.012 rad; (d) threshold = 0.013 rad; (e) threshold = 0.014 rad; (f) threshold = 0.015 rad.

(6) It is proved by some experiments that the classifica-
tion results almost do not change when the study
band region alters from 2.0–2.396 to 2.1–2.396 lm.
(7) To map the anomaly zones, the Gas-Anomaly-Points
must distribute regularly in space domain. Thus, the
detection limits of the classifier built in this section
means the thresholds, with which the outputting
GAP from classifier distribute regularly and their
amounts are moderate. It is obvious that the classifi-
cation samples and the study band region should be
fixed in the study of the detection limits. Take the
experiment (see Fig. 8) as example, the detection lim-
its should be 0.013–0.015 rad.
(8) It can be concluded by experiments with different
parameter combinations that the method proposed
in this paper is robust.
5. Analysis based on spectral absorption features
5.1. Spectral absorption features
Absorption-band parameters such as the position,
depth, width, area, and asymmetry can be used to quanti-
tatively estimate composition of samples from reflectance
data (Van der Meer, 2004). In this section, as the other
1810 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817

important part of building spectral model of the hydrocar-
bon microseepage in the area studied, the spectral absorp-
tion features of two absorption bands of 2.1–2.26 and
2.24–2.39 lm are extracted and studied, respectively.
The diagnostic macroscopic features work as a ‘‘stan-
dard template’’ as discussed in Section 4, and detect the
Gas-Anomaly-Spectra (GAS) so as to obtain the coexisting
anomaly zones; while the diagnostic absorption features
are able to present more local information. Based on deep
analysis of the diagnostic absorption features, we are able
to map the anomalies of alteration minerals and hydrocar-
bons, respectively. The former method depends on the
‘‘template’’ strongly, and does not tend to acquire the most
anomalistic spectra, but the most similar ones; however its
advantage is that the spectral macroscopic information is
paid great attention to. The latter method focuses on the
value of absorption-band parameters. According to the
associations between absorption-band parameters and the
content of alteration minerals or hydrocarbons, we study
and present the detection models of alteration minerals
and hydrocarbons separately.
5.2. Alteration minerals
the average content of carbonates, which is acquired based
on the field samples in each sub-group, augments
gradually.
5.2.2. Spectral library
From the spectra of 144 samples, 20 typical spectra were
chosen to build the spectral library in the study area, and
eight of them are shown in Fig. 9. It can be found in
Fig. 9(a) that for the absorption band of 2.1–2.26 lm, with
the increase of content of clays, the absorption-band depth
and width augments gradually. While Fig. 9(b) shows that
for the absorption band of 2.24–2.39 lm, with the increase
of content of carbonates, the absorption-band depth and
width augments gradually too.
5.2.3. Detection model
Based on analysis of the associations proposed above,
two detection models of clays and carbonates were built,
respectively. For the absorption band of 2.1–2.26 lm, the
absorption-band position and depth can be applied to
detection of clays; while for the absorption band of 2.24–
2.39 lm, the absorption-band position and width can be
applied to detection of carbonates.

The primary objectives of this section were to develop

an understanding of the spectral characteristics of surface
soils, and to build a spectral library of the study area that
would make the detection process more rapid and reliable.
The reflectance spectra of 144 field samples collected in the
study area were studied carefully. Then based on the anal-
ysis of their absorption features, associations between
absorption-band parameters and the content of clays and
carbonates were concluded; furthermore, a spectral library
was built in order to make the detection for the mineral
alterations in the similar area more rapid and reliable;
finally, two detection models of clays and carbonates were
built separately.

5.2.1. Associations
Some experiments were devised as follows to conclude
associations between absorption-band parameters and the
content of clays and carbonates. First, the 144 spectra were
classified by the absorption-band position into four groups,
then spectra in each group were classified into four sub-
groups by the absorption-band depth and width separately,
furthermore, average content of clays and carbonates of
the sub-groups were acquired, respectively, and finally
associations between absorption-band parameters and the
content of clays and carbonates were obtained.
In the study area, the associations include: (1) for the
absorption band of 2.1–2.26 lm, in each group classified
by absorption-band position, with the increase of the
absorption-band depth, the average content of clays, which
is acquired based on the field samples in each sub-group,
augments gradually; (2) while for the absorption band of
2.24–2.39 lm, in each group classified by absorption-band Fig. 9. Spectral library in the study area: (a) absorption band of 2.1–
position, with the increase of the absorption-band width, 2.26 lm; (b) absorption band of 2.24–2.39 lm.
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
5.3. Hydrocarbons
As mentioned above, the unconsolidated sands and the
shallow gas bearing reservoir in the study area facilitate
the vertical ascent of light hydrocarbons. In some observa-
tion points of our study area, approximately 20 cm under
the surface, the soils can be lighted, which proves that there
are high concentrations of hydrocarbon molecules
adsorbed to soil particles. The detection of the hydrocar-
bons in the surface is significant for the detection of the
exploration targets.
An experiment on the spectral reflectance properties of
hydrocarbons was devised by Cloutis in 1989. The reflec-
tance spectrum of Athabasca tar was shown in Fig. 10,
and the bitumen content in it is 8.1%. Based on this exper-
iment, influence of relative higher concentrations of hydro-
carbons upon surface spectra was summarized as follows:
the absorption-band depth in the region from 2.3 to
2.6 lm is greater, and the overall reflectance slope in this
range is slightly positive. Furthermore, this result corre-
sponds with the spectral diagnostic macroscopic features
in our study area proposed above.
Thus, two methods, i.e., ratio method and slope method,
were proposed and applied to mathematical modeling of
the influence of higher concentrations of hydrocarbons
upon surface spectra. Thus, hydrocarbons could be
detected using hydrocarbon absorption bands of reflec-
tance spectra determined in the field. Seven hundred and
ninety-nine reflectance spectra collected from the field were
analyzed using the two methods.
5.3.1. Ratio method
Ratio method has been improved to describe the feature
of the greater absorption-band depth in the region from 2.3
to 2.6 lm. A wavelength was chosen as numerator, which
tends not to be affected by absorption from any other
materials, while a diagnostic absorption band of hydrocar-
bons was chosen as denominator. Thus, a big ratio value
Fig. 10. Influence of high concentrations of hydrocarbons upon surface
spectra (after Cloutis, 1989).
1811
represents high concentrations of hydrocarbons (McCoy
et al., 2001).
As mentioned in Section 4.2.2 of this paper, the moisture
of soil intensively influences the albedo of reflectance spec-
tra (Leblon, 1997); furthermore the influence on the band
region from 2.0 to 2.6 lm is much stronger than that on
the band region before 2.0 lm, which can be revealed in
Fig. 5 clearly. Thus, both the denominator and numerator
in this method should be chosen in the band region from
2.0 to 2.6 lm, in order to not only ensure the denominator
in the diagnostic absorption band of hydrocarbons but also
remove the impact of the moisture of soil. Practically, we
chose 2.0 and 2.33 lm as numerator and denominator sep-
arately, and none of main materials in the surface of the
study area have absorption bands near 2.0 lm. Fig. 11(a)
shows the classification result.
5.3.2. Slope method
Slope method was proposed to describe the feature of
the slightly positive slope of the band region from 2.3 to
2.6 lm. Linear fit was used to estimate the slope. The
reflectance spectra with a relative higher slope value were
classified as anomaly ones, which have higher concentra-
tions of hydrocarbons. Fig. 11(b) shows the classification
result.
5.3.3. Binary tree classifier
Combining the two methods mentioned above, a binary
tree classifier was constructed. Choosing proper threshold,
the two methods were applied to classifications in turn.
Therefore, we acquired good classification result (see
Fig. 11(c)).
5.3.4. Result analysis
The classification results in Fig. 11(a)–(c), i.e., the anom-
aly zones of hydrocarbons, have good accordance, and
they are generally in accord with the classification results
acquired by analyzing data derived from the field (see Figs.
7 and 8). The future potential for this technique lies in the
use of airborne imaging spectrometers to map the areal
extent of hydrocarbon anomalies (McCoy et al., 2001).
5.4. Linear unmixing model
Better accuracy can be achieved in the estimation of the
land-cover composition of a scene, if each mixed pixel can
be decomposed and the proportion of its component cover
types (often referred to as ‘‘endmembers’’) can be deter-
mined; this process is named as ‘‘unmixing’’. Over the last
couple of decades, five different types of mixture models are
reviewed including linear, probabilistic, geometric-optical,
stochastic geometric, and fuzzy models.
Fundamentally, the linear model is based on the
assumption that each photon reaching the sensor must
have interacted with only one material (that is, one end-
member type). It has been found that this is the case when
the scale of mixing is large or macroscopic. It is obvious
1812 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Fig. 11. Classification result of hydrocarbons: (a) ratio method; (b) slope method; (c) binary tree classifier.
that linear and nonlinear mixing represent the same con-
cept; linear mixing being a special (simplified) case of non-
linear mixing in which multiple reflectance is ignored
(Ichoku and Karnieli, 1996).
A linear unmixing model was studied based on spectra
of 144 samples, and semiquantitative determination of
the abundance fractions of main minerals in our study area
has been achieved.
5.4.1. Forward modeling
Spectra of global classification samples shown in Table 3
were studied closely in forward modeling. All the spectra of
endmembers were chosen from Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) mineral spectral library, and they were mixed in
according to the content of endmembers based on the lin-
ear model. Take L6_14_0 as example, and real line and
broken line in Fig. 12(a) denote the spectrum determined
from the field and the one mixed by us, respectively, while
the continuum-removed data of the two spectra are shown
in Fig. 12(b). The good accordance of the absorption fea-
tures such as position, width and asymmetry can be found
in Fig. 12.
Obviously, the absorption-band depth of the spectrum
determined is larger than that of the one mixed, which is
in connection with the grain size in our opinion. If multiple
scattering dominates, as is usually the case in the region of
0.4–2.4 lm, the reflectance decreases as the grain size
increases (Clark, 1999). Furthermore, Fig. 13 explained
the influence of the grain size of calcite and chlorite upon
their spectra. All the spectra in Fig. 13 were chosen from
JPL mineral spectral libraries (JPL1, JPL2, and JPL3),
and the corresponding grain sizes of these libraries are
<45, 45–125, and 125–500 lm, respectively. It can be con-
cluded from Fig. 13 that with the increase of grain size
from a small value, the reflectance decreases and the
absorption-band depth become larger. Of course, if the
grain size were made larger and larger, the reflectance spec-
trum would eventually consist only of first surface reflec-
tion, and thus the absorption-band depth would decrease
instead.
All the spectra of endmembers were chosen from JPL1;
on the other hand, when the spectra were determined from
the field, the grain sizes of surface soils have not been dealt
with, and probably they were small but more than 500 lm.
Thus, the absorption-band depth of the spectrum deter-
mined is larger than that of the one mixed.
5.4.2. Inversion
Based on the statistics of the analysis report of the 144
field samples, the average content of each endmember
can be found (see Table 4); then we divided all the minerals
into three parts, i.e., clays, carbonates, and the others. The
third parts include quartz, orthoclase, oligoclase, halite,
anhydrite, and gypsum. The standard mixed spectra of
the three parts were separately obtained by the average
content of each endmember based on the linear model,
and all the spectra of each endmember were chosen from
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) mineral spectral library,
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Fig. 12. Forward modeling results: (a) spectrum determined from the field
and the one mixed by us; (b) continuum-removed data of the two spectra.
and they were mixed in according to the content of end-
members based on the linear model. Furthermore, we mod-
ified the proportion of the three parts, and mixed their
standard spectra by their proportion. Thus a lookup table
(see Fig. 14) has been built, which is composed of 421
mixed spectra corresponding to different proportion of
the three parts.
Then in the absorption band of 2.1–2.26 lm, absorp-
tion-band depth of all the 799 spectra determined from
the field as well as 421 mixed spectra in this lookup table
was extracted. Based on the absorption-band depth, the
automatic lookup has been achieved, i.e., just by the
absorption-band depth of a spectrum determined from
the field, we could find the corresponding standard mixed
spectrum in the lookup table, and thus obtain the content
of clays and carbonates.
Take the influence of grain size on the absorption-band
depth mentioned above into account, scale factors must be
chosen in the experiment. The spectra of 144 samples,
1813
Fig. 13. Influence of the grain size upon the spectra: (a) calcite; (b)
chlorite.
whose exact content of endmembers has been given by
the X-ray diffraction (XRD) in laboratory, has been
divided into two dataset, i.e., training samples and testing
samples. Using the training samples, we trained the classi-
fier and acquired the scale factor, which was the function of
content of the main minerals determined, i.e., clays or
carbonates.
Take the determination of clays as example, in the pro-
cess of analysis of the experiment results, a tolerance was
fixed on as follows: (1) when the content of clays given
by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) in laboratory is less than
20%, the absolute tolerance is chosen as 7%; (2) on the
other hand, when the content of clays is not less than
20%, the relative tolerance is fixed on 30%. In this experi-
ment, 72 testing samples was inputted into the classifier
that have been trained by 72 training samples, 57 testing
samples have the determination error within tolerance,
i.e., 79.2% testing samples were determined within
tolerance.
1814 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
Table 4
Average content of each mineral in our study area
Mineral abundance Clays (20.5%)
Illite Kaolinite
Average 14.6% 2.1%
Other minerals (58.4%)
Quartz Orthoclase
Average 18.5% 3.0%
Fig. 14. Lookup table composed of 421 mixed spectra.
Thus, the experiment results proved that we had semi-
quantitatively determined the abundance fractions of clays
and carbonates in our study area.
6. Hyperspectral image processing and analysis
As discussed in Section 1, in our project, an integrated
practical system of exploration of oil and gas is built by
the analysis of not only hyperspectral remote sensing data
but also data provided from field work. However, in this
paper, our efforts were focused on the analysis of the data
provided from the field work in this paper. And the study
of hyperspectral remote sensing data is presented in another
paper of mine (Xu et al., 2007). Thus, in this section, a gen-
eral framework of analysis and key classification algorithms
applied to the Hyperion data will be introduced briefly.
6.1. Pre-processing and atmospheric correction
Eight scenes of essentially cloud-free Hyperion data of
the study area were collected from July to October, 2005.
Furthermore, a pre-processing and atmospheric correction
procedure to transform at-sensor signals to at-surface
reflectance for hyperspectral imagery has been developed
(White et al., 2004). Atmospheric correction has been
Carbonates (21.1%)
Chlorite Calcite Dolomite Witherite
3.8% 7.0% 5.1% 9.0%
Oligoclase Halite Anhydrite Gypsum
8.0% 26% 1.55% 1.35%
fulfilled using ENVI FLAASH, which is a recommended
method of EO-1 user guide. I have chosen proper value
for the key parameters of our study area and acquisition
of Hyperion data, such as aerosol model, atmospheric
model, visibility, sensor altitude, ground elevation, flight
time, latitude, longitude, and so on, and obtained good
results.
Especially, in our study area, the wind is usually not
very dramatic, and particle sizes of aerosol are relative
smaller than usually on Gobi, as a result of which visibility
can usually reach 40 km, even though the surface of our
study area mainly is Gobi almost without any vegetation.
I believe that three factors lead to this kind of atmospheric
conditions:
(1) In our study area, the average content of halite equals
to 29.0%, and the surface of about a quarter of the
study area is very hard salt crust.
(2) As mentioned in Sections 3.1 and 2.2, in our area
studied, the unconsolidated sands and the shallow
gas bearing reservoir facilitate the vertical ascent of
light hydrocarbons. Furthermore the high concentra-
tion of hydrocarbon molecules adsorbed to soil
particles can result in rendering the near-surface
materials more dense and resistant to erosion.
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
(3) There is relative stronger wind in the period of April and
May of a year in the area studied. As mentioned above,
eight scenes of Hyperion data of the study area were col-
lected from July to October, 2005, and our study area
lies in the middle of Caidam Basin. The time of our data
collection and the geographic location of the study area
may be the reason for the relative milder wind.
Thus, in the process of Hyperion data collection, there
were not a lot of wind and aerosol events; therefore, the
radiative impact on the surface reflectance extraction is rel-
ative less than usually on Gobi, and the difficulties of the
atmospheric correction in this project is decreased.
In the image preprocessing subsystem for Hyperion data
built in our work, great attention has been paid to the
method and procedure of destriping methods, the local
gain and offset correction and least-square fit technique
were combined together to remove the stripes efficiently.
6.2. Analysis of Hyperion imagery data
Two feature extraction techniques are used for hyper-
spectral dimensionality reduction. One combines the wave-
let algorithm with principle component analysis (PCA) and
this hybrid method can extract feeble features of hydrocar-
bon microseepage. In addition, wavelet-based Fisher
method is also used to combine the effectiveness of wavelet
multi-resolution decomposition and Sequential Forward
Floating (SFF) selection method. After dimensionality
reduction, Maximum Likelihood (ML) classifier is used
for the classification task. Besides, with the diagnostic
absorption features alone, a hyperspectral imagery classifi-
cation method is also designed. The absorption-band
parameters used in this method include the position, depth
Fig. 15. Results of Hyperion data obtained by method based on wavelet-based Fisher and ML.
1815
and area of the 2200 nm absorption in order to detect the
anomalies resulting from high concentrations of clay min-
erals in the surface.
Besides the classification result by the absorption fea-
tures, therefore, there are two other classification results
provided by: the ML classifier with the features extracted
by wavelet-based PCA and the ML classifier with the fea-
tures extracted by wavelet-based Fisher method. The three
results in general, are comparable to the classification
results obtained by the analysis of data provided by field
work. This confirms the effectiveness of the hyperspectral
data for the detection of hydrocarbon microseepage.
6.3. Result analysis
Classification results provided by the ML classifier with
the features extracted by wavelet-based Fisher method are
shown in Fig. 15, where red points show the Gas-Anomaly-
Points (GAP) in hyperspectral images. The distribution of
the red points generally corresponds with the classification
results acquired by analyzing 799 reflectance spectra
derived from the field work (see Figs. 7 and 8).
Of course, it is still not very easy to see the gas fields and
anomaly zones that we are looking for, and this is because
of the poor SNR of the Hyperion data to a great extent.
Key specifications of Hyperion sensor are listed in
Table 5. In order to compare the reflectance spectra derived
Table 5
Key specifications of Hyperion sensor
Spectral Spectral Signal Noise
range (nm) resolution (nm) Ratio
357–2576 10 190:1 (VNIR)
40:1 (SWIR)
1816 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817

Fig. 16. Degradation from the in-situ spectra to the spectral characteristics of the Hyperion data.

from Hyperion sensors and ASD spectrometers, two spec- the three results mentioned above increases the reliability
tra were chosen and shown side by side in Fig. 16. The of exploration results.
spectrum shown in Fig. 16(b) was determined in the refer- Anomaly zones have been mapped by the integrated
ence point of L5_14_1 by ASD, and accurate geologic loca- practical system of exploration of oil and gas built in our
tion of this spectrum could be found in the field project. In addition, geologic interpretation has been ful-
determination database and help locate the corresponding filled too. Consequently three exploration targets were
pixel in Hyperion image (see Fig. 16(a)). Thus, the degrada- mapped so as to be developed in further exploration: two
tion from the in-situ spectra to the spectral characteristics is located in the north west of the study area with
of the Hyperion data, especially in the band region from 37.2 km2; and the other one in the south west of the study
2.3 to 2.4 lm, was revealed clearly. area with 46.9 km2 (see Fig. 17). In the three exploration
targets, three wildcats have been drilled by China National
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) since July 2006, and all
7. Conclusions the three wells have been proven some industrial reserves.
New exploration projects have started in October, 2006,
In this paper, the R&D project (June 2005 to June 2006) which include exploring for gas using Hyperion sensor in a
of exploring for natural gas in Qinghai province, China new study area (2000 km2) of Qinghai province in China,
using NASA EO-1 satellite with the Hyperion sensor is and validity check of favorable place for oil prospecting
introduced. Based on two data sources, an integrated prac- in Inner Mongolia of China (800 km2) by means of only
tical system of exploring for oil, gas is built and presented. analyzing surface reflectance spectra. The latter intends to
In particular, our efforts were focused on the analysis of the analyze surface reflectance spectra using the method pre-
data provided from the field work. Above all, a spectral
model was built to properly define the typical form of
hydrocarbon microseepage with spectroscopy and fulfill
the data analysis. Furthermore, diagnostic spectral macro-
scopic features and diagnostic spectral absorption features
of surface soils were extracted and analyzed, respectively,
which are attributable to hydrocarbon microseepage. Addi-
tionally, a general framework of analysis and key classifica-
tion algorithms applied to the Hyperion data have been
introduced briefly.
The results, i.e., coexisting anomaly distributions, of the
analysis of Hyperion data (see Fig. 15) generally corre-
spond with those of the 799 spectra classification (see Figs.
7 and 8). Furthermore the two results in general tally with
the zones (see Fig. 11), where anomalies of hydrocarbons
has been detected based on the two methods proposed in
this paper. Because it is less probable for several indepen-
dent methods to show simultaneous false anomalies than
for one to do so (Thompson et al., 1994), the accord of Fig. 17. Thematic map of exploration targets.
 D.-Q. Xu et al. / Advances in Space Research 41 (2008) 1800–1817
sented in this paper only in the favorable places for pros-
pecting, and verify the hydrocarbon potential of these
places. Thus both area and cost of field work can be
decreased prominently. In addition, the recognition preci-
sion and efficiency of surface anomalies can be improved
greatly by increasing observation points and reducing
determination spacing, and consequently, dependable
proofs can be provided to the deployment of further explo-
ration and exploitation.
Acknowledgements
I thank China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)
for geologic and exploration data of the existing gas fields
in the study area, and thank Prof. Liu Jing-jing (China
Meteorological Administration), Prof. Cui Zhen-kui and
Prof. Fang Mao-long (Beijing Research Institute of Ura-
nium Geology) for the valuable comments and suggestions.
We are grateful to Zhong You oil field science and technol-
ogy Ltd. for sponsoring this project.
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