Multi-Scale Investigation of Hydrocarbon Plays: An Assessment Based on Orbital Multispectral, Airborne and Close-Range Hyperspectral Data

This works aims to study tar sand outcrops in the Paraná basin, Brazil, using multi -scale spectral sensing technologies. Sites in this basin comprise well-exposed outcrops of tar sands for which a wealth of orbital, airborne, field and lab spectral data is currently available, including WorldView-3 (WV-3; DigitalGlobe) over the entire study area. The area was also surveyed by the AisaFENIX hyperspectral system both from field-based and airborne platforms. This was followed by outcrop studies and sampling in the field and close-range spectroscopy using both hyperspectral imaging (i.e. Specim's sisuCHEMA) and nonimaging (ASD`s FieldSpec) instruments in the laboratory. The aim of the work is twofold: (i) to detect the tar sands at multiple scales, and (ii) to describe the alteration mineralogy associated with bitumen emplacement in sandstone beds, drawing an analogy between this phenomenon and the microseepage-induced alteration.