AGM followed by a talk on What can satellites tell you about local geology?

given by Jo Conway (Herts County Council & HGS).

Abstract:
The talk is based on one presented recently as the summary of my dissertation topic for the Masters course in Geological and Environmental Hazards at the University of Portsmouth. My dissertation title was ‘Use of Sentinel-2 data to identify glaciotectonic features near Barkway, Hertfordshire and link to geohazard assessment’.

Relocating from North Wales, with limited awareness of Hertfordshire geology, my tutor suggested I look at the area near Barkway in North Hertfordshire for the geological hazard of glaciotectonic rafts, with the added dimension of whether new technology (the Sentinel-2 satellite array) could be used in identification of geological features. Satellites give a global coverage of the earth’s surface passing over the same spot at mid-morning every 5 days (and shorter return periods as more in the array are launched). The satellite images are downloaded as ‘multi- spectral images’, which enables the wavelengths to be separated. Using software these can be manipulated to calculate indices which can give different ‘colour’ images for comparison, as well as graphical information. I will talk about the processing of the satellite images and how I linked various images to look for pattern recognition.

View this talk in the Members’ Section.