Geologic swath map of the lavic lake fault from airborne thermal hyperspectral imagery

Abstract

The 1999 Hector Mine earthquake on the Lavic Lake fault produced a maximum right-lateral displacement of ∼5 m, but the long-term cumulative offset remains unresolved. To identify bedrock that has been offset by the fault, we produced a swath map from airborne hyperspectral imagery. High spatial and spectral resolution, along with a lack of significant vegetation cover helped us differentiate lithologic units and create a geologic map with supervised and unsupervised classifications. Supervised classifications over a small test site had an overall accuracy of 71 ± 1%, and some of the boundaries between units in our unsupervised classification correlate well with lithologic boundaries from a previously published geologic map that covers the same area. Our geologic fault swath map will help to resolve the total tectonic offset of bedrock along the Lavic Lake fault.