S. Salvi, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF LANDSAT SYNTHETIC STEREO PAIR FOR THE DETECTION OF ACTIVE FAULT ZONES IN THE ABRUZZI REGION (CENTRAL ITALY), Remote sensing of environment, 53(3), 1995, pp. 153-163
Considerable enhancement of Landsat imagery for geologic and morphotec
tonic interpretation can be obtained through generation of a synthetic
stereo pair, by means of the integration of the spectral data with a
digital elevation model. Photointerpretation of the enhanced Landsat i
mages allows one to detect morphotectonic landforms of regional extens
ion and to analyze their geomorphic characteristics at a small scale.
Field geologic and structural surveys are then extensively used to cro
sscheck the image interpretation and to establish the relationships be
tween location, orientation, and estimated age of the regional structu
res, and the local evidences of active tectonics. An application of La
ndsat stereo pair creation and interpretation is presented for an area
characterized by high rates of tectonic activity in Central Italy. Th
e work results in the definition of the location and extension of an a
ctive seismotectonic source, whose geomorphic expression at the surfac
e strongly suggests that it is capable of generating earthquakes of ma
gnitude 7.