Aerial Remote Sensing of Carbonate Terranes in Shelby County, Alabama^a

Abstract

Remotely‐sensed data are being used by the Geological Survey of Alabama in the study of subsidence and collapse problems in several carbonate terranes. Active areas in Shelby County, Alabama, have been delineated by on‐the‐ground inspection and by use of airborne remote sensors. These active terranes present formidable problems to those who presently live in the area as well as to those who will be involved in the future development of this region; therefore, techniques must be found that can be used to predict subsidence and collapse. Study of a 70‐square‐mile test area in the county indicates that aerial infrared photography, thermography, and side‐looking airborne radar (SLAR) imagery can be used for (1) locating, inventorying, and monitoring sinkholes; (2) predicting potential collapses; (3) mapping fracture traces, lineaments, regional geologic structure, and alignment of sinkholes; and (4) assisting general project planning. Tremendous time and effort can be saved by using remote‐sensing techniques because large areas can be examined in a very short period of time.

Potential environmental impacts of quarrying stone in karst -- a literature review

“…In one area in Alabama, an estimated 1,700 collapses or related features have occurred in fi ve areas with a combined area of 36 km2 (Newton, 1976). In another area of Alabama, it was estimated that 1,000 collapses or other related features formed in an area of about 41.5 km2 (Warren and Wielchowsky, 1973). Near Jamestown, South Carolina, 42 collapses occurred within a cone of depression (Spigner, 1978).…”

Geotechnical Engineering Problems in the Karst Region of Southern Indiana

“…Both Stohr (1974) and Rinker (1975) an active system which provides its own radiation source (Warren and Wielchowsky, 1973).…”