Remote Sensing Study for Potash Exploration in Kohar Playa in the East of Iran
Simin Mehdizadeh Tehrani-Aloreza Namadmallan
Geological survey of Iran's Remote Sensing Group
P.O.Box: 13185 -1494, Tehran-Iran
Abstract
The necessity of achieving Potash resources for Producing chemical Fertilizer, has been caused that Program adaporators begin to start studying about its exploration and production form evaporated sediments and brines.
There are more than 60 small and big playas in Iran (Fig. 1). The biggest of them is great Kavir which extends 53000km2., with 37% salt crust. Khour salt crust in the west of Tabes with 2000km2 is one of the biggest salt crust of Great Kavir.
Figure 1: Relationship of playas to drainage areas in Iran.
Since it is difficult even impossible to do direst studies in these areas due to lack of access routes, it seams necessary to make use of remote sensing studies instead of desert survey. For this reason khour playa was chosen as a case study by using of special image processing methods such as contrast stretching, filtering, Principal component and color composite images. In this was we could obtan more information about the salt crust boundries, the rate of clay, charge drainage system and controlling factors, tectonic structure and the areas with the same debbi.
Introduction
The khour area is limited by altitude 55,20 to 55, 50 and longitude 33, 20 to 34, 20 N, a part of Great Kavir in Central Iran. The oldest rocks attributed to the upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous including shale & Sandstone and are overlain by the orbitolina limestone, less frequently by marl and sandstone of lower Cretaceous. These rocks are over by green-gray marl with interlayers of limestone, hale & marl of upper Cretaceous. The plaleocene represented by Plagic limestone. Lower, Eocene with red sandstone, conglomerate, mudstone, marl and limestone, is overlain by andesitic-dacitic lava with related tuffs. The small outcrops of Oligo-Miocene with unconformity represented by limestone, sandstone and Conglomerate. The upper Mocene included claystone, sandstone and frequently gypsinate. Pliocene represented by ocnglomerater and sandy clay.
Quaterney sediments consists of alluvial-Prolouvia pebble gravel & sand forming high, middle and low dashts, salinized clayey, sandsy clayey and salt crust.
