Detecting oilfield brine contaminated sites using satellite remote sensing

Brine water constitutes the majority of oilfield waste product. Past methods of disposing of oilfield brine have caused large "scars" on the landscape. The ability to field check a large and expansive area like west Texas can be time consuming and expensive. This study endeavored to find a more robust methodology to identify and quantify oilfield brine contamination using satellite remote sensing. Three counties in west Texas located in the same ETM+ scene were used as test sites, due to the inclusion of a large well-known oilfield brine scar.; Supervised classified was chosen, since brine contaminated soils have distinct spectral signatures. After testing various contrasts, filters, and transformations, a land cover classification based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was created of possible oilfield brine contaminated sites. After soil sampling and laboratory analysis, it was determined that Landsat ETM data can be an effective tool to use in identifying previously unknown brine contaminated areas larger than 2 acres in west Texas at an overall accuracy of 91.67%.