Study of high-resolution thermal inertia over western India oil fields using ASTER data

Day and consecutive nighttime Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data have been utilized over a part of the Cambay basin, Gujarat, India to generate thermal inertia imagery and has been utilized for exploration of petroliferous basins. Oilfield map, when draped over the high-resolution thermal inertia image, appears to contain low thermal inertia values, after proper masking. This anomaly might have resulted from the nighttime temperature anomaly, which again indicates formation of a complex oil–water immiscible layer, which retards the transfer of heat from the oil deposit to the surroundings. The work has been carried out as a part of joint study for utilization of ASTER data between SAC (ISRO), KDMIPE (ONGC) and ERSDAC, Japan. Color images (Figs. 4–8) are available on web.