Abstract

Satellite radar images of portions of Indonesia were acquired by the NASA Space Shuttle program in 1981 (SIR-A) and 1984 (SIR-B). Advantages of satellite radar images are : 1) the regional coverage with image strips hundreds of kilometers long and up to 50 kilometers wide, 2) penetration of clouds and rain, 3) inclined illumination angle enhances subtle topographic features that express geologic characteristics. In the SIR-B images, which are the subject of this report, the following lithologic terrain categories are recognizable: 1) coastal and alluvial terrain, 2) clastic terrain, 3) carbonate terrain, 4) volcanic terrain 5) chaotic melange terrain, 6) imbricate melange terrain. Structural features such as folds, unconformities, faults, and lineaments are recognized by outcrop patterns, attitudes of beds, and topographic features such as linear and aligned drainage patterns, and scarps. A follow-on Space Shuttle radar mission (SIR-B) is planned for early 1987.