Geothermal Surface Manifestation Mapping using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Tropical Forest of Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is a geothermal country whit a tropical forest area covering most of the geothermal prospects. The surface thermal manifestation is one of the essential keys for geothermal exploration, resource confirmation, geochemistry monitoring during the exploitation phase, and geothermal development, and supposed to be the touristic place. Images data with a spatial reference can be obtained from the unmanned aerial vehicle during the field survey. The images form field data acquisition is processed using Agisoft Methasape software to build orthophoto data with spatial reference. The data can be processed using GIS software to make 2D and 3D maps/terrain maps. This method was helpful for manifestation identification, area measurement for natural heat loss calculation, identification of hazardous areas during geochemistry sampling, and resource evaluation for exploration and development of the geothermal fields in tropical forest area in Indonesia.