Journal of Natural Disaster Science

ACTIVE FAULTS AND AIR PHOTO LINEAR IMAGES (SO-CALLED "LINEAMENTS"

Toshio KIMURA
Professor
and
Tanio ITO
Geological Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo

(Received 12 November, 1981 and in revised form 8 January, 1982)

Abstract

There is widespread confusion in Japan concerning the recognition of active faults. Many earth scientists appear to believe that active faults can be detected simply by examining air photographs. However, linear images, so-called "lineaments", appearing on such photographs do not directly mean the presence of faults, active or inactive. The images need to be examined in field, topographically and geologically. In this paper, methods for studying linear images are discussed and the necessity of geological surveys is stressed, through two examples from our research. One is a study of air photo linear images appearing around the Irozaki Earthquake Fault in southern Izu Peninsula which is an example where the images around an earthquake fault are erosional topographic features. The other is a study of LANDSAT linear images of pseudo-active faults near Nukabira Lake in Hokkaido.

Key words

active fault, air photo linear image, lineament