Technical Memorandum Report No. 19
Comparison of the AGA and Bofors Infrared Scanner in Aerial Geophysical Exploration
Clifton Warren and Larry Lepley
September 1969
INTRODUCTION
The AGA and the Bofors thermal scanners are evaluated on the basis of research requirements centered on water-resources investigations. Also included are comments on its uses in agriculture and on temperatures of man-made surfaces. Infrared real-time scanners are used as aerial reconnaissance tools which provide thermal images of broad areas in real-time presentation. These thermal images display relative temperature differences without immediate regard to absolute temperatures. For operational purposes, the instruments are evaluated mainly on the basis of their ability to provide an image of acceptable quality. That is, no attempt is made to evaluate the use of these instruments for recording the thermal imagery data on magnetic tape or any other data-processing methods. Finally, since it is of utmost importance to have a permanent record of the infrared image presented on the cathode ray tube of the display unit, the ability to obtain a good quality photograph of the image is also considered. Based on the previous use of the AGA Thermovision in geophysical exploration (Adams and Lepley, 1968), the Bofors Infrared Scanner is compared to the AGA Thermovision for qualitative and quantitative images. The AGA instrument was employed for a period of one month for field operations and the Bofors was employed for only a twelve-day trial period, specifically to test its capabilities.