Middle infrared multispectral aircraft scanner data: analysis for geological applications.

Area of Science:

• Geoscience
• Remote Sensing
• Image Analysis

Background:

• Multispectral thermal infrared (8-13 micrometer) data were collected via aircraft over Utah.
• High correlation between the six spectral channels was observed due to temperature dominance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enable geologic photointerpretation by processing digital image data.
• To identify subtle variations in spectral emittance between different rock types.

Main Methods:

• Acquisition of multispectral middle IR data.
• Extensive data processing, including ratio imaging and color ratio composites.
• Sensor calibration and atmospheric modeling for surface property determination.
• Principal component transformation, Gaussian stretch, and inverse transformation for rock type separation.

Main Results:

• Successful determination of surface brightness, temperature, and emittance.
• Creation of color composite emittance images.
• Optimal separation of major rock types was achieved using a specific transformation sequence.

Conclusions:

• Advanced image processing is crucial for geological interpretation of thermal infrared data.
• The developed methods enhance the ability to distinguish rock types based on spectral emittance.
• Principal component analysis proved effective for improving spectral separation.