Search Results (39)

Hyperspectral (HS) remote sensing is a valuable tool for geological surveys and mineral classification. However, mineral maps derived from HS data can exhibit inconsistencies across different imaging times or sensors due to complex factors. In this study, we propose a novel method to enhance the robustness and temporal consistency of mineral mapping. The method combines the spectral identification capabilities of the Tetracorder expert system, developed by United States Geological Survey (USGS), with a data-driven classification model, involving the application of Tetracorder to high-purity pixels identified through the pixel purity index (PPI) analysis to generate reliable training labels. These labels, along with hyperspectral bands transformed by the minimum noise fraction (MNF), are used to train a random forest classifier. The methodology was evaluated using multi-temporal images of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), acquired over Cuprite, Nevada, between 2011 and 2013. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves accuracy comparable to Tetracorder while improving map consistency and reducing inter-annual mapping errors by approximately 30%. Full article

Human population growth and increasing transportation demands have led to rising global tire consumption and associated waste. In response, various material and energy recovery strategies, such as pyrolysis, have been developed to produce high-value-added products such as pyrolysis oils, which can be reused as materials or fuels. However, these oils often contain heteroatom-containing compounds (e.g., nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur) that can hinder their valorization and must therefore be identified and removed. To characterize heteroatomic compounds present in distillation fractions of pyrolysis oils, GC×GC/TOFMS and GC/HRMS were employed. For non-target analysis, data processing parameters were optimized using a Central Composite Design (CCD). The most influential parameters for GC×GC/TOFMS were the minimum number of mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) signals kept in the deconvoluted spectra (minimum stick count) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), while for GC/HRMS, optimization focused on the m/z S/N threshold, peak S/N, and total ion current (TIC). Under optimal conditions, 129 and 92 heteroatomic compounds were identified via GC×GC/TOFMS and GC/HRMS, respectively, within a single distillation fraction, with 57 compounds identified using both techniques. Notably, GC×GC/TOFMS exclusively identified 72 compounds, while there were only 5 unique to GC/HRMS. These results highlight the effectiveness of GC×GC/TOFMS in characterizing heteroatomic compounds in complex mixtures, while also underlining the complementary value of GC/HRMS. Full article

This study evaluates the capabilities of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Hyperion remote sensing sensors for mapping ophiolitic sequences and identifying manganese mineralization in the Bela Ophiolite region, located along the axial fold–thrust belt northwest of Karachi, Pakistan. The study area comprises tholeiitic basalts, gabbros, mafic and ultramafic rocks, and sedimentary formations where manganese occurrences are associated with jasperitic chert and shale. To delineate lithological units and Mn mineralization, advanced image processing techniques were applied, including band ratio (BR), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) on visible and near-infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands of ASTER. Using these methods, gabbros, basalts, and mafic-ultramafic rocks were effectively mapped, and previously unrecognized basaltic outcrops and gabbroic outcrops were also discovered. The ENVI Spectral Hourglass Wizard was used to analyze the hyperspectral data, integrating the Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF), Pixel Purity Index (PPI), and N-Dimensional Visualizer to extract the spectra of end-members associated with Mn-bearing host rocks. In addition, the Hyperspectral Material Identification (HMI) tool was tested to recognize Mn minerals. The remote sensing results were validated by petrographic analysis and ground-truth data, confirming the effectiveness of these techniques in ophiolite mapping and mineral exploration. This study shows that ASTER band combinations (3-6-7, 3-7-9) and band ratios (1/4, 4/9, 9/1 and 3/4, 4/9, 9/1) provide optimal results for lithological discrimination. The results show that remote sensing-based image processing is a powerful tool for mapping ophiolites on a regional scale and can help geologists identify potential mineralization zones in ophiolitic sequences. Full article

The main objective of the present study was to develop an integrated approach combining remote sensing techniques and U-Net-based deep learning models for lithology mapping. The methodology incorporates Landsat 8 imagery, ALOS PALSAR data, and field surveys, complemented by derived products such as False Color Composites (FCCs), Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The Dissection Index, a morphological index, was calculated to characterize the geomorphological variability of the region. Three variations of the deep learning U-Net architecture, Dense U-Net, Residual U-Net, and Attention U-Net, were implemented to evaluate the performance in lithological classification. Validation was conducted using metrics such as the accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and mean intersection over union (mIoU). The results highlight the effectiveness of the Attention U-Net model, which provided the highest mapping accuracy and superior feature extraction for delineating flysch formations and associated lithological units. This study demonstrates the potential of integrating remote sensing data with advanced machine learning models to enhance geological mapping in challenging terrains. Full article

The present research’s main objective was to apply thorough exploration approaches that combine remote sensing data with geochemical sampling and analysis to predict and identify potential chromitite locations in a complex geological site, particularly in rugged mountainous terrain, and differentiate the ultramafic massif containing chromitite orebodies from other lithologies. The ultramafic massif forming the mantle section of the Kırdağ ophiolite, located within the Erzurum–Kars Ophiolite Zone and emerging in the east of Oltu district (Erzurum, NE Turkey), was selected as the study area. Optimum index factor (OIF), false-color composite (FCC), decorrelation stretch (DS), band rationing (BR), minimum noise fraction (MNF), and principal and independent component analyses (PCA-ICA) were performed to differentiate the lithological features and identify the chromitite host formations. The petrography, mineral chemistry, and whole-rock geochemical properties of the harzburgites, which are the host rocks of chromitites in the research area, were evaluated to verify and confirm the remote sensing results. In addition, detailed petrographic properties of the pyroxenite and chromitite samples are presented. The results support the existence of potential chromitite formations in the mantle section of the Kırdağ ophiolite. Our remote sensing results also demonstrate the successful detection of the spectral anomalies of this ultramafic massif. The mineral and whole-rock geochemical features provide clear evidence of petrological processes, such as partial melting and melt–peridotite interactions during the harzburgite formation. The chromian spinels’ Cr#, Mg#, Fe³⁺, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ concentrations indicate that the harzburgite formed in a fore-arc environment. The Al₂O₃ content and Mg# of the pyroxenes and the whole-rock Al₂O₃/MgO ratio and V contents of the harzburgite are also compatible with these processes. Consequently, the combined approaches demonstrated clear advantages over conventional chromitite exploration techniques, decreasing the overall costs and supporting the occurrence of chromite production at the site. Full article

In this study, the satellite data of ASTER and Landsat 8 OLI were used for the discrimination of lithological units covering the Khyber range. Of the 24 tested band combinations, the most suitable include 632 and 468 of ASTER and 754 and 147 of OLI in the RGB sequence. The data were also tested with two conventional machine learning algorithms (MLAs), namely maximum likelihood classification (MLC) and support vector machine (SVM), for lithological mapping. Principal component analysis (PCA), minimum noise fraction (MNF), band ratios, and color composites in combination with available lithological maps and field data were utilized for training sample collection for the MLC and SVM models to classify the lithological units. The accuracy assessment of SVM and MLC was performed using a confusion matrix, which revealed a higher accuracy of 74.8419% and 72.1217% for ASTER and an accuracy of 58.4833% and 60.0257% for OLI, respectively. The results indicate that ASTER imagery is more suitable for lithological discrimination in the study area due to its high spectral resolution in the VNIR to SWIR range. The experiment revealed that the SVM classification offered the highest overall accuracy of nearly 75% and the kappa coefficient value of 0.7 on ASTER data. This demonstrates the effectiveness of SVM classification in exploring lithological mapping in dry to semi-arid regions. Full article

Crop phenotype observation techniques via UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) are necessary to identify different winter wheat cultivars to better realize their future smart productions and satisfy the requirement of smart agriculture. This study proposes a UAV-based hyperspectral remote sensing system for the fine classification of different winter wheat cultivars. Firstly, we set 90% heading overlap and 85% side overlap as the optimal flight parameters, which can meet the requirements of following hyperspectral imagery mosaicking and spectral stitching of different winter wheat cultivars areas. Secondly, the mosaicking algorithm of UAV hyperspectral imagery was developed, and the correlation coefficient of stitched spectral curves before and after mosaicking reached 0.97, which induced this study to extract the resultful spectral curves of six different winter wheat cultivars. Finally, the hyperspectral imagery dimension reduction experiments were compared with principal component analysis (PCA), minimum noise fraction rotation (MNF), and independent component analysis (ICA); the winter wheat cultivars classification experiments were compared with support vector machines (SVM), maximum likelihood estimate (MLE), and U-net neural network ENVINet5 model. Different dimension reduction methods and classification methods were compared to get the best combination for classification of different winter wheat cultivars. The results show that the mosaicked hyperspectral imagery effectively retains the original spectral feature information, and type 4 and type 6 winter wheat cultivars have the best classification results with the classification accuracy above 84%. Meanwhile, there is a 30% improvement in classification accuracy after dimension reduction, the MNF dimension reduction combined with ENVINet5 classification result is the best, its overall accuracy and Kappa coefficients are 83% and 0.81, respectively. The results indicate that the UAV-based hyperspectral remote sensing system can potentially be used for classifying different cultivars of winter wheat, and it provides a reference for the classification of crops with weak intra-class differences. Full article

NOMAD is a suite of spectrometers on the board of the ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft and is capable of investigating the Martian environment at very high spectral resolution in the ultraviolet–visible and infrared spectral ranges by means of three separate channels: UVIS (0.2–0.65 μm), LNO (2.2–3.8 μm), and SO (2.3–4.3 μm). Among all channels, LNO is the only one operating at infrared wavelengths in nadir-viewing geometry, providing information on the whole atmospheric column and on the surface. Unfortunately, the LNO data are characterized by an overall low level of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), limiting their contribution to the scientific objectives of the TGO mission. In this study, we assess the possibility of enhancing LNO nadir data SNR by applying the Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF), a well-known algorithm based on the Principal Components technique that has the advantage of providing transform eigenvalues ordered with increasing noise. We set up a benchmark process on an ensemble of synthetic spectra in order to optimize the algorithm specifically for LNO datasets. We verify that this optimization is limited by the presence of spectral artifacts introduced by the MNF itself, and the maximum achievable SNR is dependent on the scientific purpose of the analysis. MNF application study cases are provided to LNO data subsets in the ranges 2.627–2.648 μm and 2.335–2.353 μm (spectral orders 168 and 189, respectively) covering absorption features of gaseous H₂O and CO and CO₂ ice, achieving a substantial enhancement in the quality of the observations, whose SNR increases up to a factor of 10. While such an enhancement is still not enough to enable the investigation of spectral features of faint trace gases (in any case featured in orders whose spectral calibration is not fully reliable, hence preventing the application of the MNF), interesting perspectives for improving retrieval of both atmospheric and surface features from LNO nadir data are implied. Full article

Multispectral satellite data allow experts to discriminate rock units based on their spectral signature characteristics. Here, Sentinel-2, ASTER and the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) were assessed for lithological mapping by using a random forest (RF) classifier for a study area located in Xitieshan, Northwest China. The classification accuracy of Sentinel-2 was 60.71%, which was 5.24% and 4.77% higher than the accuracies for ASTER and the Landsat-8 OLI, respectively. Three image enhancement techniques, namely, principal component analysis (PCA), independent component analysis (ICA) and minimum noise fraction (MNF), were used with grey-level cooccurrence matrices (GLCMs) to increase the quality of the input datasets. The ICA could discriminate between rock unit datasets better than the other approaches. In contrast, GLCM performed poorly when used independently. The overall classification accuracies were 60.71%, 62.63%, 64.34%, 65.21% and 58.87% for the 10 bands of Sentinel-2, PCA, MNF, ICA and GLCM, respectively. Then, five datasets were combined as a single group and applied in RF classification. Sentinel-2 obtained an overall accuracy of 73.96% and performed better than the other single-dataset approaches used in this study. Furthermore, the classification result of RF was achieved better performance than that of the support vector machine algorithm (SVM). During feature selection processing, ReliefF, the most successful pre-processing algorithm, was employed to preliminarily perform feature screening. Then, the optimal dataset was selected on the basis of the importance ranking of RF. A total of 20 more important predictors were selected from 114 original features using the ReliefF-RF model. These predictors were used in the lithological mapping, and an overall accuracy of 77.63% was reached. Full article

The Wadi Samra–Wadi Kid district in southeastern Sinai, Egypt, has undergone extensive investigation involving remote sensing analysis, field geology studies, petrography, and geochemistry. The main aim of this study is the integration between remote sensing applications, fieldwork, and laboratory studies for accurate lithological mapping for future mineral exploration in the study region. The field relationships between these coincident rocks were studied in the study area. Landsat-8 (OLI) data that cover the investigated area were used in this paper. The different rock units in the study area were studied petrographically using a polarizing microscope, in addition to major and trace analysis using ICP-OES tools. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were used with several processing methods, such as false color composite (FCC), band ratio (BR), principal component analysis (PCA), and minimum noise fraction (MNF) techniques for detecting the different types of rock units in the Wadi Kid district. This district mainly consists of a volcano-sedimentary sequence as well as diorite, gabbro, granite, and albitite. Geochemically, the metasediments are classified as pelitic graywackes derived from sedimentary origin (i.e., shales). The Al₂O₃ and CaO contents are medium–high, while the Fe₂O₃ and TiO₂ contents are very low. Alkaline minerals are relatively low–medium in content. All of the metasediment samples are characterized by high MgO contents and low SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, and CaO contents. The granitic rocks appear to have alkaline and subalkaline affinity, while the subalkaline granites are high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonite series. The alkaline rocks are classified as albitite, while the calc-alkaline series samples vary from monzodiorites to granites. The outcomes of this study can be used for prospecting metallic and industrial mineral exploration in the Wadi Kid district. Full article

Chromite is a strategic mineral resource for many countries, and chromite deposit occurrences are widespread in the ultramafic rocks of the Yarlung Zangbo ophiolite belt, particularly in the harzburgite unit of the mantle section. Conducting field surveys in complex and poorly accessible terrain is challenging, expensive, and time-consuming. Remote sensing is an advanced method of achieving modern geological work and is a powerful technical means of geological research and mineral exploration. In order to delineate outcrops of chromite-bearing mantle peridotite, the present research study integrates seven image-enhancement techniques, including optimal band combination, decorrelation stretching, band ratio, independent component analysis, principal component analysis, minimum noise fraction, and false color composite, for the interpretation of Landsat8 OLI and WorldView-2 satellite data. This integrated approach allows the effective discrimination of chromite-containing peridotite outcrops in the Luobusa area, Tibet. The interpretation results derived from these integrated image-processing techniques were systematically verified in the field and formed the basis of the feature selection process of different lithologies supported by the support vector machine algorithm. Furthermore, the distribution range of the ferric contamination anomaly is detected through the de-interference abnormal principal component thresholding technique, which shows a high spatial matching relationship with mantle peridotite. This is the first study to utilize Landsat8 OLI and WorldView-2 remote sensing satellite data to explore the largest chromite deposit in China, which enriches the research methods for the chromite deposits in the Luobusa area. Accordingly, the results of this investigation indicate that the integration of information extracted from image-processing algorithms using remote sensing data could be a broadly applicable tool for prospecting chromite ore deposits associated with ophiolitic complexes in mountainous and inaccessible regions such as Tibet’s ophiolitic zones. Full article

The gold mineralization located in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt mostly occurs in characteristic geologic and structural settings. The gold-bearing quartz veins and the alteration zones are confined to the ductile shear zones between the highly deformed ophiolitic blocks, sheared metavolcanics, and gabbro-diorite rocks. The present study attempts to integrate multisensor remotely sensed data, structural analysis, and field investigation in unraveling the geologic and structural controls of gold mineralization in the Gabal Gerf area. Multispectral optical sensors of Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS (L8) and Sentinel-2B (S2B) were processed to map the lithologic rock units in the study area. Image processing algorithms including false color composite (FCC), band ratio (BR), principal component analysis (PCA), minimum noise fraction (MNF), and Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) were effective in producing a comprehensive geologic map of the area. The mafic index (MI) = (B13-0.9147) × (B10-1.4366) of ASTER (A) thermal bands and a combined band ratio of S2B and ASTER of (S2B3+A9)/(S2B12+A8) were dramatically successful in discriminating the ophiolitic assemblage, that are considered the favorable lithology for the gold mineralization. Three alteration zones of argillic, phyllic and propylitic were spatially recognized using the mineral indices and constrained energy minimization (CEM) approach to ASTER data. The datasets of ALSO PALSAR and Sentinel-1B were subjected to PCA and filtering to extract the lineaments and their spatial densities in the area. Furthermore, the structural analysis revealed that the area has been subjected to three main phases of deformation; (i) NE-SW convergence and sinistral transpression (D2); (ii) ~E-W far field compressional regime (D3), and (iii) extensional tectonics and terrane exhumation (D4). The gold-bearing quartz veins in several occurrences are controlled by D2 and D3 shear zones that cut heterogeneously deformed serpentinites, sheared metavolcanic rocks and gabbro-diorite intrusions. The information extracted from remotely sensed data, structural interpretation and fieldwork were used to produce a gold mineralization potential zones map which was verified by reference and field observations. The present study demonstrates the remote sensing capabilities for the identification of alteration zones and structural controls of the gold mineralization in highly deformed ophiolitic regions. Full article

Remote sensing data provide significant information about surface geological features, but they have not been fully investigated as a tool for delineating mineral prospective targets using the latest advancements in machine learning predictive modeling. In this study, besides available geological data (lithology, structure, lineaments), Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and ASTER multispectral remote sensing data were processed to produce various predictor maps, which then formed four distinct datasets (namely Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, ASTER, and Data-integration). Remote sensing enhancement techniques, including band ratio (BR), principal component analysis (PCA), and minimum noise fraction (MNF), were applied to produce predictor maps related to hydrothermal alteration zones in Hamissana area, while geological-based predictor maps were derived from applying spatial analysis methods. These four datasets were used independently to train a random forest algorithm (RF), which was then employed to conduct data-driven gold mineral prospectivity modeling (MPM) of the study area and compare the capability of different datasets. The modeling results revealed that ASTER and Sentinel-2 datasets achieved very similar accuracy and outperformed Landsat-8 dataset. Based on the area under the ROC curve (AUC), both datasets had the same prediction accuracy of 0.875. However, ASTER dataset yielded the highest overall classification accuracy of 73%, which is 6% higher than Sentinel-2 and 13% higher than Landsat-8. By using the data-integration concept, the prediction accuracy increased by about 6% (AUC: 0.938) compared with the ASTER dataset. Hence, these results suggest that the framework of exploiting remote sensing data is promising and should be used as an alternative technique for MPM in case of data availability issues. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based multispectral remote sensing has been the best supporting tool using limited resources to enhance the lithological mapping abilities with accuracy, supported by ground truthing through traditional mapping techniques. The availability of the dataset, choice of algorithm, cost, accuracy, computational time, data labeling, and terrain features are some crucial considerations that researchers continue to explore. In this research, support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were applied to the Sentinel-2 MSI dataset for classifying lithologies having subtle compositional differences in the Kohat Basin’s remote, inaccessible regions within Pakistan. First, we used principal component analysis (PCA), minimum noise fraction (MNF), and available maps for reliable data annotation for training SVM and (ANN) models for mapping ten classes (nine lithological units + water). The ANN and SVM results were compared with the previously conducted studies in the area and ground truth survey to evaluate their accuracy. SVM mapped ten classes with an overall accuracy (OA) of 95.78% and kappa coefficient of 0.95, compared to 95.73% and 0.95 by ANN classification. The SVM algorithm was more efficient concerning computational efficiency, accuracy, and ease due to available features within Google Earth Engine (GEE). Contrarily, ANN required time-consuming data transformation from GEE to Google Cloud before application in Google Colab. Full article

Together with geological survey data, satellite imagery provides useful information for geological mapping. In this context, the aim of this study is to map geological units of the Saka region, situated in the northeast part of Morocco based on Landsat Oli-8 and ASTER images. Specifically, this study aims to: (1) map the lithological facies of the Saka volcanic zone, (2) discriminate the different minerals using Landsat Oli-8 and ASTER imagery, and (3) validate the results with field observations and geological maps. To do so, in this study we used different techniques to achieve the above objectives including color composition (CC), band ratio (BR), minimum noise fraction (MNF), principal component analysis (PCA), and spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification. The results obtained show good discrimination between the different lithological facies, which is confirmed by the supervised classification of the images and validated by field missions and the geological map with a scale of 1/500,000. The classification results show that the study area is dominated by Basaltic rocks, followed by Trachy andesites then Hawaites. These rocks are encased by quaternary sedimentary rocks and an abundance of Quartz, Feldspar, Pyroxene, and Amphibole minerals. Full article