Lithologic Mapping in the Southern Soda Mountains, Mojave Desert, Using ASTER Data

Details Lithologic Mapping in the Southern Soda Mountains, Mojave Desert, Using ASTER Data Lithologic Mapping in the Southern Soda Mountains, Mojave Desert, Using ASTER Data

Dec 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufm.p52b0586g&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #P52B-0586

Mathematics

Logic

5465 Rings And Dust, 5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 6225 Mars

Scientific paper

The Southern Soda Mountains (35.14° N, 116.19° E) in the Mojave Desert, CA, consist of an uplifted block of dacitic volcanic rocks. Local hydrothermal alteration has produced relatively small outcrops (meters to 10ś meters wide) exhibiting extensive kaolinite alteration. A 14 band (9 VISIR bands from 0.52 to 2.43 and 4 TIR bands from 8.125 to 11.65 micrometers) ASTER scene, acquired in June 2000, was calibrated to reflectance for the VISIR and emissivity for the TIR bands to evaluate the extent to which the data can be used to identify and map lithologic units within the study area. Fieldwork, consisting of several traverses and acquisition of reflectance spectra, was accomplished after initial analyses of the calibrated data. Further, lab-based emission spectra (courtesy ASU Planetary Exploration Laboratory) and XRF spectra were acquired for key samples. Results demonstrate that: (a) ASTER 4 band emission data, and ASTER simulations generated from the lab spectra, show only very subtle spectral variations for the study site. The reason is that the spectral behavior in the ASTER TIR wavelengths for the study site is dominated by Si-O vibrations associated with framework silicate minerals (e.g., feldspars). The narrow compositional range (approximately 63 to 70 percent silica) precludes significant spectral variety. Further, kaolinite outcrops are too small to be properly sampled by the 90 meter/pixel thermal data. Lab-based spectra demonstrate that extending the spectral coverage of the ASTER TIR bands from 11.65 to 25 micrometers would greatly increase the ability to discriminate and map units in this region, including the presence of volcanic glass; (b) ASTER 9 band VISIR data show significant spectral variety and were successfully mapped to the three major units present. Relatively gray rocks have reflectance spectra dominated by opaque mineral contents, red rocks have spectra controlled by the presence of dispersed ferric oxides, and hydrothermally altered white rocks have spectra indicative of kaolinite. Overall, results demonstrate that ASTER data can be very useful in litholgic mapping, even in fairly homogeneous units. This is particularly true if results are verified by field work and if spectral patterns are understood from first principles. Implications for analysis of THEMIS observations from the Mars Odyssey Orbiter are clear.

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