Spectral Indices for Lithologic Mapping with ASTER Thermal Infrared Data

Applying to a Part of Beishan Mountains, Gansu, China

Yoshiki Ninomiya
Geological Survey of Japan, AIST
Bihong Fu*
Lanzhou Institute of Geology, CAS
*At present, he is in Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka Univ. His contribution is limited on the part of geological investigations of the
study site.

Abstract-ASTER [1] sensor aboard TERRA platform has a
capability of spectral measurement not only in visible and near
infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) regions but
also in thermal infrared (TIR) region with a spatial resolution
adequate for geological applications. This paper proposes
several spectral indices for rock type mapping using ASTER
TIR data and applies them to a part of Beishan Mountains in
China. The result indicates that the indices are very useful in a
lithologic mapping.
I. INTRODUCTION
ASTER was launched in December 1999, and the
obtained data are now available in public. A quantitative
estimation of SiO2 content in silicate rocks using separated
emissivity spectra in ASTER data is proposed [2], however,
ASTER measures radiance with the effects of atmosphere.
Surface emissivity data is to be provided as a standard
ASTER data product on the basis of a request from a user,
on the other hand, radiance at sensor data product (ASTER
level 1B) is automatically generated for the observed data
effect of mixture with other materials because emissivity
values for the terrestrial materials in ASTER band 13 to 14
spectral regions distribute narrowly compared to in the other
spectral region in TIR, introduces the definition of Carbonate
Index (CI) to detect carbonate rocks as,
CI = D13/D14.
TIR Spectra of igneous rocks correlate to the chemical
properties. That is, the spectral trough in emissivity property
moves to longer wavelength as the SiO2 weight percent
decreases, as shown in Fig. 1. The emissivity in band 12 is
lower than in band 13 for felsic igneous rocks, and higher for
ultramafic rocks. Applying this feature, Basic Degree Index
(BDI) to discriminate silicate rocks is defined as,
BDI = D12 /D13.
BDI correlates well with the inverse of the SiO2 content in
silicate rocks, on the other hand, it also correlates to the
content of carbonate minerals, which requires the definition
of BDI separated for carbonates as,
BDIn = BDI/CIn.
    

 " #

with low cloud coverage. Here, several indices for lithologic 10 11 12 13 14

studies applicable to ASTER level 1 data are proposed, and   

applied to several ASTER datasets observing a study site.

II. DEFINITION OF INDICES

  

Several indices for studying lithology with ASTER data

are defined from the features found in emissivity spectra of   

typical terrestrial rocks shown in Fig. 1 with the convolved

data into ASTER TIR bandpasses, as the concept of which is
shown in [3]. Silica minerals including the most common   

mineral on earth, quartz, have a unique spectral property in

thermal infrared region. They have lower emissivity at the
spectral regions corresponding to ASTER band 10 and 12   

than at the region of band 11. Applying this feature, Silica

Index (SI) to detect siliceous rocks is defined as,
SI = D11*D11/D10/D12.   

Here, Dx is a value related to ASTER band x (for example,

DN, radiance at sensor, atmospherically corrected radiance
at surface or surface emissivity in ASTER band x). 8 9

     
10
   
11
   
12
Carbonate minerals including another common mineral on
earth, calcite, have a unique spectral feature, that is, they
Fig. 1 Emissivity spectra of typical terrestrial rocks: (a) limestone
have low emissivity in ASTER band 14 spectral region, and (carbonate); (b) quartzite (siliceous); (c) granite (felsic); (d) quartz diorite
high emissivity in ASTER band 10 to 13 spectral region. (intermediate); (e) gabbro (mafic); (f) peridtite (ultramafic); with the
Emissivity spectra in ASTER band 13 to 14 region is not convolved data into the responsivities of ASTER band 10 to 14 in TIR. Each
affected so much as ASTER band 10 to 12 region by the tick in Y axis represents 1.0/0.75 in emissivity except for (b) does 1.0/0.5.

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 III. STUDY SITE
o
The center of the study area is located at about N41.4 in
o
latitude and E95.1 in longitude, and it spreads about 60km
squares (corresponding to an ASTER scene). A false color
composite image of ASTER VNIR (band 3 for red, band 2
for green and band 1 for blue) of the study area obtained on
April 7, 2000, is overlain a part with a mapped geology
compiled from published geological maps [4] in Fig. 2,
which displays that the vegetation at this site is extremely
sparse. Low spectral contrast in the surface materials in this
area makes the VNIR image colorless. Outcrops are dark,
and deposits are bright generally in this image.
Fig. 2 shows various types of intrusive rocks from felsic to
ultrabasic are exposed as well as various geological systems
from Precambrian to Cenozoic are developed very well in
the study site. We conducted a field geological survey to the
study site in 1997, which confirmed a part of the published
geological information [4], and revealed that outcrops are
preserved very well in all the part older than Cenozoic.
IV. RESULT
Four scenes of ASTER level 1B data on the study site
processed with version 1.0 of the level 1 data reconstruction
software, observed at the day time on April 7, August 13,
July 28 and October 16, 2000, are used in this study, the later
two of which, covering about 40% of the study area, are
observed from the same path with a different observation
angle across track. The observation date, the location at the
scene center and the upward scene orientation angle of the
ASTER datasets used in this study are listed in Table I.
SI, CI, and BDI3 are calculated with the DN in TIR bands
at each pixel in each set of ASTER data, as Fig.3 showing a
grayscale image of BDI3 with a linear stretching of the whole
histogram. They are assigned to red, green and blue,
respectively, to generate a color composite image for each
ASTER dataset with a linear stretching of the histogram
region covering 99% of the data excluding highest 0.5% and
lowest 0.5%, as shown in Fig. 4. The pixels of anomalously
low temperature detected with ASTER TIR data, which are
likely to be cloud, are mapped as black in Fig. 4.
Decorrelated data for ASTER bands 10, 12 and 13 provided
as a standard ASTER level 2 decorrelation stretch
(D-stretch) product for each scene are assigned to blue,
green, and red, respectively, as shown in Fig. 5 for the
comparison.
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Generally, in all the processed images both with the
indices and the D-stretch, it tends to present reddish for
siliceous rocks, greenish for carbonate rocks, and bluish for
silicate rocks, as predictable for the images of the indices
from the definition of them. Detailedly, several regions
clearly display different colors scene by scene for the
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D-stretch, on the other hand, the displayed colors in the
images processed with the indices are much more stable
even though each scene has different conditions in the
atmospheric parameters and the surface temperatures.
Stripes significant in the horizontal direction of the images
are considered mostly due to the errors in the level 1 data
reconstruction software, and are expected to be reduced in
the data processed with the revised version of the software
available in the near future.
Now, we look the details in the images of the indices.
Each part in Cenozoic area shows individual color
corresponding to the rock type in the part, reflecting the
main factor transporting the deposits, topography. The color
in the area older than Cenozoic represents the lithology:
reddish for siliceous rocks, greenish for carbonate rocks, and
bluish for silicate rocks. Precambrian area is basically
mapped as carbonate rocks or siliceous rocks. The areas of
Paleozoic to Mesozoic as well as intrusive rocks are
basically bluish indicating silicate rocks with some
exceptions; for example, a part in Ordovician system (in the
lower right part in Fig. 4-a) seems to include siliceous rocks,
and a part in Permian system (in the upper leftmost part in
Fig. 4-a) seems to be carbonate. It is difficult to distinguish
the rock type in silicate rocks with the color composite
image of the indices; on the other hand, grayscale image of
the BDI3 shown in Fig. 3 is suitable for the purpose.
Comparing Fig. 3 and the geological map shown in Fig. 2,
the correlation between the rock type and BDI3 in the area
mapped as intrusive rocks is very clear; Fig. 3 shows bright
(i.e., high BDI3) in the region mapped as mafic to ultramafic
intrusions, and dark (i.e., low BDI3) in the region mapped as
felsic ones; with some exceptions; for example, the area
mapped as felsic intrusions in the geological map marked as
“A” in Fig. 2 seems to be mafic or ultramafic rocks from Fig.
3.
As a conclusion, the result of applying the indices to level
1B ASTER TIR datasets observing a study site at various
seasons indicates that it is robust against the variations in the
atmospheric conditions and the surface temperatures. Also,
the algorithm calculating the indices is very simple.
Therefore, using the indices proposed in this study is very
efficient in studies and mappings of lithology with ASTER
level 1 data.
REFERENCES
[1] Y. Yamaguchi, A.B. Kahle, H. Tsu, T. Kawakami, and M. Pniel,
“Overview of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer (ASTER),” IEEE-TGRS, vol. 36, pp. 1062-1071, 1998.
[2] Y. Ninomiya, “Quantitative estimation of SiO2 content in igneous rocks
using thermal infrared spectra with a neural network approach,”
IEEE-TGRS, vol. 33, pp. 684-691, 1995.
[3] Y. Ninomiya, “A new lithologic mapping with multispectral thermal
infrared data of ASTER,” unpublished.
[4] Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Gansu Province,
“Regional Geology of Gansu Province,” Beijing: Geological
Publishing House, 1989.
 TABLE I
ASTER DATA USED IN THIS STUDY
Observed Latitude Longit- Upward
date in at ude at scene
year 2000 center center orientation
o o o
a April 7 N41.4 E95.1 NE10.4
o o o
b August 13 N41.4 E95.1 NE10.4
o o o
c July 28 N41.5 E94.8 NE10.3
o o o
d October 16 N41.5 E94.7 NE10.4

(a) (a)

Fig. 2 A Geological map of the study site on a

VNIR color composite image of ASTER
dataset-a in Table I. Intrusive rocks are divided (b) (b)
into three units: felsic in reddish orange; mafic
in blue; ultramafic in purple. The region except
intrusive rocks are divided into six units
according to the geological time: Quaternary
and Tertiary in yellow; Permian in cyan;
Carboniferous in light bluish green; Silurian and
Ordovician in green; Cambrian in deep green;
and Precambrian in dark green.

(c) (c)

Fig. 3 A grayscale image of BDI3 for the

dataset-a in Table I.

(d)
Fig. 4 Color composite images of the indices
generated from ASTER-TIR datasets observing
the study site listed in Table I.
(d)
Fig. 5 Color composite images of the D-stretch
data for TIR data provided as a standard ASTER
data product generated from the datasets listed
in Table I.

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