Mineral mapping of makhtesh ramon in israel using hyperspectral remote sensing day and night LWIR images

Hyperspectral remote sensing in the thermal infrared region has been acknowledged as an innovative tool for earth environmental studies that complements the optical spectral region. The current study focuses on mapping surface mineral content using day and night airborne data in the longwave infrared (LWIR) spectral region over a well-known mineralogical site in Israel. Data were acquired with the AisaOWL hyperspectral sensor over Makhtesh Ramon in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Major minerals could be identified by locating similarities in day and night atsensor radiance spectra. The analysis resulted in the classification of quartz, carbonates, gypsum, kaolinite and other silicates according to their observed spectral features in both day and night data.