Spectral Absorption Feature Analysis for Finding Ore: A Tutorial on Using the Method in Geological Remote Sensing

Geologists have been instrumental in shaping Earth observation satellite missions; likewise, geology has been the subject of many remote sensing studies [1]. Applications of optical remote sensing in geology date back to some early studies using the Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1, the predecessor of the Landsat satellite program [2]. In the 1980s, the seventh channel in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) of the Landsat thematic mapper program was added, as a result of spectroscopic mineral studies by geologists [58]. A subsequent satellite-borne instrument, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), launched in 1999, had specific bands in the SWIR and thermal infrared dedicated to mapping mineral groups [3].