Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

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Remote Sensing of Environment

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / r s e

Spectral assessment of new ASTER SWIR surface reectance data products

for spectroscopic mapping of rocks and minerals
John C. Mars , Lawrence C. Rowan 1
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, United States

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 2 December 2009
Received in revised form 23 March 2010
Accepted 11 April 2010
Keywords:
ASTER
SWIR
Remote sensing
Cuprite
Mountain Pass
Calibration

a b s t r a c t
ASTER reectance spectra from Cuprite, Nevada, and Mountain Pass, California, were compared to spectra of
eld samples and to ASTER-resampled AVIRIS reectance data to determine spectral accuracy and
spectroscopic mapping potential of two new ASTER SWIR reectance datasets: RefL1b and AST_07XT.
RefL1b is a new reectance dataset produced for this study using ASTER Level 1B data, crosstalk correction,
radiance correction factors, and concurrently acquired level 2 MODIS water vapor data. The AST_07XT data
product, available from EDC and ERSDAC, incorporates crosstalk correction and non-concurrently acquired
MODIS water vapor data for atmospheric correction. Spectral accuracy was determined using difference
values which were compiled from ASTER band 5/6 and 9/8 ratios of AST_07XT or RefL1b data subtracted
from similar ratios calculated for eld sample and AVIRIS reectance data. In addition, Spectral Analyst, a
statistical program that utilizes a Spectral Feature Fitting algorithm, was used to quantitatively assess
spectral accuracy of AST_07XT and RefL1b data.
Spectral Analyst matched more minerals correctly and had higher scores for the RefL1b data than for
AST_07XT data. The radiance correction factors used in the RefL1b data corrected a low band 5 reectance
anomaly observed in the AST_07XT and AST_07 data but also produced anomalously high band 5 reectance
in RefL1b spectra with strong band 5 absorption for minerals, such as alunite. Thus, the band 5 anomaly seen
in the RefL1b data cannot be corrected using additional gain adjustments. In addition, the use of concurrent
MODIS water vapor data in the atmospheric correction of the RefL1b data produced datasets that had lower
band 9 reectance anomalies than the AST_07XT data. Although assessment of spectral data suggests that
RefL1b data are more consistent and spectrally more correct than AST_07XT data, the Spectral Analyst results
indicate that spectral discrimination between some minerals, such as alunite and kaolinite, are still not
possible unless additional spectral calibration using site specic spectral data are performed.
Published by Elsevier Inc.

1. Introduction
The short wave infrared (SWIR) wavelength region (1.02.5 m) is
particularly useful for making compositional determinations remotely
by measuring spectral absorption features related to molecular
processes in carbonate, hydrate and hydroxyl-bearing sulfate, silicate
and other minerals (Fig. 1; Hunt, 1977; Hunt et al., 1971; Hunt &
Salisbury, 1970). The SWIR wavelength region is especially challenging, however, because the solar radiation level is signicantly lower
than in the VisibleNear Infrared (VNIR) region and reasonably
narrow bandpasses, particularly in the 2.1- to 2.4-m region, are
needed to separate diagnostic SWIR absorption features (Fig. 1). In
addition, atmospheric absorption, especially by water, is a signicant
variable throughout the SWIR wavelength region (Sabins, 1987). The
Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission radiometer (ASTER) mea Corresponding author.
E-mail address: jmars@usgs.gov (J.C. Mars).
1
Deceased. Died on 5-02-2010
0034-4257/$ see front matter. Published by Elsevier Inc.
doi:10.1016/j.rse.2010.04.008

sures reected solar radiation in 3 bands between 0.52 and 0.86 m

(VNIR); in 6 bands from 1.6 to 2.43 m (SWIR); and emitted radiation
in 5 bands from 8.125 to 11.65 m (TIR) with 15-, 30-, and 90-m
resolution, respectively (Fujisada, 1995). ASTER SWIR bandpasses
have sufcient resolution to dene distinct spectral shapes for
carbonate, hydrate and hydroxyl-bearing sulfate, silicate and other
minerals that contain signicant SWIR absorption features (Fig. 1).
ASTER VNIR and SWIR data are available from the EROS Data Center
(EDC; USA) and the Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center
(ERSDAC; Japan) as uncorrected radiance (Level 1A), corrected
radiance (Level 1B), and surface reectance (AST_07) data. In
principal, the SWIR segment of the AST_07 data should be useful for
spectral analysis and lithologic mapping, in so far as atmospheric
water absorption has been compensated resulting in image spectra
that should resemble in situ measured reectance spectra (Fig. 1).
Previous studies using ASTER SWIR data that have been corrected
to spectral reectance using spectral in situ measurements indicate
that the SWIR data have sufcient spectral and spatial resolution to
spectroscopically identify and map various carbonate, sulfate, and

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radiance data, crosstalk correction (Iwasaki & Tonooka, 2005), the

Biggar et al. (2005) radiometric correction factors, and MODIS water
vapor data acquired during ASTER scene acquisition. Because the
RefL1b and AST_07XT reectance datasets have crosstalk correction,
differences between these datasets should be caused by the addition
of the Biggar et al. (2005) radiometric correction factors and use of
concurrently acquired water vapor data in the atmospheric correction
of the RefL1b data. In addition, this report describes the method for
producing the RefL1b data.

2. Data and methods

2.1. AVIRIS spectral units, sample spectra and spectral analysis

Fig. 1. Pairs of SWIR sample spectra (black) and spectra resampled to ASTER bandpasses
(red) from Cuprite, Nevada, and Mountain Pass, California.

hydrous and hydroxyl silicate minerals (Fig. 1; Fujisada, 1995; Rowan

et al., 2003, 2006; Rowan & Mars, 2003). However, analysis of
numerous AST_07 images made by comparing the ASTER image
spectra to in situ reectance spectra and well calibrated airborne
visible/infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) spectra has shown
that ASTER band 9 reectance is commonly too high, whereas the
band 5 values are typically too low (Mars & Rowan, 2006; Rowan et
al., 2003; Rowan & Mars, 2003). In addition, the accuracy of AST_07
spectral reectance is affected by optical crosstalk, in which stray
light from the ASTER band 4 detector is captured by adjacent band 5
and 9 detectors on the ASTER SWIR instrument during scene
acquisition (Iwasaki & Tonooka, 2005; Mars & Rowan, 2006). Such
deviations from correct spectral reectance result in false absorption
features and distortion of diagnostic signatures which results in
spectroscopic misidentication of minerals. Thus, in areas where
there are no lithologic or spectral data that can be used to better
calibrate ASTER reectance SWIR data, the spectral accuracy of
reectance data is questionable for spectroscopic identication and
mapping of minerals.
To address anomalous SWIR data including the band 5 reectance
anomaly, new radiometric correction factors have been developed
using ground measurements and vicarious calibration methods
(Biggar et al., 2005). In addition, band 9 anomalies appear to be
partially caused by incorrect water vapor values used in the
atmospheric removal algorithm. The band 9 anomaly caused by
inaccurate water vapor values can be corrected by using moderate
resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) water vapor data
acquired at the same time the ASTER data are acquired (Gao &
Kaufman, 1998). Unfortunately, EDC and ERSDAC currently do not
offer ASTER products that apply the new Biggar et al. (2005)
radiometric correction factors and/or use MODIS water data that are
consistently acquired at the time of ASTER acquisition. For the
crosstalk problem, however, a new crosstalk-corrected ASTER
reectance product (AST_07XT) has been released which is available
on-demand from EDC and ERSDAC (Iwasaki & Tonooka, 2005).
This report evaluates two new ASTER SWIR reectance datasets to
determine the extent to which they can be used to spectroscopically
identify and map minerals without the use of in situ measured spectral
data for spectral correction. The new datasets include: (1) AST_07XT
SWIR reectance data available at EDC and ERSDAC and (2) ASTER
SWIR reectance data (RefL1b) compiled in this study using Level 1B

ASTER data used in this study were acquired from calibration sites
at Cuprite, Nevada, on May 24, 2005, and Mountain Pass, California, on
June 18, 2005 (Fig. 2). These sites were used in this study due to their
lithologic, spectral diversity and previous spectroscopic studies using
AVIRIS and ASTER data (Figs. 14; Rowan et al., 2003; Rowan & Mars,
2003). AVIRIS is a hyperspectral imaging spectrometer with 224
contiguously spaced 10-nm bands from 0.35 to 2.5 m and 20-m
resolution (Vane et al., 1993).
To determine the spectral accuracy of the ASTER SWIR reectance
data, averaged spectra of rocks and minerals mapped using AVIRIS
data from previous studies (spectral units) were used for spectral
comparisons to average spectra of AST_07XT and RefL1b data of the
same eld areas (Figs. 3 and 4; Rowan et al., 2003; Rowan & Mars,
2003). The spectral units from previous studies cover areas ranging in
size from 0.23 km2 (buddingtonite outcrops at Cuprite, Nevada) to
74.38 km2 (dolomite outcrops at Mountain Pass, California). Due to
their larger, identical sampling areas, average spectra from the
spectral units for AVIRIS, AST_07XT and RefL1b reectance data
better represent the true spectral characteristics of the surface at 30m resolution than sample spectra which only cover a small part of an
ASTER 30 m pixel.

Fig. 2. Location map of Cuprite, Nevada, and Mountain Pass, California, study areas.

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

2013

Fig. 3. AVIRIS minerals map of Cuprite, Nevada. The background is an ASTER band 4 simulated AVIRIS image (modied from Rowan et al., 2003).

To compare AVIRIS spectral units to AST_07XT and RefL1b

reectance data, the AVIRIS datasets for Mountain Pass and Cuprite
sites were georegistered to the AST_07XT and RefL1b datasets at 30-m
resolution using Delaunay triangulation warping and nearest neighbor resampling (De Berg et al., 2008; ITT, 2008). The AVIRIS Cuprite
scene was co registered using 80 ground control points and has an
RMS error of 1.28 and the AVIRIS Mountain Pass scene was co
registered using 325 ground control points and has an RMS error of
4.04. The AVIRIS data were resampled to ASTER SWIR bandpasses
using an ASTER spectral response function to dene the actual
bandpass shape as opposed to a Gaussian function (ITT, 2008). The
whole bandpass shape is integrated and then the bandpass is divided
by the bandpass area to produce an output bandpass. The AVIRIS
spectra are then convolved to this output bandpass to produce the
resampled spectrum. The AVIRIS radiance datasets were converted to
reectance using atmospheric compensation software (ImSpec,

2004). The atmospheric compensation software uses radiative

transfer code to model and compensate for atmospheric effects
(Chandrasekhar, 1960).
In addition to averaged AVIRIS spectral units, eld samples were
collected and in situ eld spectral measurements (hereafter referred
to as sample spectra) were acquired using an Analytical Spectral
Devices (ASD) spectrometer from Cuprite, Nevada, and Mountain
Pass, California, for comparison to AST_07XT and RefL1b data (Figs. 5
and 6). The ASD eld spectrometer measures bidirectional reectance
from 0.35 to 2.50 m with 1 nm spacing. The ASD sample spectra were
averaged into representative sample spectra for each site and
resampled to ASTER bandpasses for comparison to ASTER image
spectra. Sample and ASTER image spectra were selected on the basis
of diagnostic absorption features associated with specic minerals.
Spectra of minerals that did not contain signicant SWIR absorption
features were also selected to check for anomalous absorption

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J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

Fig. 4. AVIRIS minerals map of Mountain Pass, California. The background is an ASTER band 4 simulated AVIRIS image (modied from Rowan & Mars, 2003).

features in the AST_07XT and RefL1b data. Although samples were

taken from areas that were extensively covered by the sampled
material, some spectral mixing from other materials is likely due to
the 30-m resolution of the ASTER SWIR pixel.
To quantify relative variations in spectral shape, ratios and the
difference values from ratio subtraction were compiled from sample
spectra and averaged spectra from AVIRIS, AST_07XT and RefL1b
spectral units (Appendix A; Table 1; Fig. 5). The 5/6 band ratio was
evaluated because those band positions dene the 2.165- and 2.20m AlOH absorption feature, and the 9/8 band ratio was evaluated
because the band positions dene the 2.31- to 2.33-m CO3 and Fe,
MgOH absorption features (Hunt, 1977; Hunt et al., 1971; Hunt &
Salisbury, 1970). Band ratios for samples and averages of image
spectra from AVIRIS spectral units were subtracted from AST_07XT
and RefL1b data to produce difference ratios (Table 1; Fig. 5). A
percent difference value indicates that AST_07XT or RefL1b band 5 for
the 5/6 difference ratio needs to be reduced if the difference ratio is a
negative value or increased if the difference ratio is a positive value to
match the spectral shape of the corresponding AVIRIS or sample

spectra (Fig. 5). Similarly, a percent difference value indicates that

AST_07XT or RefL1b band 9 for the 9/8 difference ratio needs to be
reduced if the difference ratio is a negative value or increased if the
difference ratio is a positive value to match the spectral shape of the
corresponding AVIRIS or sample spectra.
Spectral Analyst, a spectral matching program, was used to
quantitatively compare averaged spectra of ASTER-resampled AVIRIS
spectral units to AST_07XT and RefL1b spectral units (Table 2; ITT,
2008). Spectral Analyst uses a Spectral Feature Fitting (SFF) algorithm
to score and rank each spectrum of a mineral or lithology based on a
spectral library (Clark et al., 1990; ITT, 2008). SFF compares and ranks
absorption features of continuum-removed reference and image
spectra using a least-squares algorithm (Clark et al., 1990). The SFF
RMS error results are rescaled in Spectral Analyst where higher scores
up to 1 indicate better matches of the input spectrum to the reference
spectrum and lower scores down to 0 indicate poorer matches (Clark
et al., 1990; ITT, 2008). In this study, for the Spectral Analyst analysis,
the averaged SWIR spectra of ASTER-resampled AVIRIS spectral units
from previous studies at the Cuprite and Mountain Pass sites were

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2015

Table 1
(A) Difference values of ASTER band ratios 5/6 and 9/8 for samples subtracted from
AST_07XT and RefL1b ratios for Cuprite, Nevada. (B) Difference values of ASTER band
ratios 5/6 and 9/8 for ASTER-resampled AVIRIS spectral unit ratios subtracted from
AST_07XT and RefL1b ratios for Cuprite, Nevada. (C) Difference values of ASTER band
ratios 5/6 and 9/8 for samples subtracted from AST_07XT and RefL1b ratios for
Mountain Pass, California. (D) Difference values of ASTER band ratios 5/6 and 9/8 for
ASTER-resampled AVIRIS spectral unit ratios subtracted from AST_07XT and RefL1b
ratios for Mountain Pass, California. Sample numbers next to sample names in (A) and
(C) correspond to sample locations for Cuprite, Nevada, and Mountain Pass, California,
in Figs. 7 and 8, respectively.

Fig. 5. ASTER 5/6 ratio differences from the averaged spectrum for the spectral unit
muscovite from Cuprite, Nevada. (A) ASTER band 5/6 ratios are compiled from band 5
and 6 reectance values from averaged spectra of spectral units shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
(B) The AST_07XT and RefL1b ratios are each subtracted from the AVIRIS ratio
producing the ratio difference which is shown in percent. (C) If the difference ratio is
positive then band 5 needs to be increased by that difference ratio percent to match the
AVIRIS band 5 and 6 positions on the spectral plot. (C) If the difference ratio is negative
then band 5 needs to be decreased by that difference ratio percent to match the AVIRIS
band 5 and 6 positions on the spectral plot.

used as the reference spectra, and the input spectra were the averaged
SWIR spectra of the corresponding RefL1b and AST_07XT spectral
units (Rowan et al., 2003; Rowan & Mars, 2003).

Diff. ratio
5/6

Diff. ratio
5/6

Diff. ratio
9/8

Diff. ratio
9/8

AST_07XT

REF1B

AST_07XT

REF1B

2.3%
2.5%
3.1%
2.7%
4.4%
4.0%
24.1%
8.3%
6.0%
5.9%

9.327%
5.041%
4.913%
5.177%
3.850%
3.154%
14.7%
1.045%
0.594%
1.7%

12.1%
1.7%
1.1%
12.4%
5.9%
9.8%
3.7%
8.8%
0.4%
6.2%

9.519%
1.520%
0.607%
9.195%
4.842%
4.480%
0.1%
4.157%
1.463%
3.2%

B. Cuprite ASTER-resampled AVIRIS spectra

Alunite
1.2%
Buddingtonite
2.0%
Calcite
3.1%
Dickite
0.2%
Hydro-illite
3.6%
Kaolinite
1.1%
Musc chlortite
6.2%
Muscovite
4.6%
Opal
5.3%
Playa
6.8%
Unaltered tuff
3.1%
Average
3.2%

8.987%
5.652%
5.052%
7.672%
4.640%
6.830%
2.141%
3.820%
2.699%
1.100%
4.876%
4.9%

12.0%
7.0%
6.8%
9.5%
10.3%
10.5%
8.4%
10.5%
7.9%
7.7%
7.8%
9.0%

9.140%
3.636%
4.389%
7.840%
8.192%
7.449%
6.366%
8.763%
4.687%
3.245%
4.272%
6.2%

C. Mountain Pass sample spectra

Al-muscovite 1
25.8%
Dolomite 14
8.0%
Epidote chlorite skarn 3
7.8%
Chrysotile 21B
8.4%
Fe-muscovite 2
22.4%
Diorite 15
16.9%
LT brown slate 09
16.6%
Musc biot 10
8.0%
Average
13.1%

17.531%
0.094%
0.684%
0.645%
13.538%
7.070%
7.721%
1.280%
4.6%

17.8%
16.6%
12.7%
9.0%
19.1%
20.4%
16.8%
16.4%
15.7%

10.707%
2.588%
1.963%
0.241%
7.062%
7.455%
5.235%
5.884%
4.9%

spectra
3.256%
5.4%
4.601%
4.988%
3.181%
5.410%
4.5%

17.6%
17.4%
17.1%
17.5%
19.0%
16.8%
17.6%

6.793%
6.5%
6.057%
6.800%
8.197%
5.914%
6.7%

A. Cuprite samples
Alunite 22
Buddingtonite 27
Calcite 4
Dickite 8
Smectite 24
Kaolinite 10
Opal 15
Playa
Unaltered tuff 28
Average

D. Mountain Pass ASTER-resampled AVIRIS

Al-muscovite
4.8%
Dolomite
2.3%
Epidote
3.3%
Fe MgOH AlOH
2.9%
Fe-muscovite
5.0%
Limestone
2.2%
Average
3.4%

2.2. AST_07XT SWIR surface reectance

Fig. 6. Flow chart of procedures and data used for generation of AST_07XT and RefL1b
reectance data. Text in red indicates data used in the generation of RefL1b data not
used in the production of AST_07XT data.

AST_07XT data consist of ASTER VNIR and SWIR bands that have
been converted from radiance to surface reectance (Fig. 6a).
AST_07XT data are the same as AST_07 surface reectance data,
except that the crosstalk correction algorithm has been applied to the
AST_07XT data (Iwasaki & Tonooka, 2005). The AST_07XT products
used in this study were downloaded from the EROS Data Center (EDC).
Level 1B VNIR and SWIR radiance data are processed to the AST_07XT
surface reectance product at EDC and ERSDAC by applying a method
that incorporates corrections for atmospheric absorption and scattering (Thome et al., 1999). The method uses GaussSeidel iteration
radiative transfer code that compile atmospheric compensation

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Table 2
Spectral Analyst results for (A) AST_07XT and (B) RefL1b reectance average image spectra from Cuprite, Nevada, and Spectral Analyst results for (C) AST_07XT and (D) RefL1b
reectance average image spectra from Mountain Pass, California. Each image spectrum was derived from an average spectrum of an area dened by AVIRIS mineral maps (Figs. 3
and 4). AVIRIS (resampled to ASTER SWIR bandpasses) average image SWIR (ASTER bands 4 thru 9) spectra of each spectral unit were used as the reference library spectra in Spectral
Analyst. The AST_07XT and RefL1b reectance average image spectra were mapped for spectral similarity to averaged spectra of AVIRIS spectral units using SFF. Spectral Analyst
rescales the SFF RMS scores from 0 (no match) to 1 (perfect match). The table includes Spectral Analyst scores, rank, and best match if the minerals or lithologies did not match
correctly.
AST07XT

Rank

Best match

RefL1b

SSF score
A. Cuprite
Alunite
Buddingtonite
Calcite
Dickite
Hydro-illitesmectite
Kaolinite
Muscovite and chlorite
Muscovite
Opal
Playa
Unaltered tuff
Average score
C. Mountain Pass
Al-muscovite
Dolomite
Epidote
Fe,MGOH + AlOH
Fe-muscovite
Limestone
Average score

Rank

Best match

0.818
0.858
0.788
0.733
0.817
0.819
0.87
0.854
0.758
0.909
0.694
0.811

4
3
1
1
2
3
2
1
2
3
11

Dickite 0.906
Dickite 0.892

0.902
0.801
0.777
0.707
0.842
0.861
0.815

1
1
1
5
1
1

SSF score

0.850
0.911
0.731
0.832
0.737
0.849
0.676
0.702
0.499
0.609
0.467
0.715

4
2
1
1
5
2
7
3
8
10
11

0.456
0.434
0.577
0.396
0.498
0.546
0.485

2
2
3
5
1
1

Dickite 0.911
Dickite 0.911

Dickite
Dickite
Dickite
Dickite
Dickite
Dickite
Dickite

0.823
0.906
0.789
0.735
0.790
0.885
0.799

Fe-muscovite 0.473
Limestone 0.453
Limestone 0.618
Limestone 0.509

B. Cuprite
Alunite
Buddingtonite
Calcite
Dickite
Hydro-illitesmectite
Kaolinite
Muscovite and chlorite
Muscovite
Opal
Playa
Unaltered tuff
Average score
D. Mountain Pass
Al-muscovite
Dolomite
Epidote
Fe,MGOH + AlOH
Fe-muscovite
Limestone
Average score

Muscovite 0.818
Dickite 0.866
Muscovite 0.881
Hydro-illitesmectite 0.789
Opal 0.926
Muscovite 0.854

Epidote 0.788

calculations stored in a look-up table (Herman & Browning, 1965;

Thome et al., 1999).
Water vapor is the primary atmospheric absorber, and affects
ASTER bands 8 and 9 due to an atmospheric water band located at
2.74 m (Sabins, 1987). For AST_07XT data, water vapor is estimated
from external regional climatological data or from global, 6-h averaged
water vapor maps (1 degree spatial resolution) compiled from MODIS
data. Thus, the atmospheric water vapor values used to compile
AST_07XT data are typically not recorded at the same time as ASTER
scene acquisition. Consequently, the accuracy of estimated atmospheric absorption is variable and possibly results in errors in the
ASTER band 9 and band 8 surface reectance data contained in many
AST_07XT products.

MODIS instrument ies on board the Terra satellite with the ASTER
instrument and obtains data concurrently with ASTER. MOD5_L2 data
consist of 1 km pixel resolution column water vapor values (Gao &
Kaufman, 1998). MODIS MOD_05 water vapor data were used to
derive an average water vapor value for each ASTER scene. Thus, a
concurrent water vapor value which consists of averaged 1 km2spaced water vapor data over the ASTER scene area is used in the
atmospheric compensation software for each ASTER scene. The RefL1b
data differs from the AST_07XT data because additional radiometric
correction factors and time synchronous MODIS water vapor data
have been applied to calibrate the RefL1b data (Fig. 6).

2.3. Production of RefL1b data

3.1. Cuprite, Nevada

RefL1b reectance data were compiled for this study from Level 1B
radiance data. Level 1B radiance data are rendered from ASTER Level
1A instrument data to a useful registered Level 1B radiance image by
applying radiometric calibration coefcients, geometric correction
coefcients, as well as SWIR parallax correction information (Fig. 6;
Tsu et al., 1996). The radiance at the sensor Level 1B data contain all 14
ASTER bands (3 VNIR, VNIR, 6 SWIR, and 5 TIR bands) and 1
stereoscopic band. The ASTER Level 1B data were crosstalk-corrected
using the Iwasaki and Tonooka (2005) algorithm, converted from byte
to radiance by applying radiometric conversion factors recorded in the
Level 1B metadata, and radiometrically adjusted by applying the
Biggar et al. (2005) radiometric correction factors (Fig. 6).
The RefL1b reectance data are compiled using the crosstalk- and
radiometrically- corrected Level 1B data, a concurrent MODIS water
vapor value, and an atmospheric correction program (Fig. 6; ImSpec,
2004). The atmospheric correction program uses the same radiative
transfer code used to compensate for atmospheric effects in the
AVIRIS radiance data (Chandrasekhar, 1960; ImSpec, 2004). The
MODIS water vapor value was obtained from MOD5_L2 MODIS water
vapor product, downloaded from the Goddard Space Flight Center
using the Level 1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System
(LAADS; http://ladsweb.nascom.nasa.gov/data/search.html). The

The Cuprite study area is located approximately 15 km south of

Goldeld, Nevada, in the southwestern part of the Great Basin (Fig. 2).
U.S. Highway 95 bisects the area (Figs. 3 and 7). Circular hills in the
eastern part of the study area and a north trending ridge in the
western part dominate the topographic relief (Fig. 3). Elevations
range from 1420 m to 1700 m above sea level. Field observations of
the study area show that there is sparse vegetation cover (b15%) that
includes sheep grass, juniper, small cactus, and sagebrush.
Cambrian sedimentary rocks cover most of the western part of the
study area (Fig. 9, Ashley & Abrams, 1980; Swayze, 1997). The oldest
Cambrian unit consists of greenish phyllitic siltstone overlain by
limestone, which is capped by thin-bedded limestone and chert. The
phyllitic siltstone contains abundant muscovite, which exhibits an Al
OH 2.2-m absorption feature (Figs. 1, 3, and 9). The limestone
typically exhibits a calcite (CO3) 2.33-m spectral absorption feature.
Tertiary conglomerate and sandstone overlain by rhyolite ash-ow
tuffs cover the central and eastern parts of the study area (Fig. 9,
Ashley & Abrams, 1980; Swayze, 1997). A quartz latitic felsite dike
cuts the tuffs in the central part of the study area. The tuffs contain
hydrothermally-altered argillized, silicied and opalized rocks
(Figs. 1, and 3). Argillic-altered rocks primarily consist of alunite,
dickite, and kaolinite which exhibit doublet absorption features at

3. Geographic and geologic settings

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2017

Fig. 7. ASTER false-color-composite image (red = band 6, green = band 3, blue = band
1) of the Cuprite, Nevada, study area showing sample locations.
Fig. 8. ASTER false-color-composite image (red = band 6, green = band 3, blue = band
1) of the Mountain Pass, California, study area showing sample locations.

2.17 and 2.2 m (Figs. 1, and 3). Silicied and opalized rocks have a
broad absorption feature centered at 2.26 m (Figs. 1 and 3).

3.2. Mountain Pass, California

The Mountain Pass study area is located near the southern
CaliforniaNevada border and is bisected by U.S. Highway I-15
(Figs. 2, 4, and 8). The Clark Mountains, Mescal Range and Ivanpah
Range cover the northern, central, and southern parts of the study
area, respectively (Fig. 8). Large alluvial fans ank the mountain
ranges along the eastern, western and southern parts of the study
area. Elevations range from 2350 m to 1500 m above sea level (Fig. 8).
Field observations indicate that vegetation covers approximately 20
to 35% of the Mountain Pass study area and includes sagebrush,
cactus, grasses, and Joshua trees.
The northeastern part of the study area contains Proterozoic gneiss
with minor amounts of syenite, shonkinite, and carbonatite (Fig. 10;
Theodore et al., 1991). In the northern and central parts of the study
area the Proterozoic rocks are overlain by Paleozoic quartzose
sandstones and siltstones and carbonate rocks intruded by Jurassic
granodiorite and diorite rocks (Fig. 10; Theodore et al., 1991). The
Paleozoic sandstones, siltstones and carbonate rocks and extensive
Jurassic granodiorite and diorite intrusive rocks cover the southern
part of the study area (Fig. 10). In the east-central part of the study
area Tertiary intermediate composition volcanic rocks overlie quartzose sandstones and gneiss (Fig. 10). Field investigations indicate that
skarns are located throughout the study area at Paleozoic carbonate
and Jurassic intrusive rock contacts.
Rocks in the Mountain Pass area contain a variety of SWIR spectral
absorption features. The skarns contain abundant epidote, garnet,
chlorite, and calcite which typically exhibit 2.312.33-m absorption
features (Figs. 1 and 4). The Paleozoic dolomite and limestone also

exhibit 2.312.33-m absorption features and the Paleozoic siltstone

typically shows a 2.20-m absorption feature (Figs. 1 and 4). A breccia
pipe located at the Coliseum Mine and a porphyry intrusive at the
Morning Star Mine, contain abundant sericite that exhibits intense
2.2-m absorption features and muscovite and biotite-rich gneiss
exhibit 2.2- and weak 2.35- and 2.31-m absorption features (Figs. 1
and 4; Theodore et al., 1991).
4. Spectral comparisons of AST_07xt data, RefL1b data, AVIRIS
data, sample data
4.1. Cuprite, Nevada
4.1.1. AST_07xt data
4.1.1.1. Band 5/6 differences. The 5/6 ratio difference values for 8 of the
samples (excluding opal) range from 2.3% to 8.3%, and the
difference values for the AST_07XT and AVIRIS spectral units span
1.2% to 6.8% (Table 1A and B, respectively). The smallest 5/6 ratio
differences are for spectra representing minerals that exhibit band 5
absorption features, including alunite, dickite, buddingtonite, and
kaolinite (Table 1A and B; Figs. 11 and 12), and the highest difference
values are for lithologic categories that do not have a band 5
absorption feature such as the playa, and muscovitechlorite
(Table 1A and B; Figs. 11 and 12). Thus, the ratio differences and
spectral shape comparisons illustrate that AST_07XT spectra of
minerals with band 5 spectral absorption features have spectral
shapes similar to sample and AVIRIS spectral unit spectra (Table 1A
and B; Figs. 11 and 12). In addition, the ratio differences and spectral
shape comparisons illustrate that AST_07XT spectra of minerals, rocks

2018

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

and sediments that lack band 5 spectral absorption features such as

the playa, muscovite, and unaltered tuff exhibit low band 5 reectance
relative to band 6 (Table 1A and B; Figs. 11 and 12). The comparisons
of AST_07XT spectra to sample and averaged spectra of AVIRIS
spectral units indicate a band 5 anomaly that cannot be corrected
using a simple gain correction (Table 1A and B; Figs. 9 and 10).
Spectral Analyst incorrectly matched the AST_07XT spectral units
unaltered tuff, playa, opal, muscovite, illite, kaolinite, buddingtonite, and
alunite to the AVIRIS spectral unit dickite (Table 2A; Figs. 11 and 12).
Thus, due to the AST_07XT band 5 anomaly, materials that do not have
an intense band 5 absorption feature, such as the playa, opal, illite, and
smectite, instead have apparent spectral shapes similar to advanced
argillic alteration minerals, such as alunite, dickite, and kaolinite.

Fig. 10. Generalized geologic map of the Mountain Pass, California, area (from Rowan &
Mars, 2003). Alluvial, Colluvial Deposits = white; Quartzose Rocks = red; Limestone =
yellow; Dolomite = dark blue; Volcanic Rocks = orange; Granitoids and Gneisses =
brown; Granite, Syenite, Shonkinite, Carbonatite = purple; Granite, Granodiorite = green.

4.1.1.2. Band 9/8 differences. The AST_07XT 9/8 ratio differences for the
sample spectra range from 0.4% to 12.4% with an average of 6.2%
(Table 1A). The AST_07XT and AVIRIS spectral units 9/8 ratio difference
values range from 7.0% to 12.0% with an average of 9.0%
(Table 1B). Thus, the AST_07XT spectra of the Cuprite, Nevada area
illustrate that band 9 reectance is high with respect to band 8 when
compared to averaged spectra of the AVIRIS spectral units and sample
spectra (Figs. 11 and 12; Table 1A and B). Spectral Analyst correctly
matched the AST_07XT calcite spectral unit (Table 2A). The AST_07XT
band 9 anomaly was not high enough to cause misidentication of other
minerals with the AVIRIS calcite spectral unit (Table 2A).
4.1.2. RefL1b

Fig. 9. Generalized geologic map of the Cuprite, Nevada, area (from Rowan et al., 2003).
Qal = sand, gravel, and boulders; Qp = playa deposits; Tb2 = olivine basalt; Tsf =
sodic ash-ow tuff; Tb1 = porphyritic olivine basalt; Ts = crystal-rich rhyolite and
latite tuff, conglomerate, and sandstone; Tf = quartz latitic felsite; -Ce = limestone and
chert; -Cms = limestone and lower limey siltstone; -Ch = phyllitic siltstone and minor
sandy limestone.

4.1.2.1. Band 5/6 differences. The 5/6 ratio difference values for the
samples, except for opal, range from 9.3% to 1.045%, and the difference
values for the AVIRIS-resampled data ranges from 1.1% to 8.99%
(Table 1A and B). RefL1b spectra that do not have intense band 5 spectral
absorption features, such as the playa, unaltered tuff, muscovite, calcite
and kaolinite, exhibit the smallest RefL1b ratio value differences (5%
to 1%) and exhibit similar spectral shapes to AVIRIS spectral unit and
sample spectra (Table 1A and B; Figs. 11 and 12). RefL1b spectra of
minerals that have band 5 absorption features show the largest percent
difference values, such as alunite, buddingtonite, and dickite, which
illustrates anomalously high band 5 reectance relative to band 6 when
compared to sample and AVIRIS spectral unit spectra (Figs. 11 and 12).

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

2019

Fig. 11. AST_07XT and RefL1b SWIR image spectra, and sample SWIR spectra (resampled to ASTER bandpasses) taken from the same location in the Cuprite, Nevada, area. The dotted
line is situated at ASTER band 5 (2.165 m).

Opal which has a broad, weak feature at 2.27 m, and unaltered tuff
which is featureless, exhibits an anomalous 2.2-m absorption feature
in their RefL1b spectra when compared to spectra from AVIRIS spectral
units and samples (Figs. 11 and 12).
Using the averaged spectra of RefL1b and AVIRIS spectral units,
Spectral Analyst matched unaltered tuff to muscovite; playa to opal
and kaolinite; and buddingtonite and alunite to dickite (Table 2B).
Muscovite, and dickite were correctly matched (Table 2B). Although
Spectral Analyst correctly matched dickite, examination of spectral
shapes and Spectral Analyst results suggest that the high band 5
anomaly for RefL1b data is severe enough to cause misidentication of
argillic alteration minerals, such as alunite, kaolinite, and dickite
(Figs. 11 and 12; Table 2B). The anomalous, weak 2.2-m absorption
feature in RefL1b data resulted in the misidentication of opal and
unaltered tuff as muscovite, which is caused by the anomalously high
band 5 reectance and anomalously, slightly low band 6 reectance
(Figs. 11 and 12; Table 2B).
4.1.2.2. Band 9/8 differences. The Cuprite RefL1b 9/8 ratio difference
averages were 3.2% and 6.2% for samples and AVIRIS spectral
units, respectively (Table 1A and B; Figs. 11 and 12). Ratio difference
data and visual spectral comparisons between RefL1b, AVIRIS spectral

unit, and sample spectra illustrate that band 9 reectance is

anomalously high with respect to band 8 (Table 1A and B; Figs. 11
and 12). The calcite AVIRIS spectral unit spectrum was the best match
to the RefL1b spectral unit calcite spectrum in Spectral Analyst. The
RefL1b band 9 anomaly was not high enough to cause misidentication of calcite with other minerals (Table 2B).
4.2. Mountain Pass, California
4.2.1. AST_07xt data
4.2.1.1. Band 5/6 differences. The Mountain Pass 5/6 ratio difference
values for AST_07XT and sample data range from 7.8% to 25.8% with an
average of 13.1%, and the 5/6 ratio differences for AST_07XT and AVIRIS
spectral units range from 2.2% to 5.0% with an average difference of 3.4%
(Table 1C and D). The wide variation of difference in the sample 5/6 ratio
data are due to deeper 2.2-m absorption features recorded by the ASD
spectrometer than observed in the ASTER reectance data for Al- and Femuscovite samples (Fig. 13; Table 1C). This is due to selective eld
sampling of the sericite-rich rocks in the area of the ASTER image pixel.
Although there is greater 5/6 ratio difference variation in the sample
data than the AVIRIS spectral unit data, the 5/6 ratio difference data and

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J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

Fig. 12. AST_07XT, RefL1b and AVIRIS (resampled to ASTER bandpasses) SWIR averaged image spectra of spectral units from the Cuprite, Nevada, area (Fig. 3). The dotted line is
situated at ASTER band 5 (2.165 m).

visual comparisons of AST_07XT spectra to AVIRIS spectral units and

sample spectra indicate that band 5 reectance is anomalously low
(Table 1C and D; Figs. 13 and 14). The lower band 5 reectance in the
AST_07XT data eliminated the 2.2-m absorption feature in the
muscovitebiotite sample but did not eliminate the feature in the Aland Fe-muscovite, slate, and diorite samples (Figs. 13 and 14). Spectral
Analyst matched Al-muscovite to Fe-muscovite (Table 2C). Thus, the
low band 5 reectance anomaly in AST_07XT data at the Mountain Pass,
California, site is severe enough to cause misidentication of minerals
with 2.2-m absorption features (also seen at the Cuprite, Nevada site).
4.2.1.2. Band 9/8 differences. The Mountain Pass 9/8 ratio differences
for AST_07XT and sample data range from 9.0% to 20.4% with an
average of 15.7%, and 9/8 ratio differences for AST_07XT and AVIRIS
spectral units data range from 16.8% to 19.0% with an average of
17.6% (Table 1C and D). The 9/8 ratio difference data and visual
comparisons of AST_07XT spectra to AVIRIS spectral unit and sample
spectra illustrate that band 9 reectance is anomalously high with
respect to band 8 (Table 1C and D; Figs. 13 and 14). Spectral Analyst
correctly matched the AST_07XT limestone spectral unit; however,
the AST_07XT band 9 reectance anomaly was high enough to cause
misidentication of epidote, dolomite, and Fe MgOHAl OH minerals
as limestone (calcite; Table 2C).

4.2.2. RefL1b
4.2.2.1. Band 5/6 differences. The Mountain Pass 5/6 ratio differences
for RefL1b and sample data ranged from 0.68% to 17.5% with an
average of 4.6%, and 5/6 ratio differences for RefL1b and AVIRIS
spectral units ranged from 3.18% to 5.4% with an average of
4.5% (Table 1C and D). If the Fe- and Al-muscovite samples are
excluded the 5/6 difference average for samples drops to 2.4%. The 5/6
ratio difference data and visual assessment of sample, AVIRIS, and
RefL1b spectra indicate that the RefL1b spectra are similar in spectral
shape to AVIRIS spectral unit and sample spectra from Mountain Pass,
California (Table 1C and D; Figs. 13 and 14). Spectral Analyst correctly
matched the Al- and Fe-muscovites that contain ASTER band 6
absorption features (Table 2D).
4.2.2.2. Band 9/8 differences. The 9/8 ratio differences for RefL1b and
sample data ranged from 0.241% to 10.71% with an average
of 4.9%, and 9/8 ratio differences for RefL1b and AVIRIS spectral
units ranged from 5.91% to 8.20% with an average of 6.7%
(Table 1C and D). The 9/8 ratio differences and RefL1b spectra
compared to AVIRIS spectral units and sample spectra illustrate that
band 9 is anomalously high with respect to band 8 (Table 1C and D;
Figs. 13 and 14). Of the 4 image-mineral spectral groups with 2.31

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

2021

Fig. 13. AST_07XT and RefL1b SWIR image spectra, and sample SWIR spectra (resampled to ASTER bandpasses) taken from the same location in the Mountain Pass, California, area.
The dotted line is situated at ASTER band 5 (2.165 m).

2.33-m absorption features, Spectral Analyst correctly matched all

minerals except for Fe,MgOH + AlOH which was mismatched
with epidote (Figs. 13 and 14; Table 2D). Thus, Spectral Analyst results
indicate that the band 9 anomalies in the Mountain Pass RefL1b data
were typically not severe enough to cause misidentication.
5. Conclusions
Spectral Analyst matched more minerals correctly and had higher
scores for the RefL1b data than for the AST_07XT data (Table 2). RefL1b
spectra of minerals that lack ASTER band 5 absorption tend to be more
similar in spectral shape to AVIRIS spectral unit and sample spectra than
AST_07XT data (Figs. 1114). These observations suggest that the Biggar
et al. (2005) radiance correction factors successfully adjusted the ASTER
SWIR bands in the Ref1b data to spectrally correct for the AST_07XT low
band 5 anomalies seen in high reectance, spectrally at areas, such as
the Cuprite, Nevada, playa (Figs. 11 and 12; Rowan & Mars, 2003).
However, relative to band 6, RefL1b band 5 reectance is too high for
minerals with intense ASTER band 5 absorption, such as alunite (Figs. 11
and 12; Table 1A and B). The RefL1b high band 5 reectance anomalies

seen in minerals with strong 2.165-m absorption are probably due to

residual crosstalk energy not removed by the Crosstalk algorithm
(Iwasaki & Tonooka, 2005). Thus, the Biggar et al. (2005) radiance
correction factors used in the RefL1b data only partially corrects
reectance anomalies in ASTER band 5 and cannot be corrected using
additional gain adjustments.
Relative to band 8, band 9 reectance values are higher for
AST_07XT data than RefL1b data, although RefL1b band 9 reectance
was anomalously higher than AVIRIS spectral unit and sample spectra
(Figs. 1114). Average 9/8 ratio differences for AST_07XT and RefL1b
data indicate that band 9, with respect to band 8, is 17.6% too high at
Mountain Pass, California, and 9% too high for Cuprite, Nevada,
whereas band 9 averages 6.7% too high for Mountain Pass, California,
and 6.2% too high for Cuprite, Nevada (Table 2). Band 9 anomalies in
the AST_07XT data are larger than those observed in the RefL1b data
of Mountain Pass, California, and Cuprite, Nevada, and suggest that
inaccurate water vapor data values are used for the reectance
calibration of the AST_07XT data. The use of concurrent MODIS water
vapor data in the atmospheric correction of the RefL1b resulted in
lower band 9 anomalies than the AST_07XT data.

2022

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

Fig. 14. AST_07XT, RefL1b and AVIRIS (resampled to ASTER bandpasses) SWIR averaged image spectra of spectral units from the Mountain Pass, California, area (Fig. 4). The dotted
line is situated at ASTER band 5 (2.165 m).

AST_07XT and RefL1b use different radiative transfer models to

correct radiance data to reectance which could result in spectral
variation (Chandrasekhar, 1960; Herman & Browning, 1965; ImSpec,
2004; Thome et al., 1999). To test possible variation, a reectance
dataset from the Cuprite, Nevada, study area was compiled from
crosstalk-corrected ASTER Level 1b data using the same radiative
transfer code to correct RefL1b data but without applying Biggar et al.,
(2005) radiance correction factors. ASTER bands 4 thru 7, where variable
water vapor values have less inuence on reectance correction, were
used for spectral comparison. Spectra from 1.65 to 2.26 m of spectral
units for the AST_07XT and the ASTER reectance dataset without
Biggar et al., (2005) radiance correction factors are almost identical in
spectral shape (Fig. 15). Thus, the similarity of spectral shapes suggests
that the different radiative transfer codes produce similar reectance
datasets and that spectral variation must be caused by other variables
such as water vapor or crosstalk.
Although the assessment of spectral data suggests that RefL1b data
are more consistent and spectrally more correct than AST_07XT data,
the Spectral Analyst results indicate that spectral discrimination using
RefL1b data for some minerals, such as alunite from kaolinite, are not
feasible without additional spectral calibration using site specic
spectral data. In addition, RefL1b spectra of minerals that should be
spectrally at in the SWIR exhibit an anomalous, weak 2.2-m band 6
absorption features that caused mineral misclassication at the Cuprite

Fig. 15. ASTER image spectra from Cuprite, Nevada, of playa and kaolinite spectral units
for AST_07XT (red) and crosstalk-corrected ASTER reectance data without application
of Biggar et al., (2005) radiance correction factors (black).

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

site (Table 2B; Figs. 11 and 12). However, when matching RefL1b
spectra, Spectral Analyst did not confuse minerals with strong 2.165-m
spectral absorption, such as alunite, kaolinite, and dickite, with minerals
that have moderate to strong 2.2-m absorption features, such as
muscovite and illite (Table 2B). On the basis of the Spectral Analyst
results, the mapping of mineral groups, such as advanced argillic
alteration minerals (kaolinite, alunite, and dickite) phyllic alteration
minerals (sericite) and propylitic minerals (calcite, epidote, and
chlorite), are possible using RefL1b data without using additional
spectral data from the site for calibration. Thus, ASTER regional mapping
projects using will be more feasible using RefL1b data.

Appendix
(continued)
A (continued)
Nevada
Cuprite, Nevada,
samples unit
spectral
spectra

ASTER band
wavelength,
micrometer

Sample,
AVIRIS
DN
spectral
unit, DN

RefL1b,
DN

AST_07XT,
DN

Alunite

1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395

4763
2914
3099
3406
3099
2669
5238
3475
3584
3818
3664
3328
3389
3121
3044
2892
2625
2669
4856
2739
2779
3060
2664
2383
4333
3309
3164
3292
2974
2682
4667
3096
3161
3373
3102
2753
3990
3290
3034
3098
2814
2638
3424
2793
2569
2644
2352
2170
4602
3853
3711
3642
3554
3340
5973
5364
5127
5171
4977
4598
3582
3360
3332
3288
3227
3088

4368
2600
2524
2758
2510
2391
4598
2833
2760
2956
2807
2652
3342
2674
2485
2432
2197
2331
4363
2487
2342
2552
2244
2183
3907
2664
2440
2574
2321
2283
4267
2657
2536
2726
2498
2403
3746
2730
2469
2543
2308
2310
3325
2427
2157
2233
2001
2021
4275
3043
2857
2879
2746
2709
5147
3993
3777
3789
3704
3542
3499
2756
2606
2632
2520
2519

4146
2526
2652
2954
2696
2646
4368
2755
2902
3168
3018
2953
3168
2592
2606
2601
2349
2549
4139
2412
2453
2732
2398
2374
3707
2584
2559
2755
2482
2494
4051
2581
2665
2919
2684
2665
3553
2646
2589
2720
2467
2519
3153
2352
2260
2389
2136
2194
4059
2957
3003
3085
2952
3008
4892
3894
3983
4066
4006
4008
3322
2678
2741
2819
2712
2806

Mountain Pass,
California,
samples

ASTER band
wavelength,
micrometer

Sample,
DN

RefL1b,
DN

AST_07XT,
DN

Al-muscovite
colosseum
mine 1

1.650
2.165
2.205

3773
2407
1587

4325
2609
1945

4100
2580
2050

Buddingtonite

Appendix A
Calcite
ASTER-resampled sample spectra, ASTER-resampled AVIRIS spectral unit spectra, RefL1b
spectra and AST_07XT spectra, of the Cuprite, Nevada, and Mountain Pass, California study
areas. All spectra are in reectance, DN = digital number. Sample reectance values were
scaled up to ASTER digital numbers using a single multiplier for each sample spectrum.
Cuprite, Nevada
samples

ASTER band
wavelength,
micrometer

Sample,
DN

RefL1b,
DN

AST_07XT,
DN

Alunite 22

1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395

3004
1957
2055
2303
2201
1926
3113
2063
2149
2397
2472
2352
3126
3303
3229
3111
2959
3212
4961
3253
3178
3613
3527
3075
2651
2510
2318
2481
2312
2148
3941
2080
2014
2298
2004
1830
3564
2649
2166
2079
2278
2193
5394
5239
4925
5006
4848
4624
2150
2478
2422
2465
2538
2561

4134
2443
2337
2559
2267
2200
4635
2920
2891
2945
2965
2776
3385
2650
2472
2417
2213
2389
4063
2683
2495
2559
2366
2280
3921
2772
2472
2646
2393
2339
4635
2713
2549
2671
2493
2389
4101
2802
2603
2534
2539
2448
5419
4296
4078
4175
3816
3798
3778
2890
2841
2864
2712
2696

3920
2370
2430
2740
2430
2420
4400
2840
3040
3190
3160
3060
3210
2600
2620
2620
2380
2610
3860
2610
2620
2770
2540
2530
3720
2690
2590
2800
2560
2530
4510
2580
2600
2950
2630
2660
3890
2690
2740
2710
2730
2730
5150
4210
4290
4480
4120
4290
3590
2900
3010
3130
3030
3070

Buddingtonite 27

Calcite 4

Dickite 8

Smectite 24

Kaolinite 10

Opal 15

Playa

Unaltered tuff 28

2023

Dickite

Hydro-illite

Kaolinite

Muscovite and chlorite

Muscovite

Opal

Playa

Unaltered tuff

(continued on next page)

2024

J.C. Mars, L.C. Rowan / Remote Sensing of Environment 114 (2010) 20112025

Appendix
(continued)
A (continued)

Appendix
(continued)
A (continued)
ASTER band
wavelength,
micrometer

Sample,
DN

RefL1b,
DN

AST_07XT,
DN

2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395

2281
1767
1535
5901
5087
4621
3678
3563
3884
3917
3291
2921
2401
2019
2093
4400
3199
2867
2293
1872
1950
4477
3608
2690
3149
2794
2500
3162
2931
2358
2633
2398
2250
2520
2668
2172
2403
2183
2089
3758
3650
3331
3401
3095
3049

2413
1981
1933
4361
3011
2733
2443
2147
2396
3626
2666
2352
2170
1950
2060
4256
2925
2606
2359
2052
2142
4081
2900
2405
2497
2237
2160
3313
2547
2173
2195
2007
2033
2683
2088
1814
1813
1618
1633
3593
2576
2379
2359
2052
2142

2540
2120
2220
4150
2970
2910
2610
2340
2940
3440
2610
2490
2310
2080
2420
4040
2870
2780
2510
2200
2490
3880
2860
2560
2660
2450
2660
3150
2480
2310
2370
2180
2490
2550
2050
1930
1960
1760
1980
3410
2560
2520
2480
2220
2550

Mountain Pass,
California, spectral
unit spectra

ASTER band
wavelength,
micrometer

AVIRIS
spectral
unit, DN

RefL1b,
DN

AST_07XT,
DN

Al-muscovite

1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650

3579
2949
2740
2718
2416
2270
3100
2642
2606
2313
2085
2124
3192
2788
2663
2399
2075
2077
3335
2822
2720
2518
2225
2184
3040

3611
2569
2318
2332
2093
2109
3301
2434
2280
2117
1923
2083
3383
2534
2319
2182
1931
2050
3459
2530
2327
2235
2001
2100
3271

3430
2527
2458
2483
2267
2529
3134
2392
2415
2254
2078
2479
3212
2492
2457
2323
2089
2449
3284
2488
2466
2380
2163
2501
3107

Cuprite, Nevada
Mountain
Pass,
samples
California,
samples

Dolomite 14

Epidote chlorite skarn 3

Chrysotile 21B

Fe-muscovite morning
star mine 2

Diorite 15

LT brown slate 09

Muscovite and biotite 10

Dolomite

Epidote

FeMgOH + AlOH

Fe-muscovite

Cuprite,
Nevada
Mountain
Pass,
samples
California, spectral
unit spectra

ASTER band
wavelength,
micrometer

Sample,
AVIRIS
DN
spectral
unit, DN

RefL1b,
DN

AST_07XT,
DN

Limestone

2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395
1.650
2.165
2.205
2.260
2.330
2.395

2572
2333
2282
2052
1927
3329
2819
2811
2470
2087
2212

2402
2117
2118
1907
1947
3460
2530
2395
2184
1910
2137

2362
2244
2256
2065
2333
3284
2485
2536
2323
2059
2529

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