HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTRAL REMOTE SENING IN GEOLOGIC MAPPING : 
EXPERIENCE FROM SMIRR 
by 
Alexander F.H. GOETZ 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
California Institute of Technology 
Pasadena , Cafifornia 91109 
USA 
The cumulative experience of ten years of spectral remote sensing using 
Landsat, aircraft, field and laboratory data points to the need for sensors 
that will allow direct identification of materials as opposed to simple 
discrimination among materials as has been the case until now. For the visible 
and reflective IR portion of the spectrum, minerals such as iron oxides, 
layered silicates such as clays and micas, carbonates alunite, gypsum, 
serpentine and talc have unique spectral characteristics that can be used for 
identification purposes. 
The Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) has provided the 
first evidence that high spectral resolution measurements from orbit can be 
used to identify minerals directly, based on their spectral signature. Pre- 
liminary results show that limestone, kaolinite and montmorillonite can be 
identified. The effects of varying amounts of vegetation cover on the 
ability to make mineral identifications can also be approached with SMIRR data. 
The research described in this paper was carried out by the Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
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