Reflectance spectra and AVIRIS-NG airborne hyperspectral data analysis for mapping ultramafic rocks in igneous terrain

The layered Sittampundi Anorthosite Complex is covered by mafic and ultramafic rocks including anorthosite, gabbro, pyroxenite and other igneous rocks. The ultramafic terrain has frequently undergone metamorphism. In the present study, laboratory spectral measurements were carried out from mafic, ultramafic and felsic rocks in the 350–2500 nm spectral range to characterise their diagnostic spectral features and for further utilisation for rock-type mapping. In 2016, the Sittampundi complex was covered by an AVIRIS-NG airborne survey jointly conducted by the Space Application Centre (SAC-ISRO) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA). The level-2 AVIRIS-NG data was obtained from SAC and used to interpret various rock types. ENVI 5.3 software was used for digital image processing of the AVIRIS-NG airborne hyperspectral data. The continuum-removed spectra of major rock types including anorthosite, meta-anorthosite, gabbro, meta-gabbro, pyroxenite, pegmatite, granite, gneiss and migmatite were critically analysed and their diagnostic absorption features correlated with chemistry and mineralogy. The AVIRIS-NG data analyses include bad band removal, minimum noise fraction transformation (MNF) and band combination. Out of various band combinations, the MNF composite images B456, B546 and B561 provided an enhanced output for the delineation of various rock types in the ultramafic terrain.