Potential Use of Airborne Hyperspectral AVIRIS-NG Data for Mapping Proterozoic Metasediments in Banswara, India

Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer — Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) data with high spectral and spatial resolutions are used for mapping metasediments in parts of Banswara district, Rajasthan, India. The AVIRIS—NG image spectra of major metasedimentary rocks were compared with their respective laboratory spectra to identify few diagnostic spectral features or absorption features of the rocks. These spectral features were translated from laboratory to image and consistently present in the image spectra of these rocks across the area. After ensuring the persistency of absorption features from sample to image pixels, three AVIRIS—NG based spectral indices is proposed to delineate calcareous (dolomite), siliceous (quartzite) and argillaceous (phyllite) metasedimentary rocks. The index image composite was compared with the reference lithological map of Geological Survey of India and also was validated in the field. The study demonstrates the efficiency of AVIRIS — NG data for mapping metasedimentary units from the Aravalli Supergroup that are known to host strata bound mineral deposits.