An evaluation of EO-1 Hyperion data in mapping surficial geology near Loiyangalani, Northern Kenya

Air- and spaceborne hyper- and multispectral sensors have played an important role in efforts to map regional-scale areas for the purposes of geologic mapping and remote mineral exploration. One such instrument is the EO-1 Hyperion spaceborne hyperspectral spectrometer. The purpose of this paper is to examine the ability of Hyperion to map the surficial geology of a non-hydrothermally altered area at the southeastern tip of Lake Turkana, Kenya. The Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) method of showing the distribution was compared to the Mixtured Tuned Matched Filtering (MTMF) method in order to analyze the user-defined endmembers of image spectra. The results showed the presence of goethite, hematite, kaolinite/smectite, desert varnish and lamprophyre. With the exception of lamprophyre, these materials represent the most common weathering products of basalt and attest to Hyperion\u27s ability to produce realistic results. These results coupled with the established presence of alkaline rocks in rift settings give promise to the existence of previously undiscovered or misclassified lamprophyre. Additional analysis with SAM images failed to match pixel spectra to that of basalt or gneiss, but confirmed the presence of hematite. Further testing through ground truthing is required to validate these results