Analysis of Remote Sensing Data
A brief assessment of remote sensing applied to geological studies is given. An analysis of thematic mapping data on oak-hickory forests in southern Missouri is discussed. It was found that there is a control on the infrared reflectance (bands 4, 5, and 7 of the Thematic Mapper (TM) of the forests that correlates with rock and soil types. During the growing season, soils with low water retention capacities correlate with high infrared (band 4, lesser with band 5 and 7) signatures. A metamorphic core complex called the Meatiq located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt was studied. The dome provides exposure of most of the rock units of the Arabian-Nubian Precambrian Shield. The dome bears many resemblances to Cordilleran metamorphic complexes. LANDSAT TM data was used to improve on reconnaissance maps of the dome. The remote sensing data was interpreted in the context of field observations, petrographic, and chemical analysis of rock units in the dome, in order to map similar domes in the Eastern Desert from TM data. Mapping projects such as the one just described will help constrain the geologic evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Two particular hypotheses that researchers hope to test for the development of the shield are: (1) closure of a proto-Red Sea; and (2) accretion of a primitive island arc system onto the shield.