Rock-type discrimination by field, TM and SPOT data, Tarn Flat, Antarctica

A lithologic investigation has been performed on the Tarn Flat area, Antarc tica, based on Landsat-TM and SPOT-XS processed images and on radiometric f ield data acquired by an EXOTECH radiometer. Results from the field survey, performed during the austral summer 1994-95 expedition, were used to verif y the ability of satellite images to discriminate between the main rock. Pr incipal Component transformation allowed to enhance the spectral informatio n of rocks, despite the high band correlation of TM data, while high-pass f iltering and TM-SPOT merging allowed a fairly accurate detection of morphol ogic features. A supervised classification has been carried out on the proc essed satellite images as a further demonstration of the utility of remote observation to investigate extreme environments.