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U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 709–X
>> Pubs Warehouse > DS 709–X Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations and the Afghanistan Geological SurveyLocal-Area-Enhanced, 2.5-Meter Resolution Natural-Color and Color-Infrared Satellite-Image Mosaics of the Nuristan Mineral District in AfghanistanBy Philip A. Davis, Laura E. Cagney, Scott A. Arko, and Michelle L. Harbin 2013
 Index map stored in Adobe Acrobat (PDF)       format displaying the location of the Nuristan mineral district within       Afghanistan in the geographic coordinate system. Index map is also       provided in jpeg format. Click on the figure for a PDF (0.3 MB). 

 Index map of the image products showing the       extent of the target area. This information is displayed on the       topographic shaded-relief base map of Bohannon (2007a,b) in the UTM map       projection and stored in both PDF and jpeg formats. Click on the figure       for a PDF (2.2 MB). 
Abstract The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S.       Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations,       prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The       purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey       crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2)       provide useful information to private investors who are considering       investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources.       The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is       one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was       acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric       variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic       for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS       (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images,       whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of       the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the       Nuristan mineral district, which has gem, lithium, and cesium deposits.       
ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral       images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer)       sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690       nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic       range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a       panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing       Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic       range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS       incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration       Agency (©JAXA,2008,2009), but the image processing has altered the       original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such       that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the       DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not       copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. 

The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics       were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer       solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The       multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS       satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as       orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the       ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the       multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well       registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform       resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. For this particular       area, PRISM image orthorectification was performed by the Alaska Satellite       Facility, applying its photogrammetric software to PRISM stereo images       with vertical control points obtained from the digital elevation database       produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (Farr and others, 2007)       and horizontal adjustments based on a controlled Landsat image base       (Davis, 2006). The 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery was then coregistered       to the orthorectified PRISM images and individual multispectral and       panchromatic images were mosaicked into single images of the entire area       of interest. The image coregistration was facilitated using an automated       control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image       coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the       multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values       and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in       Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started       with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least       atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The       band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images       within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image       by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images       using linear least-squares analysis. All available panchromatic images for       this area had significant cloud and snow cover that precluded their use       for resolution enhancement of the multispectral image data. Each of the       four-band images within the 10-m image mosaic was individually subjected       to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007),       which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of       all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are       provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the       local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red       wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and       near-infrared wavelength bands). 

All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal       Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local       zone (42 for Nuristan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics for       the Nuristan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be       read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and       image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even       though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded       geotiff image. 
References Cited
Bohannon, R.G., 2007a, Topographic map of quadrangle       3570, Tagab-Munjan (505) and Asmar-Kamdesh (506) quadrangles, Afghanistan:       U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005–1102–B, 1:250,000 scale,       available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1102/B/. 

Bohannon, R.G., 2007b, Topographic map of quadrangle       3470 and the northern edge of quadrangle 3370, Jalal-Abad (511),       Chaghasaray (512), and northernmost Jaji-Maydan (517) quadrangles,       Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005–1108–B,       1:250,000 scale, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1108/B/. 

Davis, P.A., 2006, Calibrated Landsat ETM+       nonthermal-band image mosaics of Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey       Open-File Report 2006–1345, 18 p., available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1345/. 

Davis, P.A., 2007, Landsat ETM+ false-color image       mosaics of Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007–1029,       22 p., available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1029/. 

Farr, T.G., Rosen, P.A., Caro, E., Crippen, R., Duren,       R., Hensley, S., Kobrick, M., Paller, M., Rodriguez, E., Roth, L., Seal,       D., Shaffer, S., Shimada, J., Umland, J., Werner, M., Oskin, M., Burbank,       D., and Alsdorf, D., 2007, The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission: Reviews       of Geophysics, v. 45, RG2004, 33 p., doi:10.1029/2005RG000183. 

Saunier, S., 2007a, Final calibration/validation       report, PRISM: GAEL Consultant report, 27 p., accessed April 23, 2012, at       http://earth.esa.int/pub/ESA_DOC/ALOS011.pdf. 

Saunier, S., 2007b, Final calibration/validation       report, AVNIR-2: GAEL Consultant report, 25 p., accessed April 23, 2012,       at http://earth.esa.int/pub/ESA_DOC/ALOS012.pdf. 

First posted March 15, 2013
- Readme TXT  (11 kB) 
- Index maps  (4 files; 5.8 MB total)         
- Image files  (2 files; 203 MB total)         
- Metadata  (2 files; 0.1 MB total) 
- Shapefiles  (1 file; 0.1 MB) 
- Back to USGS DS–709 
- This report is available only on the Web.

For additional information:Contact       Information, Mineral Resources Program U.S. Geological Survey       12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 913 National Center Reston, VA       20192 http://minerals.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:
Davis, P.A., Cagney, L.E., Arko, S.A., and Harbin, M.L., 2013, Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Nuristan mineral district in Afghanistan, in Davis, P.A, compiler, Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 709–X. (Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/709/x/.) 

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