International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

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Landsat ETM+ Image Analysis for Alteration

Mapping in Sukinda Chromite Deposit, Orissa: Case
of a Vegetated Mineralized Region
ASHISH MISRA1, DEBADUTTA MOHANTY2 and AMIT KUMAR SEN3
1
Frontier Basins, ONGC, Dehradun, India
2
RQA Division, CIMFR Digwadih Campus, P.O. FRI Dhanbad - 828 108 INDIA
3
Dept. of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee - 247 667
Uttarakhand, INDIA
Email: drdmohanty@ymail.com

Abstract: In this paper we examine the potential of a freely available Landsat ETM+
dataset of the Sukinda Chromite deposit in Orissa, India. The deposit is hosted in the
layered ultramafics (dunite and peridotite rocks) and is co-folded with iron ore group (IOG)
quartzites, capped with volcanic tuffaceous rocks at places. The Sukinda valley is covered
by thick veneer of latertized and /or limonitized ultramafics. Given these geologic
characteristics, the ETM+ data has been processed to enhance spectral features related to
anomolous concentrations of ferric oxides and ferrous oxides and hydroxides, alteration
minerals with rich hydroxyl components, such as clays and laterites. Due to extensive and
thick vegetation cover, the simple methods of band ratios are unable to provide a very clear
picture of the alteration anomalies; however, a modified form of the Principal Components
Analysis, popularly called the Crosta technique is able to provide a more unambiguous
discrimination related to the mineralogic spectral differences among outcrop lithologies and
soil cover.
Keywords: vegetation, alteration, mineralized, Crósta technique

Introduction: minerals typical of alteration in the visible

and the middle-infrared sections of the
The primary role of remote sensing in
electromagnetic spectrum. The
mineral exploration activity is in enabling a
hydrothermal minerals used in mineral
focused ground exploration through
exploration can be classified into three
synoptically examining a large area for the
groups: hydroxyl (clays and micas),
presence of favorable combinations of
hydrated sulphates (gypsum and alunite),
lithology, alteration minerals and anomalies
and minerals containing iron (haematite,
expressed through vegetal stress and
goethite, and jarosite). Some of these
structural patterns, etc. As a matter of fact,
minerals are also related to weathering, and
remote sensing images in carefully selected
therefore a careful field check is warranted.
spectral regions significantly reduce the cost
Laterites are an alteration product of
and time involved in exploration. The
bedrock subjected to intense and prolonged
occurrence of hydrothermally altered rock is
chemical weathering in tropical and
one of the features that can be utilized to
subtropical climates. Primary minerals are
determine the localization of an ore deposit.
transformed into a characteristic
Structural features are very important in the
assemblage of the secondary minerals,
localization of a mineralized zone, but many
kaolinite, hematite, goethite, and residual
structures are not necessarily mineralized so
quartz. The outcome of lateritisation is a
that their relation to hydrothermal alteration
build-up of iron and aluminium oxides at the
is highly important in exploration (Armenta
top of the palaeosol profile, resulting in the
and Ledesma, 1998). Mapping of
formation of ferricretes (iron crust or
hydrothermally altered rock has been made
duricrust). Below this, a clay-rich leached
possible with the use of sensors that can
zone, first mottled and then saprolitic,
detect the spectral response of groups of
indicates progressive degeneration of the

#02040405 Copyright © 2011 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved.

 ASHISH MISRA, DEBADUTTA MOHANTY and AMIT KUMAR SEN 31

original bedrock (Schellmann 1986, Butt and
Zeegers 1992, Nahon and Tardy 1992,
Deller, 2006). This constitution of a lateritic
terrain is amenable to detection and
characterization using remote sensing
techniques. Initial success in operational use
of remote sensing for lithologic mapping was
achieved using passive optical remote
sensing data from the Landsat series of
sensors, viz. Multispectral Scanner (MSS),
Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced
Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) (e.g., Abrams
et al., 1983; Podwysocki et al., 1983;
Hutsinpillar and Taranik, 1988). Landsat
data continues to be the most widely used
remote sensing image data for geologic
applications. Goetz et al. (1983) and Sabins
(1999) have provided a general overview of
the use and potential of multispectral
passive remote sensing in mineral
exploration activity, with emphasis on the
application of Landsat TM data.
Study Area and Geologic Setup:
The majority of India’s Chromite production
(~95%) comes from two ultramafic
complexes of Orissa namely Sukinda
ultramafic complex and Boula-Nausahi
ultramafic complex (~70km in NE of
Sukinda Valley and relatively much smaller
than SUC), which are geologically related
and geographically in close proximity. The
Valley extends from Tomka (85°55’E:
21°7’N) in the east to Kathpal (85°41’E:
21°1’N) on the west (Banerjee 1972)
Table 1: Salient Characteristics of Landsat ETM+ Data.
spreading over an area of 40sq km in NE-
SW direction in Jajpur and Dhenkanal
districts of Orissa. It is flanked by the
Tomka (782.42m amsl)-Daitari (847.77m
amsl) range to the north and Mahagiri
(707.69m amsl) range to the south. The
Valley is largely covered with alluvium and
thick mantle of laterite (Mohanty 2007). The
main drainage in the Valley is contributed by
perennial Damsal stream that flows from
east to west along the centre of the Valley
following the regional synclinal fold axis
plunging WSW.
Remote Sensing Image Data and
Software:
The remote sensing image data used in this
study include the six solar reflective bands
of the Landsat ETM+ multispectral imagery
(WRS Path 140, Row, 45) acquired on
2/11/2002, and the panchromatic image
data of the same sensor (15m ground
resolution). The data has been obtained
from the Global Land Cover Facility, at the
University of Maryland, USA which provide
the Landsat data as orthorectified image
data with real-world geodetic positional
accuracy of >50m. The salient aspects of
Landsat ETM+ data are provided in Table-1
and the spectral bands of ETM+ data
relevant to the major surface cover types in
the present study area are provided in
Table-2. The data has been processed using
ERDAS Imagine 8.7 software suite.

Band Spectral Ground Image size

Name
Number Range Resolution (km)
ETM1 0.45-0.52 Blue 30
ETM2 0.52-0.60 Green 30
ETM3 0.63-0.69 Red 30
ETM4 0.76-0.90 Near Infrared 30
Shortwave 185 x 170
ETM5 1.55-1.75 30
Infrared
ETM6 10.4-12.5 Thermal Infrared 60
Shortwave
ETM7 2.08-2.35 30
Infrared
ETM8 0.45-0.90 Panchromatic 15

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 Landsat ETM+ Image Analysis for Alteration Mapping in Sukinda
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Chromite Deposit, Orissa: Case of a Vegetated Mineralized Region

Table 2: Landsat Bands with Characteristic Spectral Properties for Major Surface
Components Expected in the Study Area

Material High reflectance Absorption

Iron oxide ETM-3, ETM-5, ETM-7 ETM-1, ETM-2
Hydroxyl ETM-5 ETM-7
Vegetation ETM-2, ETM-4 ETM-1, ETM-3, ETM-7

Image Processing: arithmetic rather than full spectral

Atmospheric Correction:
Some of the important reasons for
atmospheric correction of passive optical
remote sensing image data, such as that of
Landsat ETM+, in geological studies are (Lu
et al., 2002):
1. within-scene comparison of spectrally
similar materials and hence in spectral
classification
2. quantitative analysis of remotely sensed
data with comparison and use with
laboratory derived reflectances for known
materials
3. accurate material mapping using band-
arithmetic, etc.
Many methods for atmospheric correction
exist, ranging from simple band-minimum
subtraction for removal of path radiance to
highly rigorous physical radiative transfer
theory-based methods (for details see, Lu et
al., 2002). For most common applications,
the primary atmospheric influence on
passive optical data in solar reflective region
is due to short wavelength scattering
leading to atmospheric path radiance. In the
present study area, due to the presence of
clear water bodies, the simple method of
band minimum subtraction has been
adopted to remove the effects of
atmospheric path radiance from the dataset,
since other atmospheric effects are
relatively less important, and also because
the processing is mainly based on band
classification.
Resolution-Merged False Color
Composite and Band Ratios:
Figure 1 shows the resolution enhanced
modified FCC (bands 7-4-2 coded in R-G- B)
displaying the best lithological
discrimination. The FCC was generated by
fusing the high resolution panchromatic
image (15m) with the multispectral data. As
much of the study area is dominated by
thick vegetation cover which has the highest
reflectance in band 4, green hues dominate
the image display. The vegetation cover
greatly limits the discrimination capability of
surface lithology using remote sensing
approach as the reflected radiation forming
the signal is dominated by the interference
due to vegetation. This effect is best
demonstrated by the use of band ratio
ETM5/ETM7. Ideally, this ratio generates a
clear discrimination of hydroxyl (OH-)-
bearing rocks. However, as vegetation also
has higher values for the same band ratio,
the discrimination is badly affected. A
normalized difference vegetation index
(NDVI) image [(ETM4-ETM3)/(ETM4+ETM3)]
is used to identify healthy vegetation from
the background (Tucker 1979). A difference
of the ETM5/ETM7 and NDVI image for
sparsely vegetated areas yields good
discrimination for hydroxyl-bearing rocks,
but for thickly vegetated areas the
interference is not fully eliminated. Figure 2
shows a difference image of ETM5/ETM7 and
NDVI of the ETM+ data for the study area.

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 ASHISH MISRA, DEBADUTTA MOHANTY and AMIT KUMAR SEN 33

Figure 1: PAN-Sharpened ETM+ Image of Sukinda Chromite Deposit. (FCC, 7-4-2 in RGB)

Figure 2: Difference Image of Ratio 5/7 and NDVI, Color Coded to Depict Areas of Enriched
Hydroxyl-Bearing Rocks/Regolith and Related Alteration Mineralogy. Blue-Cyan-Green Pixels
represent Hydrothermal Alteration Minerals Rich in Hydroxyl Ion.

Figure 3: Color Ratio Composite (CRC: 7/5-3/1-5/4).

Interpretation is given in the Color Legend.

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 Landsat ETM+ Image Analysis for Alteration Mapping in Sukinda
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Chromite Deposit, Orissa: Case of a Vegetated Mineralized Region

Table 3: PCA Stats for the 6-Band ETM+ Dataset

Basic Stats Min Max Mean Stdev Num Eigenvalue

Band 1 0 239 70.48083 7.198288 1 1009.061
Band 2 0 216 56.31558 8.687165 2 215.2878
Band 3 0 248 49.37797 13.84802 3 79.99165
Band 4 0 143 71.40717 13.64555 4 9.82631
Band 5 0 227 78.58263 22.4566 5 7.960294
Band 7 0 255 43.3394 17.7736 7 3.323382
Covariance Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5 Band 7
Band 1 51.81535 56.85084 81.27299 15.19902 100.9549 80.85227
Band 2 56.85084 75.46683 109.3826 20.37694 141.6219 111.6633
Band 3 81.27299 109.3826 191.7676 -13.8008 237.0823 207.9934
Band 4 15.19902 20.37694 -13.8008 186.201 101.8279 5.095413
Band 5 100.9549 141.6219 237.0823 101.8279 504.2987 369.9134
Band 7 80.85227 111.6633 207.9934 5.095413 369.9134 315.9009
Correlation Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5 Band 7
Band 1 1 0.909138 0.815322 0.154737 0.624531 0.631957
Band 2 0.909138 1 0.909248 0.171898 0.725953 0.723198
Band 3 0.815322 0.909248 1 -0.07303 0.762373 0.845058
Band 4 0.154737 0.171898 -0.07303 1 0.332301 0.021009
Band 5 0.624531 0.725953 0.762373 0.332301 1 0.926789
Band 7 0.631957 0.723198 0.845058 0.021009 0.926789 1
Eigenvector Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5 Band 7
PC 1 0.165663 0.226056 0.382571 0.090951 0.689864 0.539359
PC 2 -0.04061 -0.04865 -0.30683 0.894972 0.240253 -0.20771
PC 3 -0.46861 -0.5128 -0.49678 -0.23281 0.331737 0.326182
PC 4 -0.73952 -0.0505 0.584827 0.065964 0.100838 -0.30661
PC 5 0.178743 0.122245 -0.17575 -0.35856 0.586225 -0.67082
PC 7 0.415289 -0.81613 0.373888 0.060334 0.049886 -0.12468
Table 4: Eigenvector Matrices for FPCS Analysis using Bands 1-3-4-5 and 1-4-5-7,
respectively for the Iron Oxides and Hydroxyl Minerals related to Hydrothermal Alteration.

Band 1 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5

PC 1 0.201507 0.449097 0.171905 0.85332
Eigenvector Matrix
PC 3 0.097975 0.433803 -0.8928 -0.07159
for bands 1-3-4-5
PC 4 -0.5663 -0.54663 -0.36747 0.495445
PC 5 0.793161 -0.55796 -0.19576 0.145787
Band 1 Band 4 Band 5 Band 7
PC 1 0.165998 0.132543 0.777223 0.592285
Eigenvector Matrix
PC 4 -0.01947 0.935786 0.101458 -0.33709
for Bands 1-4-5-7
PC 5 -0.98095 -0.02899 0.189214 0.033119
PC 7 0.099021 -0.32542 0.591463 -0.73107

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 ASHISH MISRA, DEBADUTTA MOHANTY and AMIT KUMAR SEN 35

Figure 4a: PC4-PC2-PC5 (RGB), Showing Iron-Oxide-Rich Areas in Red Tones, Vegetation
in Green Tones, and Hydroxyl-Rich Areas in Blue Tones.

Figure 4b: PC5 (FPCS using Bands 1-3-4-5), Showing Iron Oxide and Hydroxide Alteration
in Bright White Tones.

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 Landsat ETM+ Image Analysis for Alteration Mapping in Sukinda
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Chromite Deposit, Orissa: Case of a Vegetated Mineralized Region

Figure 4c: PC7 (FPCS using Bands 1-4-5-7) Showing Hydroxyl-Bearing Areas in Black-Dark
Tones.
It can be readily observed from the image
that the vegetation cover severely affects
the discriminability of the ETM5/ETM7 band
ratio and poses problems in clear
identification of OH- anomalies. In order to
distinguish between the iron oxide and
ferrous hydroxides, the image
transformations in the form of band ratios
ETM3/ETM1 for FeO and ETM5/ETM4 for Fe-
OH were calculated. Figure 3 shows the
band ratio composite (7/5-3/1-5/4 in RGB).
PCA & FPCS Analysis:
In order to differentiate the areas containing
hydrothermal minerals covered with
vegetation from those that contained only
vegetation and no alteration minerals,
statistical techniques based on principal
component analysis (PCA) were applied to
the images. The Feature Oriented Principal
Components Selection (FPCS) Technique is
also known as Crósta Technique (Crósta and
Moore 1989). Through the analysis of the
eigenvectors values it allows identification of
the principal components (PCs) that contain
spectral information about specific
materials, as well as the contribution of each
of the original bands to the components in
relation with the spectral response of the
materials of interest. This technique
indicates whether the materials are
represented by bright or dark pixels in the
PCs according to the magnitude and sign of
the eigenvectors. The Crósta Technique was
applied to the six ETM+ bands, and to four
bands selected on the basis of the spectral
characteristics of the hydrothermal minerals
and the vegetation. The band statistics
through PCA for a full 6-band dataset are
provided in Table 3. Whereas, the
eigenvector matrices generated through PCA
using bands 1-3-4-5 and bands 1-4-5-7 are
given in Table 4. The RGB composites
corresponding to the PCs providing the best
hydrothermal alteration mineral distribution
in the area are shown in Figures 4a, b & c.
Interpretation and Discussion:
Landsat ETM+ bands which best express the
distinctive features of laterite minerals are
bands 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, in various RGB band
and band-ratio colour combinations. Band 2
distinguishes hematite from goethite
because it is less reflective in the green
region. Band 3 highlights high reflectance
for quartz and kaolinite. Band 4 is important
in that the iron oxides and hydroxides with
their distinctive crystal-field absorption
feature are separated from kaolinite and
quartz. Band 5, with high reflectance for all
minerals but low reflectance for vegetation,
is useful for band-ratios. Band 7 indicates
the presence of hydroxyl minerals,
particularly the high Al-OH absorption

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 ASHISH MISRA, DEBADUTTA MOHANTY and AMIT KUMAR SEN 37

feature for kaolinite around 2.2 µm, but is Acknowledgements:

so broad that the C-O absorption of
Authors thankfully acknowledge Prof. R. P.
carbonates and the Mg-OH absorption of
Gupta, Dept. of Earth Sciences, IIT Roorkee
hydrated ferromagnesian minerals such as
for his constructive suggestions during the
chlorite, also affect it (Drury 1993). Landsat
preparation of the earlier manuscript. DM is
TM 742 images (figure 4) provide an
grateful to CSIR for funding in the form of
excellent basis for overall geological
research fellowship to carry out the work.
interpretation and also highlight laterite
occurrences in the study area. A rich green References:
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