Preliminary analysis of shuttle multispectral radiometer data for Southern Egypt

The Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) is a spectroradiometer covering the region from 0.5 to 2.5 μm in 10 channels that acquired data from spots 100 m in diameter along the subspacecraft ground track. It was flown aboard the second flight of the space shuttle Columbia, November 12–14, 1981. Data collected during orbit 16 over southern Egypt show that carbonate rocks, kaolinite, and possibly montmorillonite can be identified by their SMIRR spectral signatures and limited knowledge of the lithologic units present. Detailed analysis of SMIRR data for this area indicates that calcite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite rocks give rise to absorption features that result in characteristic 10 channel spectra.