Space-borne hyperspectral imagery data are known for their high spectral resolution in a number of narrow wavelength intervals, which makes these data useful for mineral mapping. However, the available free-of-charge hyperspectral scenes cover only narrow and scattered geographic areas. In contrast, multispectral imagery scenes have a nearly complete spatial coverage and wider wavelength intervals. The low spectral resolution of the multispectral data, however, limits their efficiency in the mineral mapping of small geological massifs or hydrothermal alteration halos. The present contribution presents a new transformation tool (SAM-HIT) to simulate the hyperspectral sensor responses in unscanned areas based on partially overlapping hyperspectral and multispectral scenes. Simulation or prediction of the pseudohyperspectral data is here accomplished by using the simulated annealing linear optimization algorithm, which allows the lowest possible mismatch between the original and predicted data. The high visual and numerical correlation of the resultant data confirms the reliability of the newly adopted transformation. Further, the application of the SAM-HIT to a well-exposed part of the Egyptian basement complex with available hyperspectral data showed high concordance and nearly identical band signatures, opening a new outlook for mineral exploration in vast areas by a nearly automated cost-free means.

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