Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College, my senior thesis was my first introduction to remote sensing. Originally, I had intended to do some research adjacent to fieldwork I was doing, but had a professor essentially ask “Did you know that you can identify minerals just by looking at satellite imagery?” With that, I was introduced to the concept of remote sensing and began the process of teaching myself what remote sensing was, how to use ENVI software, and how to interpret my results.
Because of its ability to capture the wavelengths and detail necessary for use in geology, I decided to work with EO-1 Hyperion hyperspectral imagery. Using a variety of per-pixel spectral signature analyses I compared the resulting classification results with a geologic map of the region developed in the field by my professor and adviser. Using his map as generalized ground truthing, I evaluated the results of the sensor. Want to read my paper? Find it here.
Image source: http://www.upnairobi.com/2016/03/17/made-in-kenya-kenyan-held-guinness-world-records/