Application of hyperspectral remote sensing in the longwave infrared region to assess the influence of dust from the desert on soil surface mineralogy

Soil mineralogy can be used to study changes in the environment affecting the soil surface, such as dust from the desert through Aeolian processes, which is one of the sources that determine the mineral nature of the soil. Ground-and field-based hyperspectral longwave infrared images, acquired before and after dust dispersion on the soil surface, were processed and analyzed by applying a procedure for determining soil surface mineralogy from the emissivity spectrum, using two indices-SQCMI (the Soil Quartz Clay Mineral Index) and SCI (the Soil Carbonate Index)-to identify changes in the abundance of quartz, clay minerals and carbonates on the surface, caused by the settling dust particles. Mineralogical changes were identified, depending on the mineral composition of the dust compared to the soil surface mineralogy.