Quantitative estimation of granitoid composition from thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS) data, Desolation Wilderness, northern Sierra Nevada, California

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Abstract
We have produced images that quantitatively depict modal and chemical parameters of granitoids using an image processing algorithm called MINMAP that fits Gaussian curves to normalized emittance spectra recovered from thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS) radiance data. We applied the algorithm to TIMS data from the Desolation Wilderness, an extensively glaciated area near the northern end of the Sierra Nevada batholith that is underlain by Jurassic and Cretaceous plutons that range from diorite and anorthosite to leucogranite. The wavelength corresponding to the calculated emittance minimum λmin varies linearly with quartz content, SiO2, and other modal and chemical parameters. Thematic maps of quartz and silica content derived from λmin values distinguish bodies of diorite from surrounding granite, identify outcrops of anorthosite, and separate felsic, intermediate, and mafic rocks.