Mapping the moisture content of coastal sediments using ASTER data for spectroscopic and mineralogical analyses: a case study in South Korea

Mineralogical characteristics of coastal sediments and their spectral characteristics related to moisture content were analysed for South Korea in this study, and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) short-wave infrared (SWIR) remote sensing approaches for moisture content mapping based on conventional SAM module were proposed in this study. The mineral composition included the major minerals of quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase and calcite and the accessary minerals of mica and clay. The absorption features of coastal sediments studied occurred at wavelengths of 1.900 μm for clay minerals and water, 2.200 μm for clay minerals and 2.350 μm for micas and calcite. The spectral signature changed with increased moisture content as the absorption feature at 2.200 μm and 2.350 μm faded out. The fading absorption features shifted the resampled laboratory spectra in a spectral vector space and enabled the use of a SAM module for the ASTER SWIR data. The SAM method effectively distinguished not only the absolute moisture content distribution using the reference spectra but also the relative moisture content distribution without the actual reference spectra for coastal sediments. Given that mineral composition and absorption feature behaviours with regard to the moisture content of soil samples are similar to coastal sediments, this method may be applicable for soil moisture mapping.