Francisco Gómez-Jakobsen , José G. Giménez , José M. Cecilia , Isabel Ferrera , Lidia Yebra , Eugenio Fraile-Nuez , Marijn Oosterbaan , Pedro Martínez-Martínez , Víctor Orenes-Salazar , Virginia Sandoval-Cánovas , Antonio Ortolano-Muñoz , Rocío García-Muñoz , Patricia Pérez-Tórtola , Juan M. Ruíz , Jesús M. Mercado
{"title":"Monitoring chlorophyll a concentration in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon using ocean color sensors","authors":"Francisco Gómez-Jakobsen , José G. Giménez , José M. Cecilia , Isabel Ferrera , Lidia Yebra , Eugenio Fraile-Nuez , Marijn Oosterbaan , Pedro Martínez-Martínez , Víctor Orenes-Salazar , Virginia Sandoval-Cánovas , Antonio Ortolano-Muñoz , Rocío García-Muñoz , Patricia Pérez-Tórtola , Juan M. Ruíz , Jesús M. Mercado","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101531","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101531","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Mar Menor coastal lagoon has experienced a severe eutrophication process since 2015, with its most visible effect being a series of phytoplankton blooms featured by unprecedentedly high and persistent concentrations of chlorophyll <em>a</em> in the water column. To better quantify and monitor these changes, two suitable chlorophyll concentration algorithms (referred to as BELA, short for BELich Algorithm) for the Mar Menor lagoon are proposed. These algorithms are derived from the analysis of thousands of reflectance spectra obtained from six satellite ocean color sensors, combined with <em>in situ</em> observations performed between 2016 and 2023. Our results demonstrate that the BELA algorithms can accurately estimate chlorophyll <em>a</em> concentration in the shallow waters of the Mar Menor lagoon for values above 2 mg m<sup>−3</sup>, a range consistent with various of the episodes of high productivity observed since 2015. These algorithms perform well for a variety of currently operational ocean color sensors and could be used in future planned missions. This versatility makes them a valuable tool for monitoring and assessing the environmental state of the lagoon.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101531"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancements in crop mapping through remote sensing: A comprehensive review of concept, data sources, and procedures over four decades","authors":"Iman Khosravi","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Crop mapping, vital for informed decision-making in agricultural and food planning, relies on accurate and current information about the distribution of agronomic lands. Remote Sensing and Earth Observation technologies have emerged as indispensable tools, providing up-to-date data and images in diverse spatial and temporal resolutions, offering a practical and cost-effective alternative to traditional methods. This paper surveys over 400 publications spanning four decades, with a notable increase in studies after 2010, focusing on crop mapping and monitoring using remote sensing imagery. Categorizing these studies based on the type of remote sensing data utilized—optical, radar, or a combination thereof—it also delves into the diverse strategies employed, including attributes used, processing units, and classification algorithms. To date, there has not been a comprehensive review study specifically focused on crop mapping. This paper emphasizes the innovations and advancements in remote sensing technologies and their applications in crop mapping. It highlights the integration of cutting-edge deep learning techniques, the utilization of high-resolution satellite data, and the development of hybrid models that combine multiple data sources for enhanced accuracy. Furthermore, this review identifies emerging trends and future directions in the field, offering insights into the potential of new technologies and methodologies. Through this comprehensive overview of crop mapping studies published in reputable scientific journals between 1980 and 2024, we illuminate the dynamic landscape of this field and underscore the unique contributions of our review to the existing body of literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101527"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Naga Venkata Sai Kumar Manapragada , Moshe Mandelmilch , Elena Roitberg , Fadi Kizel , Jonathan Natanian
{"title":"Remote sensing for environmentally responsive urban built environment: A review of tools, methods and gaps","authors":"Naga Venkata Sai Kumar Manapragada , Moshe Mandelmilch , Elena Roitberg , Fadi Kizel , Jonathan Natanian","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101529","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101529","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban-scale environmental performance evaluations are essential for designing cities that effectively respond to climate change and rapid urbanization. Remote Sensing (RS) technologies provide high-resolution, multi-scale, and temporal assessments across multiple interlinked environmental criteria. Despite its growing adoption in urban sustainability, a comprehensive review of RS's role in multi-criteria decision-making is still lacking. This review analyzes 124 research articles to explore RS applications in spatio-temporal analysis, impact evaluation, mitigation strategy assessment, and predictive modeling across five interconnected environmental criteria: urban air quality, urban heat, outdoor thermal comfort, building energy consumption, and solar potential. RS facilitates the integration of morphological, thermal, and meteorological data, enabling the evaluation of urban interdependence, such as the influence of urban form on air pollution dispersion, heat retention, and energy demand. Machine learning and AI-enhanced models improve air quality predictions, urban heat mitigation strategies, energy forecasting, and solar potential assessments. UAVs, LiDAR, and nanosatellite technologies further enhance real-time urban climate monitoring at finer spatial scales, supporting dynamic planning interventions. Despite challenges in data resolution, temporal coverage, and real-time monitoring, advancements in AI-driven downscaling, digital twins, and nano satellite networks continue to expand RS capabilities. By facilitating multi-criteria decision-making, RS empowers urban designers and policymakers to develop climate-adaptive, energy-efficient, and resilient cities, offering actionable insights for sustainable design and planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101529"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francisco de Assis do Nascimento Leão , Erivelto Mercante , Wendel Kaian Mendonça Oliveira , Marcio Antonio Vilas Boas , Marcus Metri Correa , Claudio Leones Bazzi , Alberto Cruz da Silva Jr.
{"title":"Determination of evapotranspiration for citrus using SAFER algorithm in the Oriental Amazon","authors":"Francisco de Assis do Nascimento Leão , Erivelto Mercante , Wendel Kaian Mendonça Oliveira , Marcio Antonio Vilas Boas , Marcus Metri Correa , Claudio Leones Bazzi , Alberto Cruz da Silva Jr.","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A pivotal facet of irrigation management revolves around estimating evapotranspiration (ET). In this regard, the SAFER algorithm, applied to satellite imagery, emerges as a potential tool. This study aimed to quantify ET for orange and lime crops in the Amazon Region using the SAFER algorithm. Data comprised Landsat 7 and 8 satellite images coupled with meteorological station data from July to December 2021. The SAFER algorithm determines ET based on several metrics derived from satellite imagery, such as reflectance, surface albedo, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), spectral radiance, and surface temperature. It also uses reference evapotranspiration (ET<sub>0</sub>) from the meteorological station, which is multiplied by the quotient of ET and ET<sub>0</sub> to obtain ET<sub>SAFER</sub>. Then, the algorithm was validated based on the Penman-Monteith method, calculating mean absolute and relative errors. Average ET<sub>SAFER</sub> values for lime and orange were 3.25 (±0.05) and 3.36 (±0.01), respectively. A maximum albedo of 0.40 was observed among crops in December, and a higher density of lime crops due to larger canopy volumes increased NDVI values. Landsat 7 and 8 satellite images can be used to calculate ET using the SAFER algorithm, as they offered valuable information that helped the algorithm estimate it accurately for the studied period. The ET<sub>SAFER</sub> values obtained by the algorithm were consistent with the observed data (ET<sub>C</sub>) and had an accuracy of 75 %. However, estimation accuracy was higher for lime trees (74 %) than for orange crops (60 %).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101526"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
James Malcher , David Robertson , Galen Holt , Rebecca E. Lester
{"title":"Quantification and attribution of spectral variation in irrigated perennial tree crops","authors":"James Malcher , David Robertson , Galen Holt , Rebecca E. Lester","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101524","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101524","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Satellite reflectance data are used for crop classification models globally, yet research on their robustness under varying temporal and spatial conditions is limited. We examined the effects of space, time, water availability and ontogeny on crop spectral distributions cross a large, heterogenous landscape, Australia's Murray-Darling Basin. We aimed for broad generality of our findings, and so used a large ground-truthed dataset from 2015, 2018, and 2021, covering multiple catchments and 12 crops. We characterised spectral distributions for each crop in each year and catchment before testing for differences due to space and time, and associated with the amount of water available from irrigation and rainfall. We also tested bareness metrics (as a surrogate for perennial crop ages) in almond plantations. We found that crop type explained the most variation, confirming the utility of satellite imagery for crop classification. Catchment and year both explained small but significant variation, emphasising the need for data collected over a range of spatial and temporal contexts. Water availability explained a significant but small proportion of variation in the data set (<1 %), suggesting that crops were receiving sufficient water across the observed range or that spectral signatures did not vary much as a result. The effect of bareness metrics suggested possible significant variation caused by ontogeny. This study affirms the validity of spectral imagery for crop classification studies, whilst underscoring the importance of spatial, hydrologic and ontogenetic context. Future studies in crop classification should consider these factors to enhance the robustness of their models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101524"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rahat Tufail, Patrizia Tassinari, Daniele Torreggiani
{"title":"Assessing feature extraction, selection, and classification combinations for crop mapping using Sentinel-2 time series: A case study in northern Italy","authors":"Rahat Tufail, Patrizia Tassinari, Daniele Torreggiani","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rural areas need constant monitoring to ensure sustainable farming and respond to environmental and climatic impacts. Over the last few decades, remote sensing data have been extensively used in agricultural monitoring, allowing cost-effective and efficient crop management. Selecting the suitable data combinations for crop mapping while reducing dimensionality and redundancy to speed up processing remains a challenge. This study address the challenges by testing and assessing the efficiency of various combinations of feature extraction, feature selection, and feature classification methods. We used Sentinel-2 time series data, which focused on spectral features and derived vegetation indices. Particularly, the red-edge indices which are critical for crop discrimination. To select the optimal data for classifiers, we have tested two feature selection techniques: Random Forest and Principal Component Analysis, for both spectral bands and vegetational indices. Then, we have employed three machine learning algorithms: Extreme Gradient Boost (XGB), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) along with one deep learning approach, Pixel-Set Encoders and Temporal Self-Attention (PSETAE), to evaluate the datasets. The results suggest that the most effective feature set is the Sentinel-2 spectral bands selected by the Random Forest feature selection method. The results obtained from the previous step achieve the highest overall accuracy with the XGB classifier and outperform the RF, SVM, and PSETAE classifiers. Further, quantitative analysis of overall classification accuracies showed that Random Forest is the second-best performing classifier, and PSETAE classifier produced the lowest results for all data models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101525"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686657","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pedro Henrique Batista de Barros , Filipe Gomes Dias , José Alberto Quintanilha , Carlos Henrique Grohmann
{"title":"Mapping oil palm expansion in the Eastern Amazon using optical and radar imagery","authors":"Pedro Henrique Batista de Barros , Filipe Gomes Dias , José Alberto Quintanilha , Carlos Henrique Grohmann","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101506","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101506","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Palm oil, the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil, plays a pivotal role in the food, biodiesel, and pharmaceutical industries. However, its rapid expansion in tropical regions has led to critical environmental challenges, including deforestation and biodiversity loss. This study maps oil palm plantations in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil’s largest producer, for 2014, 2017, and 2020, employing machine learning algorithms such as K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Decision Trees (DT), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Random Forests (RF). This study integrate Landsat-8 optical spectral bands (blue, green, red, and near-infrared) with Sentinel-1 radar backscatter values (VV and VH polarizations) to map the expansion of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazon, a combination that has not been previously implemented in this region. Vegetation indices, including NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index), SAVI (Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index), DVI (Difference Vegetation Index), RVI (Ratio Vegetation Index), GI (Green Index), and texture indices derived from the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), such as contrast, angular second moment (ASM), correlation, and entropy, were used to improve classification accuracy. A linear spectral mixing model was also applied to distinguish the spectral signatures, with the resulting end members subsequently incorporated. The RF achieved the highest classification accuracy, with overall accuracies of 94.53%, 94.28%, and 95.53% for 2014, 2017, and 2020, respectively. A land use and land cover (LULC) transition analysis revealed a substantial expansion of 72.16%, with the area growing from 1,074 km<span><math><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> in 2014 to 1,849 km<span><math><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> in 2020. Notably, 156.88 km<span><math><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> (20.24%) of this expansion occurred directly at the expense of vegetation cover, underscoring areas of significant environmental concern. This study offers valuable insights to guide the development of public and market-driven policies aimed at promoting sustainable and environmentally responsible oil palm expansion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101506"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143643433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reconstructing the alarming fire history of Ankarafantsika National Park in northwestern Madagascar over a 35 year-period","authors":"Misa Rasolozaka , Dominik Schüßler , Johnny Randriafenontsoa , Fenohery Andriatsitohaina , Princia Rakotomamonjy , Harison Rabarison , Ute Radespiel","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The extent of fires in tropical ecosystems is highly dynamic, and responses of tropical dry forests to fire seem to vary and are not well understood. This study reconstructs a 35-year long fire history of the dry forests in the Ankarafantsika National Park (ANP) in Madagascar. In recent years, forest fires have been reported in this region, potentially threatening habitat integrity and connectivity inside ANP. We assessed the fire dynamics with yearly Landsat satellite images from 1988 to 2023 (Landsat 4–5, Landsat 7, Landsat 8–9) by means of the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and the differenced NBR (dNBR) with a 30m resolution. To validate the fire classification in addition to exemplary ground truthing, 350 random points were selected across ANP and visually classified based on yearly Red Green Blue false-color composites and their corresponding dNBR images. Inside ANP, 70 % of the vegetation burnt at least once, while 18 % burnt even more than three times. Fire distribution was heterogenous with fires being more frequent in the north than in the south of ANP. The extent of burnt areas fluctuated over the years peaking in 2016 with 229 km<sup>2</sup> (22 % of the park vegetation). Fires recurred after 1–34 years, but more frequently than expected after 3–5 years. Areas requiring urgent conservation attention are highlighted and a baseline for developing fire management strategies is provided. Finally, this study demonstrates that ground truthing is essential to implement an analytical pipeline to correctly infer burnt and unburnt vegetation parts from series of satellite pictures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101521"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pouya Mahmoudnia, Mohammad Sharifikia, Jalal Karami
{"title":"Early detection of landslide hazard threatening oil pipeline in UNESCO-protected Hyrcanian Forests (Iran) using DInSAR and MaxEnt modeling","authors":"Pouya Mahmoudnia, Mohammad Sharifikia, Jalal Karami","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101520","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101520","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Landslides in the Hyrcanian Forests, a UNESCO World Heritage site, pose a serious threat to oil pipelines, potentially resulting in catastrophic environmental consequences. The dense canopy cover of this unique forested massif also poses a challenge to conventional methods, such as field survey and optical remote sensing which makes it difficult to accurately assess and mitigate landslide hazards. This study aims to assess landslide susceptibility zonation and its implications for oil pipeline risk assessment using a synergistic approach that combines differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) with the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model. Landslide movements in the dense forest were extracted and measured by processing L-band ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 synthetic aperture radar images using the DInSAR technique. A total of 120 landslide patches were detected and these Satellite-derived landslide data, along with nine landslide conditioning factors, were used in the MaxEnt model for landslide susceptibility zonation. The generated landslide susceptibility map with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.845 revealed that approximately 26.74 km of the pipeline crosses areas of high or very high landslide hazard. Field surveys and subsequent investigations validated the accuracy of landslides detected by DInSAR and MaxEnt predicted susceptible areas, confirming the reliability of our integrated approach. This research pioneers an integrated radar imaging and predictive modeling approach for landslide risk assessment in densely forested hilly regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101520"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143643361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
El Houcine El Haous , Abdelkrim Bouasria , Abdelilah Fekkak , Faouziya Haissen , Abdellatif Jouhari , Ilyasse Berrada
{"title":"Using long-term bare earth composite image and machine learning in lithological mapping of Adrar Souttouf mafic complex (Oulad Dlim massif, Southern Morocco)","authors":"El Houcine El Haous , Abdelkrim Bouasria , Abdelilah Fekkak , Faouziya Haissen , Abdellatif Jouhari , Ilyasse Berrada","doi":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101516","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101516","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The success of geological mapping is mainly dependent on the best delineation of the lithological spatial features, among others. To this end, it is common to use remote sensing imagery supported with visual interpretation. The human visual perception is more capable of detecting and differentiating the colored compositions, however, it is not able to capture the information from the multispectral information. To overcome this issue, it is used to reduce the multidimensional information to three dimensions to be employed in colored visualizations. So far, the most tested methods are the linear ones (i.e. principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA)) which were applied to a single date image. In this study, we explored innovative methods for lithological mapping to address the following questions: Can machine learning (ML) algorithms enhance the discrimination of key lithological features? Furthermore, can the identified patterns contribute to producing improved map that aids in resolving the two competing hypotheses—subduction or intracontinental rift—proposed for the Adrar Souttouf mafic complex in Moroccan Saharan domain. In this regard, we explored the potential of new ML methods and a composite image of the bare earth reflectance generated from Landsat-8/OLI image time series over ten years (from 2013 to 2023). We selected two new nonlinear methods which are Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) and autoencoder (AE). The results of the visual interpretation were validated by an extensive field survey. The findings revealed that the linear methods (PCA and CCA) perform better in capturing the local details while the nonlinear methods (UMAP) were performant at the global patterns detection. Surprisingly, the AE was similar to PCA and CCA in local pattern discrimination. We also note that the nonlinear methods are powerful in capturing the whole information from the source data, contrary to the linear methods. These results could be suitable to serve as a basis for geological mapping in the studied massif. We also suggest that the developed methodology could be applied globally to other areas where the generation of barren land is possible.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":53227,"journal":{"name":"Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment","volume":"38 ","pages":"Article 101516"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}