High-Resolution Color Analysis of the Martian Surface.

Abstract

The combination of high-resolution panchromatic imagery and low-resolution multi-channel data leads to an improved interpretability of both kinds of information simultaneously. Candor Chasma in the Valles Marineris shows a variety of spectral and morphological surface features within a relatively small area, providing suitable conditions for the demonstration of the method. First-order radiometric, atmospheric and photometric corrections have been applied to a set of VO-1 frames before establishing color classes by principal component analysis and color-ratioing. The results have been compared with Earth-based telescopic spectra from the martian surface. Color-coded classification maps have been combined with a geometrically registered high-resolution mosaic via HSI transformation.