Mapping of clay soils exposed to the shrinking - swelling phenomenon, with EO - 1 - Hyperion data in the region of Sidi - Chahmi, Algeria

Abstract

Satellite images have a remarkable ability to help researchers map the distribution and detect the nature of the soil exposed on the earth's surface. The remote-sensing mapping of clayey soils makes it possible to determine their shrinking-swelling potentials. This approach is helpful in analyzing large areas where the traditional sampling approach with laboratory analysis is expensive. This high cost often leads to a limited number of samples and thus to a poor representation of a site with an underestimation of the presence of swelling soils. The Sidi - Chahmi area is representative of this type of soil. In addition, it is an area that undergoes the substantial urban sprawl of the city of Oran. The urbanization of this area is under the risk of clay-type soil movements, the identification of which by satellite imagery may help mitigate shrink-swell risk. EO-1-Hyperion hyperspectral images, whose effectiveness has already been proven for mapping clay minerals, were used to identify minerals such as illite, montmorillonite, and kaolinite in the Sidi - Chahmi area.