Mapping and managing Earth’s mineral resources demands advanced techniques for characterizing surface composition, a challenge that can be effectively addressed by spaceborne Earth observation. Thermal infrared (TIR) sensors hosted on orbital platforms provide a powerful tool for regional scale (~1000s km2), high-resolution (≤100m) identification of mineral composition and surface thermal properties. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of multispectral TIR image data acquired by the ECOSTRESS and ASTER spaceborne sensors with near-global coverage to produce the first mineral maps of the Earth’s arid and semi-arid regions. TIR data complement Visible to ShortWave InfraRed (VSWIR) data because most important rock forming minerals do not have features in the VSWIR. Thus, integrating TIR-derived mineralogy is essential to comprehensively map the surface composition and interpret the geology. The mapping results were validated at three sites—the Algodones Dunes (quartz), White Sands Dunes (gypsum), and Mehdi Ridge (calcite)—showing strong spatial and abundance agreement with laboratory data from field samples and reference literature. These results confirm the reliability of high spatial resolution multispectral TIR data in capturing major surface mineral distributions.

In this work, comparison results between data collected on the ground and by the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) acquired during the 2023 European airborne campaign are showed. NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), European Space Agency (ESA), Italian Space Agency (ASI), National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), and various European universities and national research institutes collaboratively organized the campaign. Multiple test areas were designated in Italy, France, and Switzerland, with flights conducted from late May to mid-July. Here, we show the Italian volcanic areas, were specifically targeted for the HyTES flights. By this work, the authors aim to give an overview about the Italian Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) sites, classified as thermally active sites, and to present preliminary results obtained in such area. The sites can be defined "thermally active" due to the presence of thermal anomalies at the surface related to volcanic activity ranging from 60°C to 1000°C. In addition, the same test sites have been selected in the THERESA (THErmal infRarEd SBG Algorithms) project, aimed to enhance algorithms for processing Thermal InfraRed data from the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) – Thermal InfraRed (TIR) mission. During the lifetime of the project, THERESA will contribute to enhance the investigation of terrestrial phenomena by using both visible and thermal images.

This work aims to characterize the surface of an Italian geothermal field, Parco Naturalistico delle Biancane (PNB), by using hyperspectral data and define the main diagnostic spectral features of lithotypes affected by mineral alteration due to geothermal activity. Hyperspectral data acquired by PRISMA (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission) and AVIRIS-NG (Airborne Visible / Infrared Imaging Spectrometer – Next Generation), coupled with a spectral library of the main lithotype of the area, represent the dataset used for the analysis. All the spectral data cover the VNIR (Visible and Near InfraRed) and SWIR (Short-Wave InfraRed) spectral range. The Material Identification and Characterization Algorithm (MICA) has been used to perform the comparison between the spectral features from the spectral library and the PRISMA and AVIRIS hyperspectral images in order to obtain an automatic lithotype classification map.

In this work, we compare the long time series of ground deformation by using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and the one of Land Surface Temperature (LST) by means of optical satellite data in the thermal spectral range at two different sites: the Vulcano Island (Sicily) and the Campi Flegrei caldera (Pozzuoli, Naples). Particular attention is given to the recent gradual unrest of Vulcano started in September 2021 and to the unrest phase of Campi Flegrei started in 2000 (with an inflation from 2011 to date greater than 1 meter in the maximum deformation area along the coastline [1]) and still ongoing.

The recent PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) space mission, launched by the ASI (Italian Space Agency) on March 2019, brought in orbit a hyperspectral sensor (in the range$0.4-2.5 \mu\mathrm{m})$and a panchromatic camera with a spatial resolution of 30 and 5 meters, respectively. The PRISMA data are available for free (under license) and represent a unique orbiting source of hyperspectral data to investigate and analyze geophysical/geological phenomena. PRISMA works as the precursor of the next generation of ESA-SENTINEL satellites. In this work, a series of possible applications of PRISMA hyperspectral data are presented also considering data fusion with the panchromatic camera and the integration with other available satellite data as from Landsat and ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection).

Current EO satellite missions providing imagery in the VIS- TIR region at high spatial resolution offer the possibility to estimate a number of important parameters to monitor volcanic activities at worldwide level. Therefore, space missions contribute in understanding the ongoing phenomena to mitigate the volcanic risk when population and infrastructures are exposed. New hyperspectral and thermal missions which could provide images at high spatial and temporal resolution are under study in cooperation between Space Agencies (NASA, ASI, ESA etc.) and hopefully will improve the monitoring capabilities of active volcanoes in highly populated areas. In the present work we describe several results obtained in the last years by EO satellite missions for the volcanic risk. While the satellite data provide a wide description of scenes, in situ and proximal measurements are crucial to retrieve gas emissions and analyze surface characteristics at very high spatial resolution. Data acquired from drones (UAV) and thermal cameras in volcanic areas are presented and discussed. Moreover, this work shows the need of validation process for satellite products comparing with measurements collected during field campaigns.