IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL HYDROTHERMAL MINERALIZATION ZONES ASSOCIATED WITH GEOTHERMAL HOTSPOT WATERS USING GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES AND WORLDVIEW-3 IMAGERY AT AYN MUSA REGION, NORTHWESTERN SINAI, EGYPT

The complex geological history of the Ayn Musa region of northwestern Sinai, Egypt, combined with rugged terrain and harsh climatic condition make it difficult to construct a detailed and accurate lithological map of the area solely by field surveys. In an effort to locate hydrothermal mineralization zones associated with hotspot water in Ayn Musa region, satellite remote sensing and geospatial analysis techniques were implemented. Very high resolution WorldView-3 (WV-3) imagery, used in the present study, has the ability to elucidate detailed physicochemical properties, such as site specific mineralogy, chemistry, and morphology of the earth’s surface. Reflectance and emittance in the infrared region offered a quick, low-cost, and non-destructive tool for determining the mineralogy of rock and soil samples. Image processing techniques, including pixel purity index and matched filtering methods, enabled the delineation of traces of Zunyite minerals, which are characteristically associated with hotspot waters. Zunyite is a sorosilicate mineral, Al 13 Si 5 O 20 (OH, F) 18 Cl, composed of aluminum, silicon, hydrogen, chlorine, oxygen, and fluorine. The integration of geospatial data with gravity and magnetic field measurements showed a clear correlation between areas of high heat flow, and gravity and magnetic anomalies. Such anomalies can be interpreted as related to the existence of high geothermal energy and dense rock, which also have high magnetic susceptibility. Utilizing high-resolution multispectral imagery is advantageous to mapping potential mineralization zones and mineral characteristics in such challenging environments. Further analysis and field studies are required in different geologic environments along the Gulf of Suez rift to validate WV-3 multispectral data as a useful tool for mapping future mineralization zones.