BARE EARTH COMPOSITE (BEC)
In areas covered by vegetation or transformed by human activity, direct exposure of soil and rocks is often obscured, limiting the potential for detailed mineral mapping. To overcome this challenge, we have developed advanced methodologies for generating Bare Earth Composites (BECs) using satellite data from Sentinel-2, ASTER, or a combination of both sensors (resulting in a 21-band composite). These methodologies allow us to find uncovered pixels and reveal the underlying mineral features, thus increasing the area available for mapping. Our approach leverages the spectral and spatial capabilities of Sentinel-2 and ASTER data to extract surface information, which is otherwise masked by vegetation. This results in high-quality composites that provide insights into the mineral structure with a spatial resolution of 10–30 meters. By incorporating this methodology, we estimate that the total area available for accurate mapping could increase by as much as 20%. This substantial improvemen...