Assessing soil salinity using WorldView-2 multispectral images in Timpaki, Crete, GreeceAssessing soil salinity using WorldView-2 multispectral images in Timpaki, Crete, Greece Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2019-09-182018enSalinization is one of the major soil degradation threats occurring worldwide. This study evaluates the feasibility of operational surface soil salinity mapping based on state-of-the-art Earth Observation (EO) products captured by sensors on-board WorldView-2 (WV2) and Landsat 8 satellites. The proposed methods are tested in Timpaki, south-central Crete,Greece, where brackish water irrigation puts soil health at risk of soil salinization. In all cases, EO products are calibrated against soil samples collected from bare soil locations. Results indicate a moderate correlation of observed EC e values with the investigated remote sensing parameters. Regarding sensitivity to saline soil, the yellow band displays higher values. Comparison between methods used in the literature shows that those developed specifically for soil salinity, and especially index S5, perform better. The proposed ‘detection index’ and 3D PCA transformation methodology perform reasonably well in detecting areas with high EC e values and provide a simple and effective operational alternative for saline topsoil detection and mapping.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Geocarto International334321-338 Alexakis Dimitrios Αλεξακης Δημητριος Daliakopoulos Ioannis Δαλιακοπουλος Ιωαννης Panagea Ioanna Παναγεα Ιωαννα Tsanis Ioannis Τσανης Ιωαννης Taylor & Francis PCA Satellite remote sensing Soil salinity Vegetation and salinity indices WorldVIew-2