USGS-USEPA Utah Abandoned
Mine Lands Imaging Spectroscopy Project
Objectives:
Several mining districts in Utah were selected for multi-disciplinary
remote sensing studies that are focused on the mapping of surficial mineralogy
using Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery and AVIRIS-based imaging
spectroscopy. The studies are on-going and include:
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Abandoned mine lands (AML) research
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Ore deposit research
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Support for 2002 Olympics
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Vegetation studies
Study Areas:
Map showing Study Areas of USGS/USEPA Utah AML project. Coverage of
high-altitude AVIRIS data and centerlines of flightlines of commercial spectroscopic data
acquisitions are shown. Click on image for larger, 237K jpeg image.
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For mosaics of AVIRIS quick look images showing key geographic features
and calibration sites, click HERE.
Project Milestones and Publications:
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AVIRIS data were acquired August 5, 1998 with the NASA ER2 aircraft at
65,000 feet. These data have a spatial resolution of about 17 meters/pixel,
and are referred to as the "high-altitude" data.
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AVIRIS data coverage (high-altitude data) (see quick looks below):
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ER-2 high-altitude color infrared photography was acquired simultaneously
with the AVIRIS data over the Park City study area. The camera failed after
line 4 and there is no coverage for the rest of the flight.
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A second AVIRIS survey was flown with a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft at a lower
altitude (12,500 ft ASL) on October 12, 1998 over the Park City region.
The ground spatial resolution of the low-altitude data is approximately
2 meters/pixel. Low-altitude AVIRIS data were acquired over these areas:
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Along the Silver Creek drainage from Empire Canyon in the southwest to
the Richardson
Flats area in the northeast near the Route 40/248 interchange. Richardson
Flats, the site of historic smelting operations and tailings ponds, is
not covered by the flightline.
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Along American Fork Canyon west of Heber City.
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Calibration of AVIRIS data to surface reflectance:
AVIRIS data from all study areas except Leeds/Silver Reef were calibrated to reflectance
using field spectral data acquired during the summer of 1998.
Calibration Sites
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Park City/Wasatch Mountains region:
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Oquirrh Mountains region:
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East Tintic Mountains region (Tintic mining district):
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Old Saltair salt flat, see above.
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Tushar Mountains region (Marysvale, UT):
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Piute Resevoir State Park boat ramp parking lot:
Lat: 38 deg 19.157' N
Long: 112 deg 11.778' W
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Leeds/Silver Reef region (includes St. George,
Washington, Pintura and Toquerville):
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calibration site to be determined.
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Seventeen new low-altitude AVIRIS flightlines were acquired in October
1999 over the Oquirrh Mountains, East Tintic Mountains, Tushar Mountains/Sevier
River/Marysvale region, and the Park City region.
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Mapping results were presented at the JPL AVIRIS workshops in 1999, 2000, and 2001, at the EPA-sponsored project results conference, Park City, Utah, June 2000, and at the 14th International Conference on Applied Geologic Remote Sensing, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 2000:
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A short report has been
published that describes rock samples analyzed in the laboratory as a part
of several projects. These samples are intimate
mixtures of various phyllosilicate and sulfate minerals associated with
hydrothermal alteration and supergene weathering. Reflectance spectra of these
samples were used as standard reference spectra for the spectral analysis of
AVIRIS data covering parts of Utah, Nevada,
and New Mexico, USA. One or more diagnostic
spectral absorption features were identified in each spectrum, and this
report documents the wavelength interval(s) of these features as well as sample
compositions as determined by bulk X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses. Sample
descriptions, spectral plots, and downloadable digital spectra are provided. The
report is available HERE.
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AVIRIS mineral mapping results over Big Rock Candy Mountain in the Marysvale
volcanic field were integrated with stable isoptope analysis, Argon dating,
ICP-MS geochemical analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Results
have been published in Chemical Geology. Click HERE to view the abstract
(subscription required to view paper online).
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A report has been published that describes
spectral variations observed in iron-bearing rocks and soils of the Antelope Range area of the Marysvale
volcanic field using AVIRIS and laboratory spectroscopy. The report
is available HERE.
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Project
results from the East Tintic Mountains, Oquirrh Mountains, and Tushar Mountains/Antelope
Range have been published in USGS
Scientific Investigations Report (SIR) 2004-5241.
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HTML version of
SIR. To properly view the HTML version, make sure your browser window is open to nearly full
screen width, as some of the thumbnail images of the figures are large and placed side-by-side
to facilitate comparison.
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A paper describing the mineralogy and genesis
of the White Horse replacement alunite deposit near Marysvale has been published in the
November 2006 issue of Economic
Geology. The paper
compares maps of surface mineralogy derived from analysis of ASTER and low-altitude AVIRIS data
with results from laboratory analyses of field samples including spectroscopy, XRD,
ICP-AES/MS, SEM, and δD and δS stable isotopes. This paper and the paper describing
the Big Rock Candy Mountain deposit mentioned above provide a revised genetic model for the
Miocene hydrothermal systems.
Project Manager and USGS contact: Barnaby Rockwell
U.S. Geological Survey, a bureau
of the U.S. Department of the Interior
This page URL= http://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/earth.studies/Utah-1/utah-1.html
This page is maintained by: Barnaby W. Rockwell barnabyr@speclab.cr.usgs.gov
Last modified January 23, 2008.
