MAPPING ACID GENERATING MINERALS IN ABANDONED MINE LANDS IN UTAH USING IMAGING SPECTROMETER DATA

Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data was collected in 1998 and 1999 as part of an EPA Region 8 sponsored initiative to examine the utility of hyperspectral data for environmental assessments of abandoned mine lands. While data was collected over five primary areas for the overall project, in this study, data from two regions were considered. The two areas were the main Tintic mining district near the town of Eureka, Utah and the Marysvale mining district on the east flank of the Tushar Mountains of central Utah.

A primary concern in the environmental assessment of abandoned mine lands is their potential to generate highly acidic waters. Several acid generating minerals have reflectance spectra that are characteristic and identifiable in AVIRIS data. Hyperspectral data sets are thus well suited for the characterization of abandoned mine lands.

For the areas examined in this study, exposures of potentially acid generating minerals such as jarosite and alunite were mapped from the AVIRIS data. However, streams in the areas were not noted for acidic waters. Entering the mineral abundance maps obtained from the AVIRIS data into a GIS with information on topography and water drainages helps complete the analysis to show why the acid generating minerals in these areas are not currently an environmental hazard.