Abstract

Monitoring mine waste from sulfide deposits by hyperspectral remote sensing can be used to predict surface water quality by quantitatively estimating acid drainage and metal contamination on a yearly basis. In addition, analysis of the mineralogy of surface crusts rich in soluble salts can provide a record of annual humidity and temperature. In fact, temporal monitoring of salt efflorescence from mine wastes at a mine site in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Huelva, Spain) has been achieved using hyperspectral airborne Hymap data. Furthermore, climate variability estimates are possible based on oxidation stages derived from well-known sequences of minerals, by tracing sulfide oxidation intensity using archive spectral libraries. Thus, airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral remote sensing data can be used to provide a short-term record of climate change, and represent a useful set of tools for assessing environmental geoindicators in semi-arid areas. Spectral and geomorphological indicators can be monitored on a regular basis through image processing, supported by field and laboratory spectral data. In fact, hyperspectral image analysis is one of the methods selected by the Joint Research Centre of the European Community (Ispra, Italy) to study abandoned mine sites, in order to assess the enforcement of the European Mine Waste Directive (2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 15 March 2006) on the management of waste from extractive industries (Official Journal of the European Union, 11 April 2006). The pyrite belt in Andalucia has been selected as one of the core mission test sites for the PECOMINES II program (Cracow, November 2005), using imaging spectroscopy; and this technique is expected to be implemented as a monitoring tool by the Environmental Net of Andalucía (REDIAM, Junta de Andalucía, Spain).

Highlights

  • Sulfide ore deposits are abundant in the Pyrite Belt (SE Spain), and pyrite is present in significant quantities in mine waste in dumps and ponds

  • These patterns are critical for accurate interpretation of climate change trends, metal contamination estimations or acid drainage prediction

  • Areas covered by vegetation types and other obscuring land use/cover types had to be masked in order to achieve reasonable results for pyrite oxidation mineral trends

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Summary

Introduction

Sulfide ore deposits are abundant in the Pyrite Belt (SE Spain), and pyrite is present in significant quantities in mine waste in dumps and ponds. Most previous mine waste mapping studies using hyperspectral data have focused on the identification of environmental evidence for predicting the extent of heavy metal contamination and acid drainage in surface water and groundwater [1,3]. Later field and laboratory spectral investigations, which monitored mineralogical changes in mine waste from the end of the wet season through the dry season [7,8], were in agreement with these observations [6] Based on these results, the authors suggest variations to the spectral identification of pyrite mud weathering products, using spectral libraries developed under a careful evaluation of the geological context [9,10]. Aim is to develop a monitoring system which can provide predictions on water quality estimations, and can be operated by regulators in the future

Regional Geology and Climate
Dataset
Hyperspectral Studies of Mine Waste
Spectral Mineralogical Misinterpretations Using Reference Spectral Libraries
The Influence of the Atmospheric Correction Method
The Empirical Line Method
The Spatial Heterogeneity of Coatings on Mine Sites and River Sediments
Validation
Conclusions

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