Derivation of surface pH-values based on mineral abundances over pyrite mining areas with airborne hyperspectral data (Hymap) of Sotiel-Migollas mine complex, Spain

This research focused on identifying and characterizing sources of acid mine drainage (AMD) using imaging spectroscopy to support environmental assessments of mine tailings at the Sotiel-Migollas mine complex in Spain.;Monitoring of the study site was performed with Hymap imagery where predicted pH and AMD minerals were mapped using partial least squares analysis and iterative linear spectral unmixing analysis (ISMA), respectively.;The mineral maps provided spatial distributions of mineralogy where spatial patterns have been observed and found similar to other studies. Improvement in the details of the mapping was realized using the ISMA procedure over the Hourglass mapping method.;It was determined that a pH predictive spectral model developed at an unrelated mine site could not be properly transferred to the Sotiel-Migollas mine resulting in creation of a site-specific model.;This work showed that hyperspectral remote sensing is an effective means of quantitatively and qualitatively pinpointing sources of acidity.