Digital map of iron sulfate minerals, other mineral groups, and vegetation of the western United States derived from automated analysis of Landsat 8 satellite data

Multispectral remote sensing data acquired by Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor were analyzed using an automated technique to generate surficial mineralogy and vegetation maps of the conterminous western United States. Six spectral indices (e.g. band-ratios), highlighting distinct spectral absorptions, were developed to aid in the identification of mineral groups in exposed rocks, soils, mine waste rock, and mill tailings across the landscape. The data are centered on the western U.S. and cover portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, the Canada-U.S. border, and the Mexico-U.S. border during the summers of 2013 ? 2014. Methods used to process the images and algorithms used to infer mineralogical composition of surficial materials are detailed in Rockwell and others (2021) and were similar to those developed by Rockwell (2012; 2013). Final maps are provided as ERDAS IMAGINE (.img) thematic raster images and contain pixel values representing mineral and vegetation group classifications. Rockwell, B.W., 2012, Description and validation of an automated methodology for mapping mineralogy, vegetation, and hydrothermal alteration type from ASTER satellite imagery with examples from the San Juan Mountains, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3190, 35 p. pamphlet, 5 map sheets, scale 1:100,000, http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.2769.9365. Rockwell, B.W., 2013, Automated mapping of mineral groups and green vegetation from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery with an example from the San Juan Mountains, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3252, 25 p. pamphlet, 1 map sheet, scale 1:325,000, http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.2507.7925. Rockwell, B.W., Gnesda, W.R., and Hofstra, A.H., 2021, Improved automated identification and mapping of iron sulfate minerals, other mineral groups, and vegetation from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager Data: San Juan Mountains, Colorado, and Four Corners Region: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3466, scale 1:325,000, 51 p. pamphlet, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3466.