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Questa baseline and pre-mining ground-water quality investigation. 10. Geologic influences on ground and surface waters in the lower Red River watershed, New Mexico Questa baseline and pre-mining ground-water quality investigation. 10. Geologic influences on ground and surface waters in the lower Red River watershed, New Mexico

This report is one in a series that presents results of an interdisciplinary U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study of ground-water quality in the lower Red River watershed prior to open-pit and underground molybdenite mining at Molycorp’s Questa mine. The stretch of the Red River watershed that extends from just upstream of the town of Red River, N. Mex., to just above the town of Questa...
Authors
Steve Ludington, Geoff Plumlee, Jonathan S. Caine, Dana Bove, JoAnn Holloway, Eric Livo

Remote sensing for environmental site screening and watershed evaluation in Utah Mine lands: East Tintic mountains, Oquirrh mountains, and Tushar mountains Remote sensing for environmental site screening and watershed evaluation in Utah Mine lands: East Tintic mountains, Oquirrh mountains, and Tushar mountains

Imaging spectroscopy-a powerful remote-sensing tool for mapping subtle variations in the composition of minerals, vegetation, and man-made materials on the Earth's surface-was applied in support of environmental assessments and watershed evaluations in several mining districts in the State of Utah. Three areas were studied through the use of Landsat 7 ETM+ and Airborne Visible/Infrared...
Authors
Barnaby W. Rockwell, Robert R. McDougal, Carol A. Gent

Compositional maps of Saturn's moon Phoebe from imaging spectroscopy Compositional maps of Saturn's moon Phoebe from imaging spectroscopy

The origin of Phoebe, which is the outermost large satellite of Saturn, is of particular interest because its inclined, retrograde orbit suggests that it was gravitationally captured by Saturn, having accreted outside the region of the solar nebula in which Saturn formed. By contrast, Saturn's regular satellites (with prograde, low-inclination, circular orbits) probably accreted within...
Authors
R. N. Clark, R. H. Brown, R. Jaumann, D. P. Cruikshank, R.M. Nelson, B. J. Buratti, T. B. McCord, J. Lunine, K. H. Baines, G. Bellucci, J.-P. Bibring, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, A. Coradini, V. Formisano, Y. Langevin, D. L. Matson, V. Mennella, P. D. Nicholson, B. Sicardy, Christophe Sotin, T.M. Hoefen, J. M. Curchin, G. Hansen, K. Hibbits, K.-D. Matz

Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer observations of Iapetus: Detection of CO2 Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer observations of Iapetus: Detection of CO2

The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft obtained its first spectral map of the satellite lapetus in which new absorption bands are seen in the spectra of both the low-albedo hemisphere and the H2O ice-rich hemisphere. Carbon dioxide is identified in the low-albedo material, probably as a photochemically produced molecule that is...
Authors
B. J. Buratti, D. P. Cruikshank, R. H. Brown, R. N. Clark, J.M. Bauer, R. Jaumann, T. B. McCord, D.P. Simonelli, C. A. Hibbitts, G. B. Hansen, T.C. Owen, K. H. Baines, G. Bellucci, J.-P. Bibring, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, A. Coradini, P. Drossart, V. Formisano, Y. Langevin, D. L. Matson, V. Mennella, R.M. Nelson, P. D. Nicholson, B. Sicardy, Christophe Sotin, T. L. Roush, K. Soderlund, A. Muradyan

The evolution of Titan's mid-latitude clouds The evolution of Titan's mid-latitude clouds

Spectra from Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer reveal that the horizontal structure, height, and optical depth of Titan's clouds are highly, dynamic. Vigorous cloud centers are seen to rise from the middle to the upper troposphere within 30 minutes and dissipate within the next hour. Their development indicates that Titan's clouds evolve convectively; dissipate through...
Authors
C.A. Griffith, P. Penteado, K. Baines, P. Drossart, J. Barnes, G. Bellucci, J. Bibring, R. Brown, B. Buratti, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, R. Clark, M. Combes, A. Coradini, D. Cruikshank, V. Formisano, R. Jaumann, Y. Langevin, D. Matson, T. McCord, V. Mennella, R. Nelson, P. Nicholson, B. Sicardy, Christophe Sotin, L.A. Soderblom, R. Kursinski

Release of volatiles from a possible cryovolcano from near-infrared imaging of Titan Release of volatiles from a possible cryovolcano from near-infrared imaging of Titan

Titan is the only satellite in our Solar System with a dense atmosphere. The surface pressure is 1.5 bar (ref. 1) and, similar to the Earth, N 2 is the main component of the atmosphere. Methane is the second most important component, but it is photodissociated on a timescale of 10 years (ref. 3). This short timescale has led to the suggestion that Titan may possess a surface or...
Authors
Christophe Sotin, R. Jaumann, B. J. Buratti, R. H. Brown, R. N. Clark, L.A. Soderblom, K. H. Baines, G. Bellucci, J.-P. Bibring, F. Capaccioni, P. Cerroni, M. Combes, A. Coradini, D. P. Cruikshank, P. Drossart, V. Formisano, Y. Langevin, D. L. Matson, T. B. McCord, R.M. Nelson, P. D. Nicholson, B. Sicardy, S. Lemouelic, S. Rodriguez, K. Stephan, C.K. Scholz

Characterization of waste rock associated with acid drainage at the Penn Mine, California, by ground-based visible to short-wave infrared reflectance spectroscopy assisted by digital mapping Characterization of waste rock associated with acid drainage at the Penn Mine, California, by ground-based visible to short-wave infrared reflectance spectroscopy assisted by digital mapping

Prior to remediation at the abandoned Cu-Zn Penn Mine in the Foothills massive sulfide belt of the Sierra Nevada, CA, acid mine drainage (AMD) was created, in part, by the subaerial oxidation of sulfides exposed on several waste piles. To support remediation efforts, a mineralogical study of the waste piles was undertaken by acquiring reflectance spectra (measured in the visible to short...
Authors
S.I.C. Montero, G.H. Brimhall, Charles N. Alpers, G.A. Swayze

Preliminary report on using imaging spectroscopy to map ultramafic rocks, serpentinites, and tremolite-actinolite-bearing rocks in California Preliminary report on using imaging spectroscopy to map ultramafic rocks, serpentinites, and tremolite-actinolite-bearing rocks in California

Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were collected in approximately 3- kilometer-wide swaths over selected areas in El Dorado and Plumas Counties that contain serpentinite and ultramafic rocks as part of an experiment to determine if potentially asbestos-bearing rocks could be identified spectrally. M ineral maps created from the AVIRIS data were used...
Authors
Gregg A. Swayze, Chris T. Higgins, John P. Clinkenbeard, Raymond F. Kokaly, Roger N. Clark, Gregory P. Meeker, Stephen J. Sutley

Analysis of MASTER thermal data in the Greeley area of the Front Range Urban Corridor, Colorado — Delineation of sites for infrastructure resource characterization Analysis of MASTER thermal data in the Greeley area of the Front Range Urban Corridor, Colorado — Delineation of sites for infrastructure resource characterization

Sand and soils southwest of Greeley, Colorado, were characterized for mineral composition and industrial quality. Radi-ance data from the thermal channels of the MASTER simulator were calibrated using estimated atmospheric parameters. Chan-nel emissivities were approximated using an estimated ground temperature. Subsequently, a decorrelation algorithm was used to calculate inverse wave...
Authors
K. Eric Livo, Ken Watson

Spectral variations in rocks and soils containing ferric iron hydroxide and(or) sulfate minerals as seen by AVIRIS and laboratory spectroscopy Spectral variations in rocks and soils containing ferric iron hydroxide and(or) sulfate minerals as seen by AVIRIS and laboratory spectroscopy

Analysis of Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data covering the Big Rock Candy Mountain area of the Marysvale volcanic field, west-central Utah, identified abundant rocks and soils bearing jarosite, goethite, and chlorite associated with volcanic rocks altered to propylitic grade during the Miocene (2321 Ma). Propylitically-altered rocks rich in pyrite associated...
Authors
Barnaby W. Rockwell

Non-invasive exploration in an environmentally sensitive world Non-invasive exploration in an environmentally sensitive world

Modern remote sensing provides a means for locating and characterizing exposed mineralized systems in many parts of the world. These capabilities are non-invasive and help target specific areas for more detailed exploration. An example of how remote sensing technology can be used is evident from a study of the Questa Mining District, New Mexico. Analysis of low spectral resolution data...
Authors
K.E. Livo, D. H. Knepper
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