Luminescence properties of selected radioactive rocks and minerals

This study is a continuation of the work reported in "Use of an Airborne Fraunhofer Line Discriminator (FLD) for the detection of solar stimulated luminescence", U.S. Geological Survey open file report 76-202, January 1976, in which luminescence data were obtained on a variety of natural materials, both in the laboratory and in the field. The objectives of this study are to update the catalogue of natural material to include radioactive rocks and minerals and to determine 1) if significant luminescence exists which may be used for detection and/or identification purposes in remote sensing applications and 2) optimum wavelength(s) for the detection of a particular rock/mineral type. Measurements were made on 8 different types of materials both in the laboratory, using a laboratory Fluorescence Spectrometer and outdoors, using the Fraunhofer Line Discriminator.