Investigation of quartz-alunite epithermal gold deposits using PRISMA satellite imagery: examples from Goldfield, Nevada, USA and Rodalquilar, Spain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29150/jhrs.v12.5.p216-224Keywords:
PRISMA, satellite, hyperspectral, epithermal gold, Goldfield, RodalquilarAbstract
The PRISMA (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission) satellite of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) is in orbit since March 2019. The PRISMA satellite hyperspectral data have found applications in many disciplines including environmental monitoring, agriculture, forest and grassland mapping, land use and land cover mapping, hydrology, geology, and glaciology. In this study the PRISMA satellite hyperspectral imagery are evaluated for the characterization of the surface outcrop of quartz-alunite epithermal gold deposits occurring at Goldfield in Nevada, USA and at Rodalquilar in southeastern Spain. The Goldfield in Nevada has an arid to semiarid climate, whereas the Rodalquilar occurs in a semiarid region in southeastern Spain. The quartz-alunite gold deposits are associated with extensive alteration zones. Several important alteration minerals display distinct spectral reflectance features in the 0.4-2.5 μm wavelength region where the PRISMA sensor records. The surface reflectance PRISMA satellite hyperspectral data were analyzed using the Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) technique. The PRISMA mapped several key alteration minerals useful to depict the epithermal alteration zones. The study shows the applicability of PRISMA satellite hyperspectral imagery for the detection and mapping of altered rocks associated with quartz-alunite epithermal gold deposits in arid and semiarid regions.
Investigação de depósitos de ouro epitermais de quartzo-alunito usando imagens de satélite PRISMA: exemplos de Goldfield, Nevada, EUA e Rodalquilar, Espanha
O satélite PRISMA (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission) da Agência Espacial Italiana (ASI) está em órbita desde março de 2019. Os dados hiperespectrais do satélite PRISMA encontraram aplicações em muitas disciplinas, incluindo monitoramento ambiental, agricultura, mapeamento de florestas e pastagens, uso da terra e mapeamento da cobertura da terra, hidrologia, geologia e glaciologia. Neste estudo, as imagens hiperespectrais do satélite PRISMA são avaliadas para a caracterização do afloramento superficial de depósitos de ouro epitérmicos de quartzo-alunito ocorrendo em Goldfield em Nevada, EUA e em Rodalquilar no sudeste da Espanha. O Goldfield em Nevada tem um clima árido a semiárido, enquanto o Rodalquilar ocorre em uma região semiárida no sudeste da Espanha. Os depósitos de ouro de quartzo-alunito estão associados a extensas zonas de alteração. Vários minerais de alteração importantes exibem características distintas de refletância espectral na região de comprimento de onda de 0,4-2,5 μm onde o sensor PRISMA registra. Os dados hiperespectrais do satélite PRISMA de refletância de superfície foram analisados usando a técnica Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA). O PRISMA mapeou vários minerais de alteração importantes, úteis para representar as zonas de alteração epitermais. O estudo mostra a aplicabilidade das imagens hiperespectrais do satélite PRISMA para a detecção e mapeamento de rochas alteradas associadas a depósitos de ouro epitermais de quartzo-alunito em regiões áridas e semiáridas.
Palavras-chave: PRISMA, satélite, hiperespectral, ouro epitérmico, Goldfield, Rodalquilar
References
Arribas, A., Cunningham, C.G., Rytuba, J.J., Rye, R.O., Kelly, W.C., Podwysocki, M.H., McKee, E.H. and Tosdal, R.M., 1995. Geology, geochronology, fluid inclusions, and isotope geochemistry of the Rodalquilar gold alunite deposit, Spain. Economic Geology, 90, 795-822.
Arribas, A. Jr., 1992, Geology and geochemistry of the Rodalquilar gold deposit; relationship to other hydrothermal ore deposits in southeastern Spain. PhD dissertation, Ann Arbor, Michigan, University of Michigan, 320 pp.
Ashley, R. P. (1974). Goldfield mining district. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report, 19, 49-66.
Bedini, E. and Chen, J., 2020. Application of PRISMA satellite hyperspectral imagery to mineral alteration mapping at Cuprite, Nevada, USA. Journal of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing v, 10(2), 87-94.
Bedini, E., 2019. Application of WorldView-3 imagery and ASTER TIR data to map alteration minerals associated with the Rodalquilar gold deposits, southeast Spain. Advances in Space Research, 63, 3346-3357.
Bedini, E., 2017. The use of hyperspectral remote sensing for mineral exploration: A review. Journal of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing, 7(4), 189-211.
Bedini, E., van Der Meer, F. and van Ruitenbeek, F., 2009. Use of HyMap imaging spectrometer data to map mineralogy in the Rodalquilar caldera, southeast Spain. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 30, 327-348.
Bohn, N., Di Mauro, B., Colombo, R., Thompson, D.R., Susiluoto, J., Carmon, N., Turmon, M.J. and Guanter, L., 2022. Glacier ice surface properties in South-West Greenland Ice Sheet: first estimates from PRISMA imaging spectroscopy data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 127, p.e2021JG006718.
Bresciani, M., Giardino, C., Fabbretto, A., Pellegrino, A., Mangano, S., Free, G. and Pinardi, M., 2022. Application of New Hyperspectral Sensors in the Remote Sensing of Aquatic Ecosystem Health: Exploiting PRISMA and DESIS for Four Italian Lakes. Resources, 11, p.8.
Clark, R.N. Spectroscopy of Rocks and Minerals, and Principles of Spectroscopy, in: A. Rencz (Ed.), Manual of Remote Sensing vol. 3. Wiley and Sons Inc., New York, pp. 3-58, 1999.
Crosta, A.P., De Souza Filho, C.R., Azevedo, F. and Brodie, C., 2003. Targeting key alteration minerals in epithermal deposits in Patagonia, Argentina, using ASTER imagery and principal component analysis. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 24, 4233-4240.
Guanter, L., Irakulis-Loitxate, I., Gorroño, J., Sánchez-García, E., Cusworth, D.H., Varon, D.J., Cogliati, S. and Colombo, R., 2021. Mapping methane point emissions with the PRISMA spaceborne imaging spectrometer. Remote Sensing of Environment, 265, 112671.
Hedenquist, J.W. and Arribas, A., 2022. Exploration Implications of Multiple Formation Environments of Advanced Argillic Minerals. Economic Geology, 117, 609-643.
Heller Pearlshtien, D., Pignatti, S., Greisman-Ran, U. and Ben-Dor, E., 2021. PRISMA sensor evaluation: a case study of mineral mapping performance over Makhtesh Ramon, Israel. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 42, 5882-5914.
Kruse, F.A., 2012. Mapping surface mineralogy using imaging spectrometry. Geomorphology, 137, 41-56.
Kruse, F.A., Perry, S.L., Caballero, A., 2006. District-level mineral survey using airborne hyperspectral data, Los Menucos, Argentina. Annals of Geophysics 49, 83–92.
Pepe, M., Pompilio, L., Gioli, B., Busetto, L. and Boschetti, M., 2020. Detection and classification of Non-Photosynthetic Vegetation from PRISMA hyperspectral data in croplands. Remote Sensing, 12, 3903.
Pignatti, S., Palombo, A., Pascucci, S., Romano, F., Santini, F., Simoniello, T., Umberto, A., Vincenzo, C., Acito, N., Diani, M., Matteoli, S., 2013. The PRISMA hyperspectral mission: Science activities and opportunities for agriculture and land monitoring. In 2013 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium-IGARSS, pp. 4558-4561, IEEE.
Pour, A.B. and Hashim, M., 2012. The application of ASTER remote sensing data to porphyry copper and epithermal gold deposits. Ore Geology Reviews, 44, 1-9.
Ransome, F.L., 1907. The association of alunite with gold in the Goldfield district, Nevada. Economic Geology, 2, 667-692.
Rytuba, J.J., Arribas, A. Jr., Cunningham, C.G., McKee, E.H., Podwysocki, M.H., Smith, J.G., Kelly, W.C. and Arribas, A. Sr., 1990. Mineralized and unmineralized calderas in Spain; Part II, evolution of the Rodalquilar caldera complex and associated gold-alunite deposits. Mineralium Deposita, 25 [Supp.], pp. S29–S35.
Settle, J.J. and Drake, N.A., 1993. Linear mixing and the estimation of ground cover proportions. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 14, pp.1159-1177.
Tagliabue, G., Boschetti, M., Bramati, G., Candiani, G., Colombo, R., Nutini, F., Pompilio, L., Rivera-Caicedo, J.P., Rossi, M., Rossini, M. and Verrelst, J., 2022. Hybrid retrieval of crop traits from multi-temporal PRISMA hyperspectral imagery. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 187, 362-377.
van der Meer, F.D., van der Werff, H.M., van Ruitenbeek, F.J., Hecker, C.A., Bakker, W.H., Noomen, M.F., van Der Meijde, M., Carranza, E.J.M., De Smeth, J.B., Woldai, T., 2012. Multi-and hyperspectral geologic remote sensing: A review. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 14, 112-128.
van der Meer, F. and Bakker, W., 1997. Cross correlogram spectral matching: application to surface mineralogical mapping by using AVIRIS data from Cuprite, Nevada. Remote Sensing of Environment, 61, 371-382.
Vangi, E., D’Amico, G., Francini, S., Giannetti, F., Lasserre, B., Marchetti, M. and Chirici, G., 2021. The new hyperspectral satellite PRISMA: Imagery for forest types discrimination. Sensors, 21, 1182.
