Mapping of jasperoid in the Cedar Mountains, Utah, U.S.A., using imaging spectrometer data

Abstract

Jasperoid, an important indicator of disseminated gold deposits, is mapped in the Cedar Mountains, Utah U.S.A. using data gathered by the Airborne Visible Infra-Red Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). Ratio analysis is employed to detect the sharp rise in reflectance between 1000 nm and 1700 nm in the jasperoid spectrum due to iron absorption at about 900 nm in association with quartz and bound water. A pre-requisite is to remove the effects of dead and senescent vegetation from the ratio image. This is achieved using a mask of dead vegetation created by absorption band-depth analysis of ligno-cellulose absorptions in the Short-Wave Infra-red (SWIR). The absorption feature at about 2080 nm was used, but this choice is partly dictated by the limestone host rocks which exhibit a strong absorption feature which overlaps with the longer wavelength lingo-cellulose absorptions. Validation of the ratio map is accomplished by overlaying a geologic boundary which defined an area of jasperoid in the field.