| Title | Detecting and mapping gossans using remotely-sensed data: a review |
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| Author | Harris, J R; Williamson, M C ; Percival, J B; Behnia, P |
| Source | Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada, Joint Annual Meeting, Abstracts Volume vol. 37, 2014 p. 114  Open Access |
| Links | Online - En ligne
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| Image |  |
| Year | 2014 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20130434 |
| Meeting | Geological Association of Canada - Mineralogical Association of Canada Joint Annual Meeting; Fredericton; CA; May 21-23, 2014 |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | surficial geology/geomorphology; geophysics; remote sensing; gossans; mapping techniques; computer mapping |
| Illustrations | satellite imagery; tables; graphs; location maps; diagrams |
| Program | Environmental Geoscience environmental impacts and adaptation in the northern environment |
| Released | 2014 01 01 |
| Abstract | Gossans are surficial deposits that form by the oxidation of sulphides in host rocks where acidic and oxidizing fluids are available. In a classic gossan profile, primary sulphides are replaced by iron
- bearing pseudomorphs such as ferrihydrite, goethite and jarosite. The soils typically accumulate as surficial deposits and form an oxide cap. Most gossans have a distinct colour ranging from red to orange to yellow due to the presence of ferric
iron and in some cases can be black due to weathering of manganese oxides. Gossans are important vectors to buried ore deposits but they also impact the polar environment if the resulting acid solution transfers transition metals into the permafrost
and local catchment basin. Remote sensing can be used not only to detect and map gossans but, with the advent of hyperspectral imaging, uniquely identify iron - bearing minerals. This presentation reviews image processing techniques developed for
detection and identification of gossan mineralogy using a variety of moderate resolution spectral/spatial sensors as well as more advanced high resolution instruments. A number of northern Canadian study areas will illustrate these image processing
techniques. In addition, ground and laboratory spectra of the various iron - bearing minerals are used to compare and verify the signatures derived from the remotely sensed data. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The conference presentation will offer an overview of remote sensing applied to the detection of gossans in Canada's North. The authors have
collaborated since 2011 on the occurrence, mineralogy and geochemistry of gossans on central Victoria Island, Northwest Territories, and the western part of Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut. They will summarize the results of the research activity, and
compare these observations to those that characterize gossans located in other areas of Canada's North. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 293571 |
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