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Chapter 6. Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES), 1985-2002

Geotechnical Applications and Mineral Studies

Hyperspectral imaging makes it possible to map surface mineralogy directly, and even to determine relative abundances of different minerals within a picture element. The techniques for pixel "unmixing" were developed by Joe Boardman as part of his Ph.D. thesis and were continued in his position as a research associate. Sara Martinez-Alonso (Ph.D. 2000) used ab initio atomic modeling to identify the origin of spectral absorption features in phyllosilicates such as smectite clays. This work has extended the foundations of hyperspectral remote sensing for mineral exploration and geotechnical studies of soils. In the latter case, research associate Sabine Chabrillat in concert with the Colorado School of Mines spearheaded a study to develop a spectral reflectance technique to map smectites responsible for swelling soils along the Front Range. These techniques are still being studied but preliminary results show that reflectance spectroscopy can identify swell potential in soils within seconds that would otherwise take days by conventional methods.

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