Mining Reclamation and Environmental Characterization
Topics of Research:
Remote Mapping of Acid Sulfate Systems
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and
GPS for Groundwater Hydrology
Geochemistry
Synthesis of Hyperspectral and Multispectral Image Data for
the Identification of Fossil and Active Sulfate Deposits.
Collaborators: Greg Vaughan, Wendy Calvin (UNR), Simon Hook (JPL)
Summary of Research: This is the thesis project of PhD
Candidate, R. Greg Vaughan. Funding is provided from NASA's Graduate Student
Research Fellowship Program. Work focusses on two sites where high and
low temperature hydrothermal alteration produces a variety of sulfur mineralizations.
Study areas include the Steamboat Springs geothermal region just south
of Reno, and Virginia City, home to numerous adandoned mines from the
19th and early 20th century. First results will be published by Vaughan
et al. in Remote Sensing of Environment in 2003.
An
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) research capability for
developing integrated groundwater-monitoring methods Gary L. Oppliger,
NASA EPSCoR core funded March 2003 - August,
2004. Proposal
(pdf)
Summary of Research: A proof-of-concept study of seasonal effects over groundwater basins in the
Reno, Nevada using integrated time-series Interferometric Synthetic
Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Global Positioning System (GPS) . The study’s objective is to improve the
understanding of natural and cultural seasonal groundwater changes on
InSAR-GPS ground displacement applications and explore methods to isolate
the InSAR groundwater signal from other effects.
Geochemical Characterization of Magmatic-related vs. Extension-related
Geothermal Systems in the Great Basin: Implications for Exploration, Exploitation,
and Environmental Issues.
Collaborators: Greg B. Arehart, Mark F. Coolbaugh, and Simon R. Poulson:
funded by DOE.
Summary of Research: This research will identify the
distinguishing chemical characteristics of magmatic and extensional geothermal
systems, and relate those differences to differences in host rock lithologies,
magma compositions, or other physical and chemical parameters. The significance
those differences have for exploration, exploitation, and effects on the
environment is being reviewed.
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