Evaluating the impact of natural acid drainage on Colorado watersheds using hyperspectral remote sensing

In Colorado alone, there are at least eleven major districts impacted by natural acid rock drainage ( Neubert 2000 ). These are acidic (pHs from 2 to 5) and metal-loaded drainages contaminated from sulfide bodies within hydrothermally altered and mineralized source areas. This project focuses on: (1) the use of hyperspectral remote sensing to map neutral and acid-generating minerals that reflect water quality within a watershed, (2) to correlate those minerals to fluctuating pH zones in the streams, and, (3) to identify the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources to that drainage.