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Content 1. Background * 2. Scientific, technological and socio-economic objectives * 2.1. Project objectives * 2.2. Objectives at test sites *List of figures Figure 1: Essentials of hyperspectral imaging spectroscopy * List of Tables Table 1 List of pre-processing software used by MINEO partners for correcting the geometric and atmospheric effects from the raw HyMap data delivered. *
Monitoring of pollution from mines is important to assess potential health risks for humans, wildlife, and plants. Monitoring sites are usually selected to be representative for detection of elevated levels of substances in any direction as distance from the mine and wind directions, topography and atmospheric conditions highly influence the distribution of pollution. Therefore it is often necessary to establish a relatively large number of sampling stations, and to analyse a large number of samples to assess the level of pollution and the delineation of areas affected by pollution. Monitoring involves chemical analyses of samples of soil and organisms taken close to the mine site as well as far away from the mine site. Remote sensing techniques offer the possibility to get an overview of large areas at a relatively low cost. Analysis of hyperspectral data has given promising results for detection of surfaces with specific characteristics such as elevated levels of e.g. heavy metals. It is foreseen that environmental monitoring will be improved and costs minimised by using hyperspectral data. The use of hyperspectral data will provide a background for selecting monitoring sites at the most relevant positions and make it possible to detect the appearance of new polluted sites at a low cost with a smaller number of monitoring locations. Available methods for mapping and monitoring mining pollution plumes are not fully satisfactory and are generally expensive. Laboratory analyses of surface samples collected during regularly time-spaced, field sampling campaigns present heavy and constraining costs. For example, the annual budget for an environmental impact study and follow-up environmental monitoring for a single coal-mine is estimated at more than 1 Million Euro (up to 3 Million Euro for certain years). The provision of appropriate expertise, airborne photogrammetry to generate DEMs, field surveying, ground water modelling, the measurement of subsidence, etc. may include:
Medium to high spatial resolution (30 to 1 m) of currently available sensors makes possible their use, together with other data acquisition methods, in environmental risks assessments and post environmental disaster management, mostly at regional scale. Remote sensing has in particular been mentioned as a technique to favour in inventorying "hot spots" related to mining industry in Europe and is currently used in the EU PECOMINES project The development of low cost remote sensing and geographic information tools for mapping contamination extent and modelling its evolution will represent a critical improvement in mining environmental management. It will make possible the forecasting of the pollution dissemination processes, thus minimising field-sampling density. Indeed, the cost of acquisition and processing of a satellite image and its further combination with other environmentally relevant data into decision support systems is unlikely to exceed a few tens of thousands of Euro
General Objectives The responsible management of Earth’s environment is one of today’s most pressing concerns. Sound environmental management of mining activities avoids high remediation costs, which frequently drain public funds. Surface and groundwater pollution, soil contamination, and terrain instability all cause damage that can affect urban and sub-urban areas. Understanding and monitoring pollution processes in mining areas is therefore of concern to a very wide user community, including central government bodies or agencies, local authorities, industry, environmental groups and individual citizens. The general objective of the project is to develop hyperspectral remote sensing methods that can be used to measure and monitor mining and pollution at less cost and to common standards across the EU. Strategic Objectives The land surface and sub-surface provides the physical infrastructure for all human activities. The European mining and extractive industry contributes about 7% of the gross domestic product of the EU from this resource and feeds essential raw materials to all other EU industries at local, regional and EU-wide scales. However the European mining industry is facing increasing environmental pressure and regulatory controls. Industrialists and decision-makers need innovative and cost-effective tools for environmental data acquisition and processing that provide the sound basis for a dialogue ensuring the sustainable economic development of the mineral industry. Future decision making need to be developed within the frame of the ESDP (European Spatial Development Perspective) promulgated in May 1999, the future European Directive on mining waste and the DG ENV EU Soil Policy Development and Soil Strategy from DG ENV, relevant in particular of soil monitoring The strategic objectives of this project were to develop the components of a possible future decision making tool for use in environmental planning, and to disseminate knowledge and generate awareness of the role that can be played by Earth Observation data in this process. Scientific Objectives The MINEO project aimed at:
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Environmental Management Plans (EMP) can take advantage of regularly updated environmental database layers related to mining environments. Innovative Earth Observation (EO) techniques being developed by the MINEO Consortium can meet this demand. Hyperspectral imaging sensors produce data that can characterise the chemical and/or mineralogical composition of the imaged ground surface. The primary advantages of this future space-borne imaging technique are the reduction in conventional, time-consuming and expensive field sampling methods and their capability to gather repeat data and so monitor mining pollution. Earth Observation data, when integrated into Geographic Information Systems and combined with other data relevant to environmental concerns, have been proven valuable in the environmental impact assessment of mining, both at local and regional scales. In particular, they can be used in the production of pollution-risk maps around mining areas. It is therefore proposed to develop the contribution of various Earth Observation techniques further. The most advanced current airborne hyperspectral sensors will be used to detect mine-waste pollution and soil/aquifer contamination. In particular, their capabilities in detecting and discriminating major pollutants will be assessed and validated during field campaigns. Regular acquisition of such high-resolution, remotely sensed geographic information will help the Community to set up a realistic, sustainable and coherent environmental management and monitoring strategy at European scale. In this respect, the MINEO project aimed at:
Furthermore, the transfer of relevant know-how and technologies will assist the competitiveness of European organisations and industries within the developing global market for environmental management systems. The project has developed innovative components for cost effective earth-observation tools and information system methods to answer the strategic and scientific objectives and further facilitate the establishment of EIA’s and EMP's, with particular emphasis on:
To undertake the envisaged developments, six mining areas, five within Europe (Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Finland) and one in Greenland have been selected for investigation, to reflect European climatic, geographic and socio-economic environment diversity.
Mestersvig is the largest of the numerous Pb-Zn occurrences situated within a series of sandstones and conglomerates of Upper Carboniferous to Lower Triassic age. The mine is situated in a mountainous area with arctic flora and fauna. The natural conditions are affected by permafrost. The occurrence was discovered in 1948. The mining operations lasted from 1956 to 1963. Subsurface mining produced 545 000 t ore with and average grade of 9 % Pb and 10 % Zn, 58 000 tons of galena and 75 000 tons of sphalerite concentrate were recovered. During the mining operations tailing and other mine waste influenced the drainage system. Environmental problems related to the transport and shipping of the concentrate have also been registered. The periods of intense runoff, during the spring in particular and strong winds are the main factors for the dispersion of pollutants. Since the closure of the mining operation only insignificant remediation measures have been carried out (closing the underground workings, removal of buildings, etc.) The central East Greenland is virtually uninhabited, and apart from the short period of mining, the anthropogenic environmental impact is negligible. This implies that Mestersvig mine area with its surroundings constitutes an ideal target for environmental baseline studies and qualitative and quantitative assessment of the pollution levels and modelling the pollutant dispersion process. The Mestersvig test site represents one of the natural extremes of the MINEO project. Mining industry is one of the key economic factors for the - often remote, arctic areas and the local authorities often undertake various measures to promote the exploration and exploitation of the mineral resources of the arctic regions. The arctic environment is notable for its high degree of vulnerability.. In the Mestersvig area it is expected that, the hyperspectral data will provide a background for a more accurate delineation of sources of pollution and polluted areas. Especially, it would be of interest to identify deposits of tailings along the river "Tunnelelv" and along the coast on both sides of the harbour "Nyhavn". This will have at least two important perspectives: Monitoring costs will decrease and delineation of pollution will be much better defined. In addition to this, we hope to assess long term pollution effects on vegetation types. The large Lahnaslampi talc-magnesite mine is situated in the sensitive nature of Boreal forest in Sotkamo community in Northern Finland. Genetically, the Lahnaslampi orebody is an alteration result of an ultramafic massive, which is an inclusion in black graphite bearing shales and mica schists of Karelian age, 1970 million years. The natural rock type of the ore formation itself and the black shales area are typically easily weathering in comparison to other bedrock types in Finland. The mine is operated by Mondo Minerals Oyj. Volume of annual mining of ore and country rock is about 1,8 million tonnes. Annual production of talc enrichment is 180 000 tonnes. The main categories of land use in the Lahnaslampi mine area are as follows:
Environmental risks: The mining operations, waste heaps and the tailings produce large amounts of mineral dust material (talc, carbonate, sulphides, micas) which is distributed to the surrounding environment by wind. Ni, Ca, Cu and As are diluted by surface waters from the ore material. Black shales with anomalous amounts of sulphides and heavy metals are abundant in the area. They cause contamination and acidification of surface and ground waters. The baseline knowledge of this mining area consists of the following information:
The estimated mining operation will still last at leas for 20 years. Mondo Minerals has an active plan for remediation and rehabilitation of the area. It is expected that hyperspectral remote sensing offer a new method for mapping symptoms of contamination-related environmental contamination, The strongest expectations are related to mapping of dust or AMD-generating and buffering minerals, mapping of vegetation stress and visibility of water suspensions.
The "Steirische Erzberg" iron ore deposit is located 60 km NNW of the city of Graz in the province of Styria. Mining took place since Roman time. In the 16th century underground mining started, which was closed down in 1986. Since the 18th century open pit mining activities increased, which are still underway. Since the beginning of mining activity about 230 million t of iron ore have been mined at the Erzberg; 200 million t in this century. There are still 140 million t of recoverable and another 95 million t of geological reserves left. The Erzberg is the biggest iron ore open pit mine in central Europe. Mining activities encompass the whole mountain, which rises about 700 m above the bottom of the valley up to 1400 m above sea level and covers an area of about 6,5 km2. Mining is done in about 30 levels with an height of 24 m. The annual production is approximately 3 million tons of iron ore with an iron content of 21%. Main ore minerals are siderite, ankerite and ferrous dolomite. Accessory minerals are pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, tetraedrite and cinnabar. The open pit mine can be subdivided into different areas with regard to specific land use conditions:
Active mining areas exhibit fresh rock surfaces of different lithologies. Abandoned mining areas comprise weathered rocks of different types covered by vegetation of different intensity and condition. Dumps and heaps consist of material of different lithological mixtures, of different grain or block size, at different slope angle. Depending on their status of use heaps and dumps show no vegetation at all or are covered by different types and intensities of vegetation. In tailing ponds fine grained material is deposited. Mining dumps comprise an area of about 3 km2; 0.6 km2 is used as a test area for mining site landscaping and reforestation in an Alpine environment, and is covered by different types of vegetation. These activities are carried out by a consortium of university institutes and local consulting companies ("Development of standards for the re-naturation and re-cultivation of mining sites and quarries", "Soil reconstruction over alpine mine tailings"). In the framework of these projects a lot of relevant parameters for the reforestation of mining areas in an alpine environment were acquired. (ground composition, grain/block size of material, vegetation type, vegetation stress, ...) Landscape degradation Alpine environment is extremely sensitive regarding the interference in the natural ecosystem. Open pits, mining dumps, and tailing dams are a severe degradation of the environment. Due to the specific climatic and topographic conditions in an Alpine environment nature's self-healing capabilities are considerably reduced. As in this area the economy relies on tourism to a considerable extent, human support is needed to minimise the negative effects of mining activities and to speed up the process of mining site re-naturation. Landslides - dump slope stability Not stabilised mining dumps are potential thread because of the possibility of dump slides, endangering people, infrastructure, and the environment. Dump stability depends on many factors, e.g. type of material, grain or block size, slope angle, thickness, water content, and type of cover (uncovered material, different types of vegetation). Mining dumps can be stabilised by means of landscaping and reforestation, thus regulating water balance within the tailings. Contamination Because of the relatively pure carbonatic iron ore mined at Erzberg, direct contamination by toxic material is not a major problem in this case. However in general mining dumps are a potential thread to the environment because of leaching of toxic elements by precipitation, or dust blow-out from the tailings. These effects can be reduced by targeted remediation activities, reforestation being an effective method to inhibit excessive percolation of dumps by precipitation. In the course of this project tools and methods have been developed to facilitate solving problems utilising hyperspectral Earth Observation data. The specific objectives at the Alpine test site are:
The Central Europe environmental test site Kirchheller Heide is situated in western Germany, in the northern part of the Ruhr district, one of the most congested urban areas in Europe with about 7,5 million inhabitants. The size (ca. 120 square kilometres) and location of this test site follows the area which has been defined for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the mine field of the mine Prosper-Haniel. About 40% of the test site area is covered with forests of different types and 50% is used for agricultural land; about 10% is urban area (Kirchhellen village). Because of the rural character this test site has a high ecological value for that region and a great importance for the inhabitants in terms of recreation. The test site is surrounded by the following towns: Bottrop and Oberhausen in the south, Dinslaken in the west, Hünxe in the north and Gladbeck in the east. The choice for Kirchheller Heide as the Central European MINEO test site has been driven by several factors. The main factor was the active coal mining in this area. Though the coal is produced in depths of 700 m and deeper, the impacts of this activity reach the surface as a subsidence occurrence and claim to be monitored and managed in terms of mitigation these influences and preserve the hydrological and ecological balance in this area. Changes in ecology, especially vegetation vitality in forest stands, and alterations in biotope type composition are of high relevance not only for the mine itself but also for other parties involved in this area: agriculturists, forestries and last but not least for the inhabitants of the Ruhr district, for whom this area became an important recreation area with its nature and landscape reserves. Additionally extensive and updated records of GIS and remote sensing data sets covering this area were applied to carry out the tasks and achieve the objectives defined for the MINEO project. The spatial and chronological dynamics of the impacts which occur in the area under observation is determined by the extent of the present soil movement, groundwater situation and the vegetation. A change over time occurs additionally as a result of changes in land use e.g. by the construction or rededication of sites, and by changing in agricultural planting methods. These background conditions result in the necessity for a forecast of the potential impacts of individual mining-plan in the context of supervision and monitoring of current mining activities and approval procedures within ongoing projects. Mining Projects are subject to corresponding legal regulations based on §§ 50 ff. of the Bundesberggesetz (German Federal Mining Act), in which approval and supervision of these projects, including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are regulated. In the case of the Kirchheller Heide test site the environmental impact is more of indirect nature. The mining induced subsidence in combination with the shallow ground-water level leads to occurrences of ground-water-logging, which on his part may result in vegetation stress and in diminishing vegetation vitality. Vegetation vitality estimation and vegetation stress detection caused by mining operations is expected by using imaging spectroscopy data. The aims can be shortly outlined as follows:
The UK test site is within the Redruth-Camborne area of the West Cornwall Mining District, UK. Metalliferous mineral mining began in the Bronze Age and developed into systematic underground mining by the 14th century. Mining reached its peak in the 19th century with the production of up to 15,000 tons of tin and copper per annum. Thereafter production steadily declined and the last working mine, Wheal Jane, closed in 1985. This long period of mining activity has left a legacy of derelict land, mineral pollution and abandoned mine shafts. Arsenic and base metals in the soils produce high levels of toxins that produce geobotanical and eco-toxicological effects in the vegetation that are poorly understood. Existing data will be collated for the site. Hyperspectral data, field and laboratory spectroscopy were collected, to map minerals where exposed, to attempt to discriminate and classify healthy and stressed vegetation and so to map contamination. The airborne data and aerial photography were used to map abandoned mine shafts and generate DTMs for the site. Contamination is not restricted to the mine sites themselves, however. Much of the contamination observed flows into river courses from mine adits. The Carnon River valley system, which is a site of particular interest, has major inflows from surface tributaries, but also has discharges from mine adits. It is the subsurface catchments which are of primary concern with regards to the amount of contamination which is entering the water system in the region. Earth Observation can be used to detect the presence of contaminants found at mine sites, to identify the minerals present and to attempt to map them down stream where they may be deposited in estuarine mud. The majority of contamination observed with HyMap data at the UK site is associated with the acid mine waste at Wheal Jane itself. The data collated and collected have been brought together in a GIS and analysed to assess the environmental contamination in the area. Based on the evidence contained in the data, conceptual models have been developed for understanding the pollution pathways and processes in both soils and groundwater. Risk maps result, as well as data processing strategies for temperate, vegetated European sites.
Located in SE Portugal within the Baixo Alentejo Province, some 60 km SE of the city of Beja, the now abandoned S.Domingos mining area is integrated in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. In the S. Domingos Mine, pre-roman and roman works are known to have exploited Ag, Cu and Au, mainly in the gossan resulting from the oxidation of the sulphide mass. The orebody was formed by a unique vertical mass of cupriferous pyrite associated to zinc and lead sulphide, hosted by the Volcanic Sedimentary Complex of Tournaisian age. The modern exploitation by a British company started in the XIX century, both in the gossan and massive sulphide orebody and ended in 1966 due to exhaustion of the ore. Associated with the mining works several facilities were developed, including a typical mining village with autonomy (S.Domingos), water reservoirs, cementation tanks, sulphur factories, network channels for acid water evaporation, and a railway and harbour (Pomarão) for ore transportation. From the beginning of pre-roman times until 1968 the Mine produced 25 millions tons of ore (copper concentrate production), from which 9,9 millions tons of cupriferous pyrite were processed as an elementary source of sulphur. The waste mining materials spread in the area are estimated at several hundred thousand tons. In this context, important environmental problems are associated and can be summarized as follows: Waste mining material and associated contamination - Slags, heap dumps and tailings are enriched in hazardous elements such as Zn, Pb, Sb, Cu, As, Hg and Cd. Some of these waste materials, when leached, can have highly acid generating potential and constitute hot spots for contamination. Acid waters and dispersion of elements - The Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) mainly, disperse the elements in waters, soils and sediments. The network system of channels for acid water evaporation strongly affected soil constitution in some areas. Landscape disruption - The open pit, ponds, water dams and waste mining materials, have striking imprints in the area. The presence of unvegetated slopes still remains. Waste mining materials are still being moved by human action, which alters topography and the existing chemical equilibrium favoring AMD. The area has not been submitted to any remediation measures until now. There is a general urbanisation plan to recover the village and for the modernisation of Pomarão harbour for recreation. Part of the test site will be converted into a mining museum. The most important contribution expected from hyperspectral data at the S.Domingos test site, will be the detection of evidences of superficial AMD and related pollutants. This can be done using two different approaches concerning the imaged ground, one based on waste mining materials characteristics and other based on AMD minerals.
Most naturally occurring and man-made materials absorb and scatter sunlight at specific wavelengths. The spectral information is a measure of how reflected sunlight interacts with a surface. It is these absorptions that produce the colors sensed by the human eye. For instance, absorption by plants produces the green color observed by the human eye. Just as every human has a characteristic thumb-print, each mineral and manufactured material has a unique spectral signature that is related to chemical composition, grain size, degree of crystallinity, or temperature of formation. Subtle differences in the reflectance spectra of minerals can indicate major differences in chemistry or some physical parameters. Spectral information can be gathered from laboratory samples, remotely sensed by aircraft or satellite systems, therefore providing a powerful mapping tool. Imaging spectroscopy is a new mapping technique and represents a part of the next generation in remote sensing technology. The narrow spectral channels of an imaging spectrometer form a continuous reflectance spectrum of the Earth's surface (Figure 1), which contrasts with the 4 to 7 channels of the previous generation of imaging instruments, for example the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Multispectral Scanner (MSS) instruments. Systems like Landsat can distinguish general brightness and slope differences in the reflectance spectrum of a surface. However, imaging spectroscopy has the advantage of providing compositional information based on the presence and position of absorption bands, as well as contributing data on brightness and slope (Figure 2).
Figure 1: Essentials of hyperspectral imaging spectroscopy
For mineral discrimination, hyperspectral sensors need to cover a large spectral range, typically 450 to 2500 manometers with a large number (100 or more) spectral bands with narrow bandwidths (less than 25 manometers or ideally 10). This spectral range corresponds to the VNIR (Visible and Near Infrared) for water and vegetation studies, SWIR 1 (Short Wave Infrared 1 µm range) and SWIR2 (Short Wave Infrared 2µm range) where absorption features correspond to vibrational absorption and transitional absorption respectively. The SWIR range enables discrimination of iron-oxides, clays, carbonates, weathering products from sulphides, etc. A "continuous" image spectrum is associated to each image pixel, which reflects the spectral characteristics of the whole of the corresponding surface constituents (pixel impurity). This enables the discrimination of one or several of the spectral characteristics of these constituents. Imaging spectroscopy allows the identification of the spectral characteristics specific to the studied material and enables a quantitative mineral identification of the imaged target, provided all the spectral components of the pixel are known.
Figure 2: Comparison of kaolinite spectra between multispectral (Landsat TM ), hyperspectral (AVIRIS) data and field spectroscopy These capabilities can be used in the study of mining environments due to the wide diversity of material that can be discriminated. These methodologies have been used previously in arid or sparsely vegetated environments in the USA (Superfund programme of EPA and USGS, using the AVIRIS sensor) and in Australia (studies made by CSIRO and HyVista) The next challenge is to extend application of these techniques to difficult, vegetated environments and common, environmental problems. There are challenges to be met in applying it to the subsequent problem of mine waste management, and also in applying technology developed for arid areas with exposed minerals to Europe, where rocks are obscured by vegetation and anthropogenic features. Europe has a very wide diversity of environments, ranging from semi-arid in its southern part to boreal environment in the north, and even arctic when including Greenland. This environmental range is reflected by the selection of test sites from the various settings: arctic, boreal, alpine, central European densely populated area, western European abandoned mining area and Mediterranean. This variety gives an opportunity to apply the developed methods and tools of the project to most of Europe’s environments. Testing the ability of hyperspectral sensors to discriminate not only bare soil contamination but also resulting vegetation stress will be an essential goal of the research. Today only airborne imaging spectrometers are available. The only available space-borne hyperspectral sensor is HYPERION, on board the NASA EO-1 platform. It is a technology demonstration mission and does not provide data on a regular basis. Figure 3 displays the main available or forthcoming airborne sensors and their spectral coverage. Few of these sensors are available for data acquisition on a "commercial basis" and the rest are mostly dedicated to scientific research programmes (AVIRIS, DAIS, etc.). Among the commercial sensors available, only the HyMap sensor family covers the required spectral range essential for mineral identification and meets the geometric and radiometric requirements. This leads to a "monopoly" situation that is responsible for elevated acquisition costs. The development of new sensors like AISA EAGLE and CASI2 could lower the cost of acquisition campaigns, provided these sensors are made available and meet quality requirements, particularly in terms of radiometric accuracy and signal to noise ratio.
Figure 3: Available airborne hyperspectral sensors
Strategy of the MINEO research was designed to pay attention to regional and local pattern of contamination from mining. The strategy proceeds in the following logical steps, which however, were applied flexibly in each test area to adapt the local environmental framework:
Mining impact or conatmination mapping consisted in the identification, characterization and mapping of surface physical and chemical disturbances from hyperspectral imagery, surface indicators of environmental processes, like:
Figure 4: project structure Figure 4 displays the project structure and the sequence of tasks, which are described below:
The major methodological developments and scientific achievements have been carried out during the second stage, over the six test sites. The possible generic character of the procedures and algorithms used has been examined, in particular through site cross-validation approaches, in view of their applicability and reproducibility in Europe and other parts of the world The same methodological steps have been followed over the six test sites, despite some variations due to site characteristics. These include:
This general methodological concept is illustrated in Figure 5
Figure 5: General methodology MINEO concept The main concern during the airborne survey was to acquire best quality hyperspectral image data from the six test sites as time and weather have allowed. The acquisition campaign was carried out from 15th of June 2000 to 25th of August 2000. The survey areas were flown with the following survey specifications:
For the HyMap instrument (Figure 6) the GIFOV of 5 metres corresponds to the flight altitude of 2500 meters (8200 feet) a.g.l. (above ground level) at which the scanner's swath width is approximately three kilometres. For the mountainous areas, the flight altitude was determined from the local topographic base level. Despite the less than favourable weather conditions and logistic complications related to the aircraft operator in July - August 2000, the MINEO project succeeded in acquiring the necessary coverage of airborne hyperspectral scanner data and simultaneous stereoscopic aerial photography over the six test sites of the project. The following digital data sets were generated:
It was the first time such a comprehensive survey related to mining environments and covering varied climatic and environmental conditions was undertaken in Europe.
Figure 6: The HyMap Sensor mounted on board of the DLR’ Dornier 228 Greenland Samples of tailings, soil, river sediments and beach sand were taken by hand. Soil samples were taken just beneath the vegetation layer. Plant samples were taken as whole individuals but only leaves were analysed. Samples were analysed by the National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Arctic Environment. All analyses were run under an analytical quality protocol involving the analysis of procedural blanks and certified reference materials. Analysis of vegetation composition was performed using a quadrate point-intercept method as used in the International Tundra Experiments (ITEX). The recommended standard method for ITEX plots is a fixed, square point frame, with 100 measurements spaced equidistantly within the frame. The frame used here had sides of 70 cm so that distance between points was 7 cm. A total of 410 spectra were collected during the two field campaigns with 27 reference spectra on the day of the flight campaign and 383 in 2001. At least 147 spectra of minerals and sediments and 236 spectra of plants and vegetation types were sampled. Finland The spectroradiometric survey of minerals was conducted in July 2000 and August, 2001 for training the HyMap classification and in August 2002 to validate the classification. Total number of the mineralogical (pure minerals, rocks and mixtures of secondary minerals) was 60 for training and 49 for validation. Numerous other mineral samples were also taken and they were characterised mineralogically and spectrometrically. The majority of the vegetation samples were collected a week after (8th –11th August, 2000) the HyMap campaign to capture the spectral features of the phenological stage at the time of the flight. A random vegetation sampling was performed for studying the different bedrock associations and sediments. All species, which had over 5% coverage at a site, were sampled, photographed and their GPS coordinates were taken. For trees, the age was approximated, the height was measured and the diameter was calculated from circumference measurements. Altogether 155 spectra were measured of 33 different species. The following year (9th –14th August, 2001) 11 spectra of supposedly contaminated plants in the mine area were measured, including 6 different species. Geochemistry of moss and humus as an indicator of mining dust Samples of forest humus (organic matter) are used to study how long-range atmospheric input of elements accumulates to the ecosystem over time. Humus plays an important role in controlling the physical and chemical properties of soils. Total number of these samples are: Moss 171, Humus 171 Chemistry of surface waters The stream waters around the Lahnaslampi mine were sampled for determination of pH and heavy metals Number of surface water samples 55 Soil electrical conductivity Soil electric conductivity measurements were used to check the AMD status of seepage waters. Number of measurements was 511 along total 2,5 km long profiles around tailing ponds and barren rock piles. Geochemical sampling for interpretation of geophysical anomalies: Samples from organic and inorganic soil and water. Sampling was performed at two target sites; an abandoned agricultural field on peat and a mature spruce stand on glacial till. The aim was to determine the chemical constituents introduced to the environment by mining related activities and to study the correlation between their quantity and conductivity in soils and water. Total number of geochemical sampling for interpretation of geophysical anomalies is 50.
Austria On the basis of air photos, topographic maps and hyperspectral data a land-use classification of the Erzberg area was carried out. To ensure the compatibility with the land-use classification of the European wide CORINE Landcover Project the nomenclature approved in this EU-project was used. Re-vegetation data were derived from an Austrian research project on site-specific and economic mining reclamation methods (REKULT). This research project had the aim to develop guidelines for modern mine planning and reclamation. Economically acceptable and environmentally sustainable reclamation methods on the basis of different geographical, topographical, geological, and climatic conditions were tested on numerous re-vegetation test sites. The data base contains information on the percentage of vegetation cover, vegetation types and the ground composition of 70 test sites enabling the interpretation of hyperspectral data with reliable ground control. For the detailed study and the investigation of specific problems or anomalous concentrations of different elements inside the mining site or surrounding area the following data were collected:
Germany Parallel to the flight campaign a field campaign took place on the ground. BGR, as in all other MINEO test sites, was assigned to take spectral measurements on reference targets. BGR took these measurements at three different sites, namely:
These measurements has been done using the IRIS GER Mark V spectrometer. The use of a second spectrometer allowed several different sites to be spectrally referenced over the flight time and thus provide more reference data representing the spectral diversity of the test site. The targets consist mainly of agricultural land, such as pasture, fields of maize, potatoes and also bare soil. Some additional measurements were also taken in reforestation areas containing two recently planted stocks of trees (tree nurseries). In total 18 different sites have been measured.
UK The field spectroradiometry campaign for the BGS MINEO site has been hampered by various unforeseen difficulties. The main problem was the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease that started in February 2001. This prevented us from undertaking fieldwork for the remainder of the field season as fieldwork was banned until October 2001. Fieldwork finally occurred in October 2001 but this was limited to collecting samples for lab measurement as thick cloud prevented any spectral measurements in the field. Light and dark targets were measured for the Empirical Line calibration and example spectra of various mine waste materials were measured. This was done to build up a spectral library of the materials of interest in the study area for verification of the calibration of the HyMap data. Further fieldwork occurred in the summer of 2002 using a GER 3700 with backup spectra measured on field samples in the lab with a PIMA SP. This field work was designed to verify the presence of minerals identified during processing of the HyMap data. Geochemical analysis was applied to the samples measured using the GER 3700 for cross validation purposes and to establish the chemistry of various types of mine waste in the region. Samples of country rock were also collected for geochemical analysis to establish the mineralogy of the waste rock found in and around the mine sites. Portugal Within the test area, six subareas have been selected for data collection (soils, sediments, waste materials, waters and vegetation), for correlation and validation of hyperspectral data (spectroradiometric measurements, geochemical analysis, and parameters of environmental interest). Sampling points were defined in a multiple distance of 5m, according to variability expressed in the field of the types of materials to be collected, to facilitate geostatistical analysis. The spectroradiometric measurements have been carried out on soils, vegetation and rocks, as well as waste mining materials with three spectroradiometers: GER MARK V, PIMA II and ASD FieldSpec. Some spectroradiometric measurements were collected on the sampling points defined in the subareas of the S.Domingos test site. The variability expressed in the S. Domingos test site has been translated through several spectral measurements, either collecting spectra on areas affected by contamination or not. The spectra collected in contaminated areas have high relevance in an environmental perspective, once they can work directly as endmembers when mapping hyperspectral data.
The MINEO project aims at the development of innovative Earth Observation techniques based on hyperspectral sensor data. In this context MINEO Spectral Library (MSL) is going to be a tool for easy management of spectra. MSL covers two main subjects: MINEO project members are in need of a spectral information management system. It must be able to visualise HyMap, field and laboratory spectra and make access easy to secondary data (Figure 7).
Figure 7: General concept of the MINEO Spectral Library MINEO Spectral Library is a database of European scale related to many results of the MINEO project Final version of the MSL is delivered to the project participants, fed with more than 1500 representative spectra from either laboratory spectrometry of field samples, or field spectroradiometry, or hyperspectral image endmembers. MSL constitutes now an innovative extensive spectral library of contaminated or impacted areas from the six test sites. All spectra can be linked to the used image-processing software. The MSL is ready for use for other projects, where it can be fed with project specific spectra.
MINEO-project used hyperspectral data from the Australian airborne imaging spectrometer HyMap which offers a tested method for remote identification and characterisation of materials. The HyMap hyperspectral data sets need typically a large amount of storage capacity, 5-20 GB in each test area. Before HyMap data can be properly compared with field data and interpreted, the following correction operations are necessary: geometric correction, cross-track and mosaic balancing, correction for adjacency effect (atmospheric scattering) and transformation of the on-board radiance to ground reflectance. These concepts are briefly summarised in below. The details used for each test area can be seen in MINEO site reports (2003).
Greenland The main hyperspectral methods used in this study are Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) used for minimising noise and limiting the number of bands while maintaining information,
The methods differs from traditional image processing methods in that they are enhanced for handling hyperspectral data with many bands where the use of traditional methods (e.g. maximum likelihood classification) will be limited. The generally low content of contaminants (both in terms of chemistry and mineralogy) implied that very subtle spectral features had to be evaluated as possible indicators of environmental impacts. It became evident in the course of spectral processing, that standard universally used spectral mapping procedures, such as SAM had to be supplemented by a more detailed analysis and evaluation of the spectral characteristics of the materials. The examination of continuum removed spectra turned out to be an important means of evaluating the SAM-results. The hyperspectral data using Spectral Angle Mapper proved to be efficient in mapping the distribution of tailing and alluvium affected by tailings in the surroundings of the mine. Furthermore the mapping results indicate that considerable amounts of tailings were transported and deposited 8 – 10 kilometres away from the mine where the terrain become more flat. A botanical survey showed that focus should be close to the tailing deposit, where there was a direct effect from tailings in a Cassiope tetragona dwarf-shrub heath. The area with affected vegetation had a thin layer of tailings and it was noticed that there were many dead Cassiope tetragona plants. The NDVI occurrences within the mapped classes of polluted and non-polluted Cassiope tetragona heath showed a significant difference.
Finland The environmental impact of talc mining in the Lahnaslampi area is known to be dust, acid mine drainage, seepage waters with heavy metals and water suspension and siltation. The image processing was to research the possibility of mapping these environmentally relevant features using HyMap-data. To meet these objectives several procedures were developed. Firstly, AMD and buffering related mineral indications were mapped by SAM using mineral field spectra as training data. Secondly, vegetation indices such as NDVI etc. were used to map general vitality of vegetation. Thirdly, forest stands were studied in groups based on the forest inventory database. Fourthly, contaminated and non-contaminated forest stands were studied using Maximum likelihood Classification, and Mixed Tuned Matched Filtering through end-member selection from HyMap data. Fifthly, water bodies were classified into a few classes. The Digital Image Processing for analysing the HyMap data in MINEO work is described and carried out by workflow procedures and algorithms,The procedures and methods developed within the MINEO project in the Boreal test area can be applied to many European test sites with similar environmental conditions.
Austria Due to the specific requirements for site remediation assessment and monitoring at the Erzberg mine hyperspectral data interpretation for land cover mapping was performed to identify relevant lithological units:
These goals were pursued by the application of dedicated hyperspectral image data processing techniques. The lithology is an essential parameter for re-vegetation measures targeted on providing optimal nutrient conditions for different plant species. In the case of the alpine test site the field spectra of the different lithological formations show characteristic spectral features which is a clear indication that the discrimination of the various lithological units (Figure 10 left) is feasible employing hyperspectral remote sensing data. Special emphasis was laid on the discrimination of carbonate rocks with respect to their different contents of Ca, Mg, and Fe. Siliciclastic and metavolcanic rocks were differentiated by their specific types of phyllosilicates. In areas where the intensity of iron carbonate weathering is very strong sustainable re-vegetation is a difficult task. Iron oxide coatings on the siderite components inhibit nutrient uptake of plants and therefore they obstruct rock decomposition and soil formation. Before re-vegetation of strong weathered areas is performed special preparatory work is necessary and dedicated re-vegetation measures have to be applied. Therefore mapping of these areas is essential (Figure 10 right).
Figure 10 : Lithological (left) and iron-carbonate weathering (right) mapping
Germany Deep underground mining of coal does not produce a direct toxic pollution to the environment. The environmental influence caused by underground mining is more of indirect nature, therefore no conventional contamination maps of specific pollutant distribution have been produced. Maps of the reaction of vegetation to these changes have been generated. These maps contain the development and distribution of vegetation stress and the alteration of biotope types in time series. These kind of maps are intended to be used for environmental monitoring tasks and landscape development management. To meet the objectives defined for the Central Europe MINEO test site a multi step procedure has been realised. Firstly an over-all map of forest stands within the test site has been produced. This map in conjunction with GIS database was then used to assess areas with water-logging sensitive tree species. Secondly spectra feature parameters were tested for their ability for vegetation stress detection (Figure 11). Subsequently algorithms and computational tools were developed to calculate this parameters in areas of interest, susceptible to water-logging. In the next step change detection analyses of multi-temporal data sets were performed in order to visualise and evaluate areas of occurred changes (Figure 12).
Figure 11: Examples of plant stress mapping results using different features.
Figure 12: Tool for the determination of the features from different spectra. The procedures and tools to detect vegetation stress as well as mapping methods of the tree species within the forest stands were developed and can be applied in future projects. Although the developed tools for stress detection are based upon a well documented and tested algorithms, their application with satisfying results is limited at this stage only to environments with similar environmental conditions. This can be found at the other mine sites under DSK’s management, so they are intended to be implemented into the monitoring concept. This will enhance the database and thus improve the EIA. UK The objectives of the image processing for the UK MINEO test site are mapping contamination in the form of acid mine drainage from Wheal Jane to Restronguet Creek, following the major environmental contamination incident that occurred following mine closure:
The procedure used to develop the SAM classifications for the UK MINEO test site can be applied to other sites with similar types of mine waste. The technique of splitting the data into different wavelength regions can be applied to all data from all sites to achieve a better mineral identification. Splitting the data into different spectral regions allows the data to be interrogated more fully in mineral identification. MNF, PPI and N-Dimensional visualisation can then be applied to the sub-sampled spectral regions of HyMap data in the same way the technique would be applied to data containing all wavelength regions. Figure 13 below shows the mineral composition of the Wheal Jane mine waste
Figure 13: Wheal Jane mine site mapped in the VNIR Portugal Hyperspectral images were able to identify mineralogical/chemical dispersion of waste material related to Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) following two approaches, one related to AMD waste material field signatures and other based on AMD generating minerals. The extension of AMD waste material was achieved using local field spectra signatures as reference (Figure 14 right). The developed methodology can be synthesised as using mainly the combination of two classification algorithms. The Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) algorithm was followed by the application of supervised Mahalanobis distance algorithm, to avoid class mismatch in cases where spectra of materials present clusters with some differences not distinguishable by the former. Although they generally represent materials with significant content of pollutants such as S, Zn, Pb, Sb, Cu, As, Hg and Cd, the first classes define highly acidic potential of these materials, which have been correlated to low water pH values. The extension of AMD minerals was achieved using the standard laboratory measurements of USGS spectral libraries. Based on MTMF (Mixture Tuned Map Filtering) and SAM (Spectral Angle Mapping) algorithms it was possible to delineate the spatial location of soils containing copiapite, jarosite, goethite, hematite and alunite (Figure 14 left). Characterising and mapping jarosite and alunite enables thus to retrieve areas exhibiting pyrite, secondary salts (sulphates) deposition and efflorescent crusts which are still very active in acid drainage production. Both mapping methods led to the identification of AD-generating minerals, with convergent results, although the extension of each class is different in the two classifications. The combined classification results show global class separability in the spectral feature space.
Figure 14: Detection of Acid Mine Drainage generating materials (SAM and MTMF intersection) using standard libraries (left) and dispersion of waste mining materials (mainly SAM) related to Acid Mine Drainage (primarily correlated to "mixed sulphur materials" in red) using field spectra (right)
Table 2 and Table 3 summarise the goal and the generic tools used by each MINEO participant. Deviations from the generic approach are also listed. The goal is naturally dependent in nature and definition of the environmental problem in each test site, despite this the same ENVI functions and algorithms could be used for different and locally defined purposes. However, all participants used specific methods, which were tailored for the local problem only, or which were applied in a tentative way.
Table 2. Proposed generic image processing tools for the interpretation of minerals from HyMap data
Table 3. Proposed generic image processing tools for the interpretation of vegetation related features from HyMap data Finland GIS modelling in the Boreal test site has shown the extent of dust and seepage contamination and distribution AMD related weathering products of black schist and skarn on the surface. The contamination sources were shown in relation to topography, prevailing winds and water flow in the surficial drainage system. These maps can be used to estimate the areas, which may be at the risk of environmental decline. This result can also be used to adjust parameters in the Environmental Management System. However, it is known by the authors, that the MINEO results from the HyMap survey and the data analysis concern only surface, but there exist many underground sources for contamination, too. Still the MINEO results can complement the previous environmental statements. Figure 15 displays a combined model for dust and seepage contamination of vegetation in the Lahnaslampi mining area. The colour key shows % of contaminated forest pixels per 1/8 km2. Ni content of moss is related to dust deposition from the air. The main streams and ponds are included. Non-vegetated mining area and infrastructure related and roads are masked by black.
Figure 15: A combined model for dust and seepage contamination (%per 1/8 km²) of vegetation and Ni content of moss in the Lahnaslampi mining area Austria
Germany The underground mining of coal causes subsidence movements and thus leads to specific environmental impacts on the surface. The impacts here result in alteration of the hydrological situation, land use rededication, wetland development and biotope type alteration. During the GIS analysis and modelling (Figure 17) the following layers were derived:
Because the vegetation stress on the central European test site is caused mainly by changes of the ground water balance a ground water model has been developed and the ground water situation has been modelled and forecasted for different time periods up to 2019. The hyperspectral vegetation stress maps can be used to validate, whether the change of the ground water level really has an effect on the vitality of the vegetation. There are three main results from the hyperspectral image processing that can be used as new independent and additional thematic layers in this GIS database used for environmental planning and monitoring:
The forest stand maps derived from HyMap data can be used for refinement (concerning the tree species) and update of the already existing land cover and land use map. In addition these maps can be used as "hot spot" maps to indicate areas with changed vegetation since the last terrestrial mapping.
Figure 17: DTM with integrated subsidence data. Area affected by subsidence is shown by black dashed line, subsidence isolines are depicted in blue with centres of maximum subsidence.
UK The objective of the GIS modelling was to explain the distribution of contaminants measured using HyMap, in relation to factors such as water-borne and road-borne transport and the occurrence of adits and former mine workings. Modelling has taken two approaches. The first is a spatial and hydrological analysis within a GIS. Because the areas covered by the spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification are relatively small, a visual overlay analysis method was used for the visualisation of the HyMap data with other data sets within the GIS. In principal this could easily be automated for analysis of larger areas. Hydrogeological modelling was also undertaken with particular emphasis on the mine sites of interest. The latter was based on numerical modelling with the results being imported into the GIS. The hydrological model is based largely on drainage basin interpretation, slope analysis and stream and river system maps. The DEM, derived from aerial photographs taken at the same time as the HyMap data, was used to establish a slope model for the entire region of interest. Drainage networks could then be worked out and river systems mapped. The relationship between mine site localities and potential transport networks was then modelled. Transport to the estuary is the most important route for study in this region (Figure 18). Possible transport of contamination from areas of abstraction is also important in determining hazard ratings for certain contaminants. This hydrological model was then used with the HyMap data and surface water models within the GIS to investigate transport routes for contamination spreading from mine sites in the region.
Figure 18: drainage network used to determine possible transport routes for contamination from Wheal Jane to the estuary Portugal GIS modeling envisages the definition of pollution-sensitivity areas by the integration of relevant environmental parameters, such as soil chemical content, physical water parameter (pH) with hyperspectral information. Geochemical modeling was performed with soil chemical content cokriged with hyperspectral chemical signatures and water pH measurements using the interpolation of "Collocate-Cokriging" with the distance to the nearest highly correlated waste material (mixed sulphur material) obtained from hyperspectral classification (Figure 19). The GIS modeling allowed the prediction maps of areas of high risk related to AMD, determining the main pollutants pathway. When combined with hyperspectral images classification results, creates a real scenario of prioritisation for remediation processes. Additional prioritisation areas are given by hyperspectral results.
Figure 19: Indicator "Collocate-Cokriging" of water pH with the nearest distance to mixed sulphur materials from hyperspectral classification of waste mining material (the highest correlation) allows prediction of Acid Mine Drainage areas.
Production of new and improved maps by application of standard hyperspectral image processing procedures and/or development of dedicated procedures or algorithms. Despite unexpected difficulties in image pre-processing steps (geometric and atmospheric corrections) and the very challenging but problematic abundance of vegetation characterising the European environment, very encouraging results have been obtained in the contribution of airborne imaging spectroscopy to the study and monitoring of mining environments. Different Earth Observation- and GIS-based approaches for modelling mining-related pollution dissemination, site rehabilitation and remediation have been finalised over the test sites. They led to the Compilation of General guidelines for image-processing procedures and algorithms for contamination and impacts discrimination and mapping from airborne imaging spectroscopy and the Compilation of General guidelines for modelling mining-related pollution dissemination from EO and GIS data, General guidelines for rehabilitation and remediation. The possible generic character of the procedures and algorithms used has been examined, in particular through site cross-validation approaches, in view of their applicability and reproducibility in Europe and other parts of the world
Hyperspectral remote sensing is by definition generic, because it can be applied almost anywhere. The challenge is to transform generic data into useful information and ultimately knowledge.
Observation is mainly generic. If the sole objective was to acquire hyperspectral data it could be met anywhere, provided weather, cost and technological limitation are overcome. The HyMap sensor is to this extent a generic tool. Image Calibration is partially generic. Certain of the tools that we have used can be thought of as generic. Image Analysis is also partially generic. Algorithms are used that can certainly be thought of as generic. But the challenge lies in correctly interpreting the obtained result. This requires, in all cases, specialist knowledge. It also requires specialist knowledge of local geological and environmental conditions. The developed tools are generic but their application is not. Modelling is more generic than image analysis but still requires specialist knowledge. Once the data have been turned into information layers, they can be imported into numerical or GIS models and used for further analysis. This can be done for any environment provided that appropriate local data are also available. The same types of analysis can be used on the data as long as the information layers are consistent. The project shows that a standardised information product permits the generic application of the results. So, if it is accepted that the spectral analysis must be done by specialists, at least the outputs can be designed for insertion into environmental organisations standard procedures and workflows, alongside products that they are already comfortable with. One can envisage a generic environmental management tool fed by standardised products that were in fact produced in a variety of ways by different specialists. Results in the test site reports demonstrate this concept is reachable.
Very encouraging results have been obtained in the contribution of airborne imaging spectroscopy to the study and monitoring of mining environments, despite the very challenging but problematic abundance of vegetation characterising the European environments. Hyperspectral imagery has proven invaluable capabilities in mapping mining-related contamination and/or impacts. Promising results have been obtained in combining those resulting maps with other relevant information under GIS for modelling contamination, pollution risk, and site rehabilitation or change detection The possible generic character of the procedures and algorithms used has been examined, in particular through site cross-validation approaches, in view of their applicability and reproducibility in Europe and other parts of the world. Although this is only based on six test sites, this large diversity of results and approaches show that imaging spectroscopy can bring an invaluable contribution to very diverse environmental concerns, in a large variety of mining environments and in different morpho-climatic contexts. This opens large encouraging perspectives in meeting the ultimate objectives of the project, despite this it is clear that this very innovative method still needs to be matured before reaching a real operational status. A specific spectral database application (MINEO Spectral Library or MSL) has been developed in the course of the project. Fed with more than 1500 representative spectra from either laboratory spectrometry of field samples, or field spectroradiometry, or hyperspectral image endmembers, MSL constitutes now an innovative extensive spectral library of contaminated or impacted areas from the six test sites. MSL has functionality that facilitate the management, comparison, search and retrieval of spectra, according to spectral characteristics, type of surface feature or target investigated, location, climatic conditions, etc. Spectra can be directly displayed into the image-processing software environment for immediate use in hyperspectral image processing for environmental impact mapping. It could be used in other similar projects for contamination and impact mapping. The application can also be used in imaging spectrometry projects to create their own-related spectral database Many countries in EU 15+ and countries in accession suffer very severe environmental problems and are threatened with environmental "hot spots" related to active or abandoned mining activities, industrial sites, derelict lands and ultimate landfills. The MINEO project has developed and validated methods that can be, alone or in combination with other remote-sensing and conventional methods, used in inventorying these "time bombs" and their environmental impact and monitor their evolution along time. (The Aznalcollar and Baïa Mare accidents are among the type of accidents MINEO and equivalents methods could have been of use). MINEO thus makes available methods that can be used at pan-European scale to support European policies relevant of mine waste management and soil contamination and monitoring. MINEO consortium is thus in attendance on "relevant authorities" to ratify this advanced and efficient remote-sensing methods as inventory and monitoring tool for environmental risk assessment. National geological surveys, members of EuroGeoSurveys and experts from the mining industry master most of the aspects on mine waste management and soil contamination and monitoring and are thus ready to include advanced remote-sensing and GIS methods in relevant studies. The EC environmental legislative regulations cited are:
MINEO can also address two on-going European initiatives:
Soil Protection Issue Group is chaired by DG Environment including mandate to identify ‘promising’ technologies (in the sense that they could deliver significant environmental, economic or social benefits) at the research or development phase or currently on the market. The main GMES issues addressed consist in contribution to EIAs, monitoring of environmental indicators, evidences of damages to the environment and cross boundary pollution and water basin management.
MINEO challenge has been to test and validate the transposition of the concept of imaging spectroscopy applied to mining-related environmental studies in various vegetated European environments in an operational perspective. MINEO brought together several non academic institutions, geological surveys and mining companies, several of them having a public role in post-mine and environment at national scale. Their objectives were to develop operational application of imaging spectroscopy to environmental studies, in a concern to make it as accessible as possible to non specialists and end-users, despite the technique still remains at its early stage and still needs larger skills that conventional remote sensing techniques.
Individual states could have conducted small studies but with minimal impact; MINEO opened up the possibility to rapidly accelerate European capabilities in this area by:
The MINEO project can also be seen as the initial point for forming a EU-wide "reclamation task force" responsible for
See for instance "Land Reclamation and Revegetation Task force" http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/landrec/land.htm#Prediction Independent international experts should carry out a site specific risk assessment and suggest remediation measures. There is a need to
There is a very strong demand from EU new associated state members to use modern technologies to face very severe environmental damages. There is a growing need to update existing databases or generate additional data layers and perform short-term assessments over large areas to identify main sources of pollution and environmental "hotspots". A sound development of private industry in these countries requires assessment of up-to-date baseline environmental status related to former mining activities. This opens large perspectives in RTD and commercial projects in this part of Europe to apply and further expand the techniques developed by MINEO.
The following actions have been carried out to disseminate the project results:
Particular efforts have been made by the project Consortium members to participate in a number of conferences and workshops. Thanks to these MINEO has rapidly became a world-known and remarked initiative. MINEO members have gained a considerable experience and improved skills and, through the significant results obtained, and their dissemination initiatives, are now internationally recognised among leading European organisations in the application of hyperspectral imagery for environmental studies. Meanwhile, MINEO has engendered an increasing "dynamics" around the use of hyperspectral imagery and imaging spectroscopy in Europe towards its operational application. The HyEurope2003 HyMap hyperspectral groupshoot campaign jointly organised in summer 2003 by DLR (Germany) and HyVista Corporation (Australia) witnesses of this increasing interest. Furthermore, the MINEO_II Expression of Interest presented in June 2002 in the FP6 frame has triggered enthusiasm among the scientific community and MINEO received many intentions to "join the team". MINEO has organised its second workshop on "Hyperspectral imaging and GIS in mining-related impact mapping and monitoring", held on December 11-13, 2002 at Orléans, France. With the participation of the major world teams working in imaging spectroscopy applied to mining environments, more than 70 attendees and 35 presentations, the workshop has shown the international reconnaissance of MINEO achievements and perspectives Despite particular efforts in inviting and informing them, the project however still lacks a sufficient involvement of the users, in particular from international, national or local organisations and agencies that, despite their apparent interest, did not really get actively involved in the follow-up of project development. It can be pointed out that a mandatory and crucial step of dissemination and advertising must be achieved during and after the project life in order to better acknowledge and widen the range of potential end-users. The MINEO Consortium members all intend to continue exploring these techniques in view of maturing their future operational application and will conduct subsequent RTD international collaboration projects as well as internal projects.
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MINEO: Monitoring the environmental impact of mining in Europe using advanced Earth Observation techniques. Presented at the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetric Society Annual Meeting, London. Fleming, C., 2002. MINEO: Monitoring the environmental impact of mining in Europe using advanced Earth Observation techniques. Presented at the NERC Equipment Pool for Field Spectrometry meeting, Southampton. L.Quental, A.Bourguignon, F.Cottard, M.G.Brito, M.M.Abreu, A.J.Sousa, M.Vairinho.Use of airborne hyperspectral imagery for contamination mapping at S.Domingos mine, Iberian Pyrite Belt, southeast Portugal. 4th European Congress on Regional Geoscientific Cartography and Information System, Bologna (Italy), June 17-20(2003), Vol. II pp.698-9 Chevrel S. et al (2003) Remote-sensing assessment and monitoring of environmental impact of mining activities in various European vegetated environments from airborne hyperspectral imagery. Example from the European RTD MINEO project", by presented at session on "Environmental Assessment of Mining and Mining Waste – spatial planning and land management perspective, 4th European Congress on Regional Geoscientific Cartography and Information System, Bologna (Italy), June 17-20(2003), Vol II, pp 667-668 L. Quental, M.G. Brito, A.J. Sousa, M.M. Abreu, M.J.Batista, V.Oliveira, M.Vairinho, T.Tavares..Utilização de imagens hiperespectrais na avaliação da contaminação mineira em S.Domingos, Faixa Piritosa, Alentejo. VI National Geological Congress. June 4-6, 2003. Portugal. Batista, M.J., Quental, L. Sousa, A.J., Abreu, M.M., Brito, M.G., Vairinho, M..Avaliação da contaminação mineira por drenagem ácida por modelação em SIG: S.Domingos, Faixa Piritosa, Alentejo. VI National Geological Congress. June 4-6, 2003, Portugal.
Abreu, M. M.; Tavares, M.T.; Vairinho, M.; Joaquim, C.;Quental, L. "Geoquímica comparada dos solos da área mineira de São Domingos, Alentejo: fundo geoquímico versus zona de exploração". National Congress of Soil Science, Portugal September 5-7, 2002
Tukiainen, T., 2000. Assessing and monitoring the environmental impact of mining activities in Europe using advanced Earth Observation techniques - Airborne Hyperspectral Survey Danmarks og Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse Rapport 2000/104 Aastrup, P., M.P. Tamstorf & T. Tukiainen 2001. Blyklippen lead-zinc mine. Existing knowledge. Mineo Site Report. Danmarks og Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse Rapport 2001/115. Tamstorf, M. Aastrup, P & Tukinainen, T 2002. MINEO Arctic environment test site Contamination /impact mapping and modelling – Final report Kumpulainen S. et al, 2001, Geological, Geophysical and Environmental data from the Lahnaslampi - Talvivaara area at Sotkamo, Finland, Kuosmanen, Viljo, Arkimaa, Hilkka, Helminen, Tiina, Hyvönen, Eija, Kuronen, Erkki, Laitinen, Jukka, Lerssi, Jouni, Middleton, Maarit, Rainio, Heikki, Ruohomäki, Timo, Räisänen, Marja-Liisa, Saarelainen, Jouko and Sutinen, Raimo (2003). MINEO Boreal environment test site, Finland. Contamination /impact mapping and modelling – Final report Grösel K. and Belocky R. (2001), MINEO alpine environment test site siderite mine Steirischer Erzberg, Styria, Austria, socio-economic impact & environmental hazards Grösel K. and Belocky R. (2003), MINEO alpine environment test site, Remediation assessment and monitoring /impact mapping and modelling – Final report Dittmann C. and Vosen P. (2001) Test Site Report for the "Kirchheller Heide" Area at Bottrop/Germany for the EU-Project MINEO - Geological, Geographical & Environmental, Data Description from the Test Site Dittmann C., Vosen P., Brunn A., Fischer C., Busch W. (2003): MINEO (central Europe) environment test site in Germany, Contamination /impact mapping and modelling – Final report Cotton C. and Tongue R. (2001), BGS test site report Fleming C., Marsh S., Noy D., Newsham N. (2003): MINEO Western European test site, Contamination /impact mapping and modelling – Final report Batista M.J. et al (2000) Environmental State in the Portuguese Test Site: S. Domingos Mine: Past and Present Quental,L., Bourguignon, A., Sousa, AJ., Batista, MJ., Brito, MG., Tavares, T., Abreu, MM., Vairinho, M., Cottard, F. (2003).MINEO Southern Europe environment test site, Contamination /impact mapping and modelling – Final report MINEO Consortium (2003) : General guidelines for image-processing procedures and algorithms for contamination and impacts discrimination and mapping from airborne imaging spectroscopy MINEO Consortium (2003) : General guidelines for modelling mining-related pollution dissemination from EO and GIS data, General guidelines for rehabilitation and remediation
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MINEO project Web Site realized by M. Garcin
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Figure 16
