GRSG 34th Conference 2023
Title: U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Mapping Resource Initiative: Improving the Nation’s Understanding of Critical Mineral Resources Using Imaging Spectroscopy
Author: Todd Hoefen
Abstract:
In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investing $320 million over 5 years to support the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). This initiative aims to significantly enhance our understanding of the geological framework of the United States, while also pinpointing regions that might contain untapped occurrences of critical mineral resources. The initiative strives to diminish our dependence on imported critical minerals to bolster both our economy and national security.
Through Earth MRI funding, the USGS and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have partnered to collect imaging spectrometer data over the arid western U.S. This research project, the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment, also known as GEMx, will utilize NASA’s Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) along with either the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (MASTER) airborne simulator or the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) instruments typically flown on NASA’s high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. This mapping effort started in the spring of 2023 and will continue through the fall of 2026 collecting approximately 500,000 km2 of new imaging spectrometer data. In addition to the new data, the USGS has processed and analyzed large regions of historical AVIRIS data over select areas of the southwestern U.S. In order to deliver exceptionally high-quality reflectance data and accompanying mineral maps to the public, the USGS spectroscopy group has pioneered and refined a multitude of tools.
These innovations involve laboratory and field checks of spectrometer calibration, the identification and characterization of a wide-ranging network of ground calibration sites, the expansion of our spectral library to include more critical mineral spectra, comprehensive ground-level validation across numerous regions, and ongoing enhancements to the USGS Mineral Identification and Characterization Algorithm database. Preliminary mapping of the historical AVIRIS data show promising results for the detection of lithium and rare earth element bearing critical minerals. Many other areas are being assessed for their direct detection of critical element bearing minerals, their associated mineral assemblages, and abandoned mine tailings that may contain undiscovered resources.
In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investing $320 million over 5 years to support the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). This initiative aims to significantly enhance our understanding of the geological framework of the United States, while also pinpointing regions that might contain untapped occurrences of critical mineral resources. The initiative strives to diminish our dependence on imported critical minerals to bolster both our economy and national security. Through Earth MRI funding, the USGS and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have partnered to collect imaging spectrometer data over the arid western U.S.
This research project, the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment, also known as GEMx, will utilize NASA’s Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) along with either the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (MASTER) airborne simulator or the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) instruments typically flown on NASA’s high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. This mapping effort started in the spring of 2023 and will continue through the fall of 2026 collecting approximately 500,000 km2 of new imaging spectrometer data. In addition to the new data, the USGS has processed and analyzed large regions of historical AVIRIS data over select areas of the southwestern U.S.
In order to deliver exceptionally high-quality reflectance data and accompanying mineral maps to the public, the USGS spectroscopy group has pioneered and refined a multitude of tools. These innovations involve laboratory and field checks of spectrometer calibration, the identification and characterization of a wide-ranging network of ground calibration sites, the expansion of our spectral library to include more critical mineral spectra, comprehensive ground-level validation across numerous regions, and ongoing enhancements to the USGS Mineral Identification and Characterization Algorithm database. Preliminary mapping of the historical AVIRIS data show promising results for the detection of lithium and rare earth element bearing critical minerals. Many other areas are being assessed for their direct detection of critical element bearing minerals, their associated mineral assemblages, and abandoned mine tailings that may contain undiscovered resources.