Hyperspectral LWIR mapping of fumarole sulfates, salton sea, imperial county, California

Abstract

Several ammonia emitting fumarole fields have recently been exposed along the southeastern shoreline of the Salton Sea in Imperial County, California. A complex assemblage of sulfate minerals, many containing ammonium ion, are associated with the fumaroles. The distribution of these sulfates was mapped by remote sensing with the Mako LWIR hyperspectral sensor. The most common minerals tended to form somewhat concentric discontinuous rings. Outwardly from the central fumarole vent, they were: mascagnite/boussingaultite, gypsum, nitratine and bloedite, respectively. Ground truth surveys coupled with laboratory analyses were generally in good agreement with the remote sensing results.