Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2010IN302B

Using Remotely Sensed Data in Combination with Ground Level Geochemistry to Evaluate Continued Impacts of Acid Mine Leakage on Abandoned Mine Lands

Institute: Indiana
Year Established: 2010 Start Date: 2010-03-01 End Date: 2011-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $12,150 Total Non-Federal Funds: $24,308

Principal Investigators: Jennifer Latimer, Jagadeesh Anmala

Project Summary: Acid mine drainage (AMD) continues to be a significant threat to water quality in the state of Indiana. Streams impacted by AMD often have low pH and high concentrations of dissolved metals. Many abandoned mine lands have been reclaimed; however, several still need additional treatment because low pH water is still entering surface waters and/or exposed tailings and gob piles contribute to poor water quality and present another threat to environmental quality as extremely mobile atmospheric dust. Collecting ground level data is necessary to inform treatment plans, but takes considerable time and is limited in geographic extent. Using remotely sensed data and satellite imagery may provide valuable information that can assist treatment plans that may not have been possible with ground level data alone. The purpose of the research proposed here is to collect ground level geochemical data using a regularly spaced, gridded sample strategy that can be used to map the spatial distribution of different parameters, including soil pH and metal concentrations (i.e. Fe, Al, Mn, etc.) at the Friar Tuck mining complex near Dugger, Indiana. The study area is in need of additional treatment because water quality in the adjacent Mud Creek is still impaired. These ground level results will be compared with multi-spectral (blue, red, green, near infrared, and panchromatic bands) satellite imagery from Geoeye-1 to evaluate the correlations between ground level measurements and remotely sensed data to determine the utility of satellite imagery as a tool for informing the reclamation process.