ACRES Tehnical Document - updated 4 September 2000. Dynamic range values for ACRES TM data products.

Mapping and analysis of landscapes in Australia can now benefit from a continental mineral map coverage, helping to identify and characterise materials at the surface, with the recent release (August 2012) of the Satellite ASTER Geoscience Maps of Australia (http://c3dmm.csiro.au/Australia_ASTER/stage_1_geoscienceproductnotes.html). The new maps can provide mineralogical information on weathering, soils and regolith boundaries and compositions. The ASTER mosaic, made up of some ~3,500 60x60 km individual ASTER scenes, were produced by a multi-agency collaboration of Australian government partners. They represent the first of their kind: a continent-scale, public, web-accessible and GIS-compatible ASTER geoscience product suite. Led by CSIRO, Geoscience Australia along with several state government agencies, (including GSWA, GSQ, DMITRE and NTGS), have released 17 geoscientific products across the whole of Australia, with application to landscape analysis, environmental studies, mineral mapping and exploration, as well as soil-mapping and the agricultural sectors. Outcomes have included the formation of a platform for establishing national standards, geoscience product nomenclature, processing methods, accuracy assessments and traceable documentation. The ASTER bands are being used together with other complementary datasets (e.g. terrain indices, gamma-ray radiometrics) to build statistical predictive models on surface regolith geochemistry. This study is a preliminary investigation and assessment of how to use the new products for geomorphic applications, particularly landscape analysis and characterisation.

Advanced spectral remote sensing can be a valuable tool for explorers in both green-fields and brown-fields exploration. Using highly-calibrated spectral data and processing techniques, new perspectives can be gained in mapping and characterising materials at the surface. Surface expression of underlying materials, such as ore-deposits, can also be mapped and characterised using these methods. Mineral maps and products made from spectral datasets that can be integrated with other datasets provide a ready-to-use tool that aids explorers in identifying and mapping unconsolidated regolith material and underlying bedrock. In the Mount Isa region, bedrock signatures have been discovered in areas recorded as extensive cover sediments where no bedrock had been previously mapped. This means that in addition to being able to make mineral classifications that characterise transported materials, it is also possible to find new windows of basement geology in areas previously mapped as cover. This has useful applications for mapping geomorphic processes in that it helps to understand mineral dispersion pathways and target surface sampling for mineral exploration. The Predictive Mineral Discovery Cooperative Research Centre (pmd*CRC) developed a comprehensive spectral geology study in conjunction with the Queensland State Government's Smart Exploration Program as part of a joint venture to collect and process new hyperspectral data in Queensland, and to calibrate an existing Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflective Radiometer (ASTER) satellite mosaic, of some ~150 ASTER scenes. This work demonstrated that a considerable amount of geochemical information about hydrothermal deposit "footprints" and alteration chemistry can be acquired by analysing spectral ground response, particularly in the short-wave infra-red where a great deal of mineralogical information is available. Materials which can be mapped include clays and magnesium/iron/aluminium oxyhydroxides, with specific information being obtainable (using higher resolution airborne methods such as HyMap) on mineral composition, abundance and physicochemistries (including crystallinity) for minerals such as kaolinite which can be used as a surrogate for identifying transported vs. in situ material. High resolution mineral maps enable the recognition of various types of hydrothermal alteration patterns and the localisation of fluid pathways, including geochemically discrete alteration shells in IOCG type deposits which correspond to distinct mineral distributions. Potassic alteration in mafic rocks was detected using a combination of MgOH and Fe2+-mineral maps combined with white mica composition and abundance products. MgOH and Fe2+-mineral products were also used to distinguish amphibolites, which form the host rocks for some of the Fe oxide Cu-Au deposits area, from other various mafic rocks.

This ALOS processed data covers the area from Newcastle down to Batemen's Bay on the east coast of New South Wales for Geoscience Australia. The data has been delivered in a number of both tile and mosaic files. The data delivered to Geoscience Australia consists of 8 AVNIR scenes and 13 triplet PRISM scenes.

This document is the Data Format Control Book (DFCB) for the Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (EMT+) Level Zero-R Distribution Product (LORp). It focuses on the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) of the Landsat 7 L0R product available from the Centre for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Landsat Archive Manager (LAM).

Mapping of regolith materials at the regional and continental-scale for environmental, agricultural and resource exploration for is being advanced through a new generation of remote sensing technologies, particularly satellite remote sensing methods. The work has demonstrated the identification and classification of regolith materials and thickness indicators is essential to facilitate ongoing exploration in challenging regolith-dominated terrains, and that geochemical information about alteration chemistry associated with footprints of mineral systems can be acquired by analysing spectral ground response, particularly in short-wave infra-red.

The Landsat series of satellites commenced acquiring remotely sensed data with the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972. The Landsat satellites travel at an altitude of 705 kilometres and provide coverage of the entire globe every 16 days. Landsat 5, launched in 1984, carries the Thematic Mapper (TM) sensor in addition to the Multispectral Scanner (MSS). The Thematic Mapper is a higher resolution sensor. It provides imagery in seven spectral bands (called Bands 1-7), covering the visible and near, middle and thermal infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. TM has a 30-metre pixel resolution for all bands except Band 6 which has a 120-metre resolution. Its ground swath is 185 kilometres. A full scene is 185 kilometres by 172 kilometres. The archive of ACRES products includes TM data from September 1987 to December 1999 and July 2003 onwards.

The RADARSAT satellite was developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and was launched on 4 November 1995. It has a C-band, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor on board. The SAR is an active microwave sensor capable of imaging earth resource targets regardless of time of day, cloud, haze or smoke cover of an area. The instrument is classified "active" as it emits the energy necessary to image the earth's surface. In contrast, "passive" or "optical" sensors rely on the sun's reflected energy to image the earth. This sensor can operate in a variety of imaging modes to suit a range of applications. Depending on the beam mode, the SAR ground swath widith varies between 50 and 500 kilometres, and the pixel resolution varies between 10 and 100 metres. The sensor has HH polarisation. ACRES Radarsat archive consists of extensive coverage from August 1997 to late 1999. ACRES currently do not have an agreement with RSI but can acquire data if downlink is granted by RSI.

The JERS-1 satellite was developed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). JERS-1 was launched in February 1992 and operated until 11 October 1998. The satellite traveled at an altitude of 568 kilometres and provided coverage of the entire globe every 44 days. The L-band, Synthetic Appeture Radar (SAR) sensor was the primary Earth-observing instrument. The SAR is an active microwave sensor capable of imaging earth resource targets regardless of time of day, cloud, haze or smoke cover of an area. The instrument is classified "active" as it emits the energy necessary to image the earth's surface. In contrast, "passive" or "optical" sensors rely on the sun's reflected energy to image the earth. The SAR ground swath is 75 kilometres wide, with a nominal 18 metre pixel resolution. The sensor has HH polarisation. ACRES JERS SAR acquisition commenced in September 1993 and ended in October 1998.

Earth Observation -1 (EO-1) satellite was launched in November 2000 to demonstrate new technologies such as Hyperion (hyperspectral data containing 220 bands) and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) sensor. ACRES downlinks EO-1 data for USGS through an informal arrangement with NASA but there is no local archive or catalogue. However, ACRES distributes EO-1 products imported from US through a special arrangement with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This special arrangement permits ACRES customers to receive unlimited acquisitions over their area of interest until it is successfully acquired with <25% cloud cover.