Alteration Information Extraction by Applying Synthesis Processing Techniques to Landsat ETM+ Data: Case Study of Zhaoyuan Gold Mines, Shandong Province, China

Satellite remote sensing data are usually used to analyze the spatial distribution pattern of geological structures and generally serve as a significant means for the identification of alteration zones. Based on the Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) data, which have better spectral resolution (8 bands) and spatial resolution (15 m in PAN band), the synthesis processing techniques were presented to fulfill alteration information extraction: data preparation, vegetation indices and band ratios, and expert classifier-based classification. These techniques have been implemented in the MapGIS-RSP software (version 1.0), developed by the Wuhan Zondy Cyber Technology Co., Ltd, China. In the study area application of extracting alteration information in the Zhaoyuan () gold mines, Shandong () Province, China, several hydorthermally altered zones (included two new sites) were found after satellite imagery interpretation coupled with field surveys. It is concluded that these synthesis processing techniques are useful approaches and are applicable to a wide range of gold-mineralized alteration information extraction.