Vural, Alaaddin; Corumluoglu, Özsen; Asri, Ibrahim

This study examines the determination and confirmation of mineral deposits in the Gumushane Province,Turkey. Rather than using classical techniques, Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System GIS technologies are applied for this purpose. Mineral alteration traces on the ground are characteristic indicators of ore below the surface. These traces can be determined using RS techniques. The Crosta technique is one of the most important RS image analysis methods used for the determination of mineral alterations. The technique has shown particular usefulness around mine areas, which are rich in ore deposits and show hydrothermal alterations. Therefore, four separate mine fields covering a total area of 718 km2 in the southern part of Gumushane, which is rich in iron oxides, hydroxides and hydrothermal alteration, were chosen. The Crosta technique was applied to the satellite image of each area to explore the regional alterations. The determined locations could be confirmed as alteration areas. Within these four regions, some other locations showing similar alteration patterns were also determined using the Crosta technique. These locations represent good candidates for mineral exploration.

Corumluoglu, Ozsen; Vural, Alaaddin; Asri, Ibrahim

Kula Region (Manisa, Turkey), with its 80 volcanic cones, lava flows, basalt plateaus and basalt columns, fairy chimney formations in canyons carved by the Gediz River, shelter cities hidden in volcanic lava, footprint fossils belonging to the first humans, and geological uniqueness, has a great importance in terms of geotourism potential as it is being a natural heritage in the Aegean region of Anatolia. In this study, some remote sensing image processing techniques such as band combination, band rationing, and principal component analyses were used to depict the cultural and natural geosite known as Kula basalts in Turkey. Satellite images utilized here in this study were Landsat band images (band 1 to band 7). Principal component analyses (PCA) were performed on the first ratio group with 5/4, 5/1, and 3/7 bands and then on the second ratio group with 3/1, 4/5, and 3/2 bands. As a conclusion and outcome of this PCA, it was found that red, green, and blue (RGB) composite with PC1 and PC3 gray-level images from the first ratio group and PC2 gray-level image from the second group showed up the basalt areas better than those from other techniques studied in this research. After unsupervised classification of this final composite of PCA, it is computed that the basalt rocks in Kula cover an area of 36,774 ha totally.