This booklet provides additional information to the work of art 'Soft Layer' located in front of the faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. This piece of art is an initiative of students and alumni of the Mijnbouwkundige Vereeniging and has been revealed on the 24th of February, 2020.@en

This paper shows the results of Short-Wavelength Infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy investigations of volcanic rocks sampled from low-grade metamorphic greenstone belts of the Archean Pilbara Craton in Western Australia. From the reflectance spectra a range of spectrally active minerals were identified, including chlorites, hornblende, actinolite, epidote and white micas. The rock samples were grouped into mineral assemblages based on their spectrally identified minerals and stratigraphic positions. The metamorphic amphibolite and greenschist facies could be identified from the SWIR spectroscopic data as well as three sub zones of the greenschist facies: 1) a zone containing Fe-chlorite; 2) a zone containing intermediate chlorite and epidote; and 3) a zone containing intermediate chlorite, actinolite and hornblende. Spectral parameters were calculated from the reflectance spectra to assess the metamorphic grade and zones. Plots of the depth parameters of the Fe-OH feature near 2250 nm versus the Mg-OH feature near 2390 nm differentiate the metamorphic amphibolite and greenschist facies and a transition zone between the two. The wavelength position parameter of the Mg-OH absorption feature near 2340 nm also serves to discriminate between the various metamorphic sub zones.The identification of the metamorphic grades of the volcanic sequences in greenstone belts with SWIR spectroscopy is useful for regional geological field studies, exploration for metamorphic mineral deposits hosted in the greenstone belts and the interpretation of hyperspectral remote sensing data sets covering similar types of terranes.

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Variation in the mineral composition of rocks results in a change of their spectral response capable of being studied by imaging spectroscopy. This paper proposes the use of a low-cost handy sensor, a calibrated visible-very near infrared (VIS-VNIR) multispectral camera for the recognition of different geological formations. The spectral data was recorded by a Tetracam Mini-MCA-6 camera mounted on a field-based platform covering six bands in the spectral range of 0.530-0.801 μm. Twelve sedimentary formations were selected in the Rhône-Alpes region (France) to analyse the discrimination potential of this camera for rock types and close-range mapping applications. After proper corrections and data processing, a supervised classification of the multispectral data was performed trying to distinguish four classes: limestones, marlstones, vegetation and shadows. After a maximum-likelihood classification, results confirmed that this camera can be efficiently exploited to map limestone-marlstone alternations in geological formations with this mineral composition.@en