The Upper Clark Fork River Basin is home to many current and abandoned mining sites which contribute to the presence of heavy metals. Heavy metals on surface sediments can harm human and ecological health, so it is important to identify these contaminants for removal.
Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an active spectroscopy method because it uses a laser pulse to remove a small amount of mass through laser ablation. As the electrons return to their ground states, the unique spectral signatures and intensity can determine the percentage of the element in the sample.
Hyperspectral Spectroscopy (HS) is a passive method that uses natural light reflected from the sample to determine the range and concentration of the wavelength emitted. The resulting plot compares reflectance versus wavelength. HS can be applied to an airborne survey
