Application of Multi-Sensor Optical Data for Monitoring Land Uses within the Mercury Mining Area of Almadén, Spain

The largest mercury concentration is situated in Almaden, Spain. Mining activities have dominated in the region till the closure of the mines in 2002 and alternative land use has gained importance after the mining activities ceased. The rehabilitation of areas affected by the mining are the main priority within the region. The objective is to identify and monitor abiotic and biotic characteristics of the region affected by mining activities as well as alternative human-induced activities. Multi-senor data are implemented to carry out a regional characterization. Advanced image processing procedures obtain detailed information from hyperspectral data and this information is implemented in the multispectral data to monitor the different land uses. Monitoring results show that the distribution of areas affected by mining activities is rapidly diminishing in the most recent years.