Use of airborne hyperspectral datasets to remotely map a siliciclastic succession (Bresnahan Group, Australia)

Remote mapping of siliciclastic successions can be difficult due to the lack of available techniques to determine the mineralogical constituents of sandstones (e.g. K-Feldspar and quartz) and textural information like grain-size. Mineral maps of white mica relative abundance, processed from airborne hyperspectral data, are used here to observe the compositional variability in sandstone clasts with grain-size changes in the siliciclastic Bresnahan Group, located in Australia. Modal petrographic analysis indicated an increase in the proportion of white mica and claystone clasts in the finer sandstones, compared to the coarser sandstones. The change in composition has a reverse exponential trend. Further reaching implications for use elsewhere are considered.