Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Study

Gamma-ray spectrometer measurements have been applied to a large variety of problems in rock and soil mapping, terrain analysis, trafficability, snow water equivalent estimation, detection of environmental contaimination by nuclear fission products, and direct and indirect mineral exploration. Fuller utilization of gamma spectrometric outputs is currently limited by the inadequacy of data reduction and presentation techniques. This report describes a data reduction technique designed to detect spatially contiguous ground regions which are homogeneous in thorium, uranium, and potassium content. The data reduction technique was applied to gamma-ray spectrometric data obtained at an altitude of 50 feet in the Garden City, Kansas area. Results indicate that 83 of the homogeneous areas detected by the technique can be directly interpreted on the basis of information contained in simultaneously obtained imagery.