Regolith Mapping - A Discussion

This paper is a slight advance on an unpublished discussion paper that has been doing the rounds since early June 2003. It takes into account some comments that have been received regarding the unpublished paper. However, it is still very much a “work-in-progress”. In this paper I will look briefly at the current state of regolith mapping in Australia, and present some schemes currently used for mapping regolith and landscapes. I will look at geology maps as a guide to how we might map regolith, and make some recommendations for consideration by the regolith mapping community. We make regolith maps for a number of reasons, including mineral exploration and natural resource management. In addition to general regolith maps that document the regolith of the mapped area, we produce thematic maps designed to address specific problems such as the distribution of different sampling media, and to help assess salinity risk. Our reasons for making a particular regolith map will to some extent dictate what the map looks like. REGOLITH MAPS IN AUSTRALIA There are now a number of regolith maps available for various parts of Australia. Figure 1 is also a “work-in-progress ” showing where regolith maps of various scales have been produced in Australia. It does not include a number of maps produced by various state geological surveys – these will appear in an updated version of the map, to go on the CRCLEME web site. Figure 1: Distribution of some regolith maps in Australia, produced at various scales. Maps produced by geological surveys in WA, SA, and VIC. are not shown