Institute of Mining, Far East Branch, Khabarovsk, Russia:

Yu. A. Ozaryan, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, ozaryanigd@gmail.com
M. B. Bubnova, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
V. I. Usikov, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Economic Sciences

The article is devoted to the ecological assessment of the mining areas in the south of Russia’s Far East. The authors emphasize that the current ecological situation in the southern Far East requires recording and analysis of data on man-made pollution and environmental sustainability, which is impossible without modern information technologies. The mining and environmental monitoring methods based on the Earth remote sensing technologies become especially relevant. The proposed method is based on the computer GIS applications. The authors of the article have chosen a free GIS—QGIS (Quantum GIS) in combination with GRASS GIS as the main working tool. Satellite images from Landsat 5, 7, 8, Terra and others were obtained thanks to the resources of United States Geological Survey (USGS). In assessing the natural environment, single-channel and multichannel raster layers were used. In order to identify an effective and reliable method for areas disturbed by mining, first of all, the most informative image channels were considered, allowing maximum accurate identification of production-induced areas. The object of monitoring are the operating and closed mines their impact on the environment components. In this respect, the types of monitoring and and their implementation methods were selected. For instance, monitoring of air pollution was carried out by decoding satellite images for the winter period, with estimation of snow cover contamination. The basis for vegetation monitoring in zone of dust pollution from tailing ponds and self-overgrowing coal dumps was based on the NDVI vegetation index. The size and and spatial–temporal history of the impact were assessed by joint analysis of multi-temporal images and digital elevation models. As a result, the paths and behavior of pollutant flows from decommissioned tailings ponds were adjusted. The process of natural restoration of mined-out areas was also assessed. The state of vegetation can be considered as an indicator of the level of anthropogenic pressure on the environment in the study area. Recovery of vegetation characteristics from the remote sensing data allows obtaining certain numerical characteristics of the biomass volume, which can serve as restoration indictor for disturbed lands.
The article is intended for specialists in geo-ecology, space research and mining.

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