Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis
Surface mining in the southeastern Gobi Desert has significant environmental impacts, primarily due to the creation of large coal piles that are highly susceptible to aeolian processes. Using spaceborne remote sensing and numerical simulations, we investigated erosional processes and their environme...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/21/4111 |
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| author | Jungrack Kim Bayasgalan Amgalan Amanjol Bulkhbai |
| author_facet | Jungrack Kim Bayasgalan Amgalan Amanjol Bulkhbai |
| author_sort | Jungrack Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Surface mining in the southeastern Gobi Desert has significant environmental impacts, primarily due to the creation of large coal piles that are highly susceptible to aeolian processes. Using spaceborne remote sensing and numerical simulations, we investigated erosional processes and their environmental impacts. Our primary tool was Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data from Sentinel-1 imagery collected between 2017 and 2022. We analyzed these data using phase angle information from the Small Baseline InSAR time series framework. The time series analyses revealed intensive aeolian erosion in the coal piles, represented as thin deformation patterns along the potential pathways of aerodynamic transportation. Further analysis of multispectral data, combined with correlations between wind patterns and trajectory simulations, highlighted the detrimental impact of coal dust on the surrounding environment and the mechanism of aeolian erosion. The lack of mitigation measures, such as water spray, appeared to exacerbate erosion and dust generation. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using publicly available remote sensing data to monitor coal mining activities and their environmental hazards. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of coal dust generation processes in surface mining operations as well as the aeolian erosion mechanism in desert environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-16b62b3a37bf45a98968953f6f1a19c3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-16b62b3a37bf45a98968953f6f1a19c32024-11-08T14:40:51ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-11-011621411110.3390/rs16214111Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series AnalysisJungrack Kim0Bayasgalan Amgalan1Amanjol Bulkhbai2Future Vision Inc., Yangpyeong 12523, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaMongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 13330, MongoliaNational Forest Agency of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 16080, MongoliaSurface mining in the southeastern Gobi Desert has significant environmental impacts, primarily due to the creation of large coal piles that are highly susceptible to aeolian processes. Using spaceborne remote sensing and numerical simulations, we investigated erosional processes and their environmental impacts. Our primary tool was Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data from Sentinel-1 imagery collected between 2017 and 2022. We analyzed these data using phase angle information from the Small Baseline InSAR time series framework. The time series analyses revealed intensive aeolian erosion in the coal piles, represented as thin deformation patterns along the potential pathways of aerodynamic transportation. Further analysis of multispectral data, combined with correlations between wind patterns and trajectory simulations, highlighted the detrimental impact of coal dust on the surrounding environment and the mechanism of aeolian erosion. The lack of mitigation measures, such as water spray, appeared to exacerbate erosion and dust generation. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using publicly available remote sensing data to monitor coal mining activities and their environmental hazards. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of coal dust generation processes in surface mining operations as well as the aeolian erosion mechanism in desert environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/21/4111coal mineInSARtime series analysisaeolian erosiondust generation |
| spellingShingle | Jungrack Kim Bayasgalan Amgalan Amanjol Bulkhbai Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis Remote Sensing coal mine InSAR time series analysis aeolian erosion dust generation |
| title | Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis |
| title_full | Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis |
| title_short | Monitoring Aeolian Erosion from Surface Coal Mines in the Mongolian Gobi Using InSAR Time Series Analysis |
| title_sort | monitoring aeolian erosion from surface coal mines in the mongolian gobi using insar time series analysis |
| topic | coal mine InSAR time series analysis aeolian erosion dust generation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/21/4111 |
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